By David Ijaseun
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a move to to cut the cost of governance, has announced implementation of the long-awaited Oronsaye Report. The decision comes twelve years after the submission of the report by the Steve Oronsaye panel and the issuance of a white paper two years later.
President Tinubu, in a statement availed by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser, Information and Strategy to the president, emphasised the need for a leaner government structure, stating, “We are committed to streamlining and rationalizing Federal government parastatals and agencies to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in governance.”
The implementation of the Oronsaye Report will result in the scrapping of many agencies and the merging of others. “This strategic decision aims to streamline operations, reduce redundancy, and optimize resources within the government,” the statement read in part.
“We must prioritise fiscal responsibility and accountability,” President Tinubu added, highlighting the importance of prudent management of public funds.
Below are government agencies set to be merged or scrapped.
– 38 Federal Agencies to be abolished – Public Complaints Commission, National Poverty Eradication Programme, Utilities Charges Commission, National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, National Intelligence Committee, etc.
– 14 agencies to be fused into ministries where they were created e.g Debt Management Office to the Federal Ministry of Finance
– Public Health Department back to the Federal Ministry of Health
– National Information Technology Development Agency to be fused into the Ministry of Communication Technology
– Reduction of statutory agencies from 263 to 161
– 52 institutions to be merged: NTA, FRCN & VON into the Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria (FBCN)
– NCC & NBC into Communication Regulatory Authority of Nigeria (CRAN);
– CCB, EFCC & ICPC to be merged into the Anti-Corruption Commission.
– Another key recommendation of the committee was to discontinue government funding of professional bodies and councils. Consequently, there is a need to amend the Professional Bodies (Special Provisions) Act, of 1972 which mandates the government to provide financial support of various kinds to such bodies. – They include the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN); Computer Professionals Council of Nigeria (CPRCN); Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON); Nigeria Press Council; Architects Registration Council; Council for Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN); Estate Surveyors’ Registration Board (ESRB); Town Planners Council (TPC); Nigerian Builders Council (NBC; Quantity Surveyors’ Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRB); Nigerian Builders Council (NBC); and Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG).
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be scrapped and its functions to be transferred to the Department of Strategic Studies in the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA).
The committee recommended that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) and Petroleum Equalisation Fund be merged with Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).
Based on the White Paper, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) would be abolished and its enabling law repealed as its functions are being performed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission. A similar fate awaits the Salaries and Wages Income Commission.
– The trio of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) were recommended to be merged into a new body to be known as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA) and their respective enabling laws amended accordingly to reflect the merger.
– Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), the Committee recommended that it be merged with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to synergize for management and utilization of resources.
– The Committee recommended that the enabling law of the National Commission for Nomadic Education be repealed and the Commission’s activities taken over by the Universal Basic Education Commission.
– National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and their function performed in the Ministry of Environment.
– The recommendation that the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) be merged with the National Troupe and the National Theatre into one agency was accepted by the government. The merged entity is to be named the National Theatre of Nigeria.
– The committee recommended that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) be scraped and government restrict itself to only providing consular service and vaccination of intending pilgrims.
– The Nigerian Communications Commission, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission and the regulatory functions of the Nigerian Postal Services were recommended by the committee to be merged.
Oronsaye Report: 102 Agencies To Be Scrapped, EFCC, ICPC ,NTA, FRCN, FRSC, others to go
