President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday ordered the full implementation of the Oronsaye report after 12 years.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to State House Correspondents at Aso Rock, Abuja.
“So in a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye Report.
“Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped. Some have been modified, and marked while others have been subsumed.
“Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where the government feels they will operate better,” Idris said.
Background
Former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 set up the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies under the chairmanship of Stephen Oronsaye.
Oronsaye had a private sector background, from where he joined the civil service at a very high level and rose rapidly to become the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. His choice was considered apt with the belief that having come from an original private sector, he would look at ways of cutting the cost of governing by eliminating wastage through duplicated functions across several government MDAs.
Members of the committee included: Japh CT Nwosu; Rabiu D. Abubakar; Salman Mann; Hamza A. Tahir; Adetunji Adesunkanmi; and Umar Mohammed (Member/Secretary).
The committee submitted an 800-page report on April 16, 2012, in which it uncovered a high level of competition among several overlapping agencies, which not only created ill feelings among government agencies but also brought about unnecessary wastage in expenditure.
It also recommended, among other things, the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies and councils to free funds for capital projects.
The Oronsaye report established that there are 541 Federal Government parastatals, commissions and agencies (statutory and non-statutory) and recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, while 38 agencies should be abolished and 52 should be merged
The panel also recommended that 14 of the agencies should revert to departments in ministries.
The document proposed the management audit of 89 agencies capturing biometric features of staff as well as the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies/councils.
Also, the Oronsaye report disclosed that the government would be saving over N862 billion between 2012 and 2015.
The breakdown showed that about N124.8 billion would be reduced from agencies proposed for abolition; about N100.6 billion from agencies proposed for mergers; about N6.6 billion from professional bodies; N489.9 billion from universities; N50.9 billion from polytechnics; N32.3 billion from colleges of education and N616 million from boards of federal medical centres.
Implementation Efforts Since 2012
After the committee’s report, the White paper committee set up by Jonathan’s administration rejected most of the recommendations, while those accepted were not implemented.
In November 2021, the Federal Government set up two committees – one of the committees was to review the Orosanye report and its white paper chaired by Goni Aji, a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The second committee was constituted to review agencies created from 2014 till date, chaired by Amal Pepple, also a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
After the submission of their reports, the Federal Government in July 2022 set up another committee chaired by Ebele Okeke, a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to produce a white paper on the reports.
However, at the presentation of the white paper to the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in Abuja, Okeke stressed that it is pertinent to discuss with the leadership of the National Assembly to achieve the desired result, adding that most of the agencies created were products of bills from the National Assembly.
On February 26, 2024, the Tinubu-led government announced the full implementation of the report with immediate effect.
List of Agencies to be Scrapped, Merged, or Relocated
AGENCIES TO BE SCRAPPED
1. Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate to be scrapped and functions transferred to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
2. National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) to be scrapped and functions transferred to the Department of Basic and Secondary Education in
Federal Ministry of Education.
AGENCIES TO BE MERGED
1. National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) to be merged under the Centre for Disease Control in Federal Ministry of Health.
2. National Emergency Agency (NEMA) to be merged with National Commission Refugee, Migration and Internally Displaced persons [NCFRMI].
3. Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA) to be merged with Directorate of Technical Aid (DTAC) and to function as a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to be merged with Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE).
5. Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to be merged with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
6. National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to be merged with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization (NCAM) and
Project Development Institute (PRODA).
7. National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to be merged with National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB).
8. National Institute for Leather Science Technology (NILEST) to be merged with National Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT).
9. The Nomadic Education Commission (NEC) to be merged with National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non Formal Education.
10. Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN) to be merged with Voice of Nigeria (VON)
11. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments to be merged with National gallery of Arts.
12. The National Theatre to be merged with National Troupe of Nigeria.
13. The National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) to be merged with National Metallurgical Training Institute (NMTI).
14. Nigerian Army University (NAUB)should be merged Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA)
15. Airforce Institute of Technology (AFIT) should be merged Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA)
AGENCIES TO BE SUBSUMED
1. Service Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR).
2. Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission (NBC).
3. National Salaries, Income and Wages Commissioned (NSIWC) to be subsumed into Revenue Mobilization & Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
4. Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be subsumed under Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA)
5. Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to be subsumed under National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
6. Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis (NITR) to be subsumed into Institute of Veterinary Research (VOM).
7. Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) to be subsumed under the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development
(NIPRD).
8. National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission to be subsumed under the administration of Nigerian Pension Commission (PenCom).
9. The Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to be subsumed as a department in the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.
AGENCIES TO BE RELOCATED
1. Niger Delta Powerholding Company (NDHC) to be relocated to the Ministry of Power.
2. National Agricultural Land Development Agency [NALDA] to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
3. National Blood Service Commission to be converted into an Agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health.
4. Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to be converted into an Agency and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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