The Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election and former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi has praised the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for summoning the will to order for the full implementation of the Steve Orosanye report on civil service reforms aimed at reducing cost of governance and increasing efficiency in governance.
In a post on X, Mr. Peter Obi, who is gradually acknowledging the reality that Bola Tinubu is now the President, said that although the implementation of the report is long overdue, its implementation is a welcome development. Obi added that beyond implementing the Oronsaye Report, the federal government should go further and cut the cost of governance across board.
Mr. Peter Obi despite applauding the decision by President Bola Tinubu to implement the report said the government should not rush to implement the Orosanye report because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil servants. He said that a very deep understanding of the workings of the federal bureaucracy would be required to effectively implement the report.
Obi further said that in implementing the Orosanye Report, conscious effort must be made to cushion the effects of such a major overhaul on the workers, to avoid driving more people into hardship, in these very challenging times.
The President on 26th February, 2024, as part of his bid to carry out reforms in the civil service and cut the cost of governance had directed the implementation of the 2012 Oronsaye Report. The report recommends the scrapping, modification, and subsuming of some agencies, commissions, and departments, as well as moving some entities from one ministry to another to improve their operations.
To ensure the swift implementation of the proposed changes, a committee has been set up with the mandate to implement the mergers, scrappings, and relocations within 12 weeks. The Oronsaye Report contains several recommendations on Federal Government parastatals, commissions, and agencies, both statutory and non-statutory.
Below is the complete list of agencies, commissions and parastatals affected by the approval of the Federal Executive Council decision on the implementation of the Orosanye Panel Report.
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 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.