A member of the National Assembly representing Ovia federal constituency and the immediate past chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Compliance, Hon Dennis Idahosa, has urged President Bola Tinubu to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye report as there is no better time to do so than now.
The lawmaker said implementation of the report would cut wastage in government as well as strengthen the civil service.
Idahosa who lauded the decisions so far made by the president to save the nation’s economy, made the call in a press statement personally signed by him and made available to newsmen in Benin, yesterday.
He said that the dwindling revenue of the country in the face of increasing demand for infrastructural development, high debt burden, and better welfare for the citizens, posed a great danger to the survival of the country.
He said it was as a result that there have been increase and sustained campaigns for cost-cutting measures in governance across the board.
The lawmaker said that the Oronsaye committee revealed a high level of competition among several overlapping agencies, which had not only created ill feelings among government agencies but also brought about unnecessary wastage in government expenditure.
It would be recalled that the Oronsaye committee submitted an 800-page report on April 16, 2012, which recommended the abolition and merger of 102 government agencies and parastatals, while some were listed to be self-funding.
The committee also recommended, among other things, the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies and councils. These measures were meant to free funds for the implementation of government programmes.
Idahosa however regretted that after 10 years no administration has mustered the courage and political will to implement the report.
He allayed the fear that implementation of Oronsaye’s committee report would lead to job loss in the federal civil service. He also said that the National Assembly would give legislative backing for the report’s implementation where necessary.
