No To Proposed 376 New Agencies

The Senate has proposed the establishment of 376 new agencies and institutions despite the reality of the high cost of governance in the country. This is clearly contrary to the move by the federal government to restructure the public service in line with the Oronsaye Report on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commission.

There is no gainsaying that the bulk of Nigeria’s resources today go to civil service for the running of government as overhead costs. There is no way any country can make any meaningful progress running public service the way we are doing in Nigeria.

It, therefore, does not make any sense that the Senate is considering the establishment of 376 new agencies as a solution to rising unemployment in the country. The Oronsaye Report had recommended the scrapping or merging of some ministries, departments and agencies in order to reduce the cost of governance.

However, the 9th Senate has passed a total of 1,070 bills, including 376 establishment bills for the creation of various institutions and agencies in spite of the economic realities on ground, including the exorbitant cost of governance.

Consequently, some of the establishment bills have been passed while others are now at the committee level in clear negation of the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report.

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The establishment bills include: the Federal University of Education Kontagora (Establishment) Bill; Federal College of Education, Illo, Establishment Bill; Polytechnic Kabo (Establishment) Bill; City University of Technology, Auchi, Bill; Federal University, Wukari (Establishment) Bill; Federal University Gusau; Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Abeokuta, Bill; Federal Polytechnic, Orogun, Bill, and Federal Medical Centre, Igboho, Bill.

Others include National Commission for the Eradication of Child Destitution (Establishment) Bill; Federal College of Education, Usugbenu, Edo State (Establishment) Bill; Federal College of Education, Giwa, Bill; Federal Polytechnic, Aba, Bill; Nigerian Research Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Bakassi (Establishment) Bill; Federal College of Education, Mutum Biyu, Bill, among others.

All of these are happening because the present administration has failed to do the needful as regards the implementation of the Oronsaye Report. President Muhammadu Buhari had, in August last year, directed that the Orosanye White Paper Report be subjected for immediate review to enable government take the most appropriate decision on its general recommendations. Four months after that, we are yet to hear of the issue.

The 800-page report recommended the abolition of 38 federal agencies, the merger of 52 and the reverting of 14 agencies to departments in relevant ministries. The whole essence of these reforms is to ensure downsizing and cost-effective management of the nation’s over-bloated civil service.

As of time the white paper was submitted, there were 541 government parastatals, commissions and agencies, including statutory and non-statutory ones in the country and the report prescribed a reduction in the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161. This number is likely to have increased, going by the way the National Assembly creates agencies and commissions without recourse to the cost of governance.

In the considered opinion of this newspaper, our lawmakers must begin to think out of the box, and stop looking for easy ways out of difficult situations.

Creating more agencies, which we cannot obviously fund, cannot be the solution to the myriad challenges facing the country.

It is instructive to note that some of the major recommendations of the Oronsaye Report include the merger of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and Code of Conduct Bureau.

Also, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria and the Nigerian Television Authority are to merge under the umbrella of Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria.

The report also recommended that the functions of the National Salaries and Wages Commission be taken over by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission. The Bureau of Public Enterprise is to also take over the functions of the Infrastructure Concessionary and Regulatory Commission. The National Emergency Management Agency and the National Refugees Commission are to be merged, while the Highways Department of the Federal Ministry of Works is to take over the functions of the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The Universal Basic Education Commission is to take over the functions of the National Council for Nomadic Education and the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, among other recommendations.

As a newspaper, we call on the Buhari administration to muster the political will to follow through its decision to implement the Oronsaye Report.