SaharaReporters on Monday reported that President Tinubu ordered the full implementation of the 2012 Stephen Oronsaye report., leading to the government’s announcement of merging, subsuming, scrapping and relocation of several agencies of the government.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has applauded President Bola Tinubu for ordering the full implementation of the 2012 Stephen Oronsaye report.
Submitted in 2012, the Oronsaye report on public sector reforms revealed that there are 541 — statutory and non-statutory —Federal Government parastatals, commissions, and agencies.
A year earlier, the then President Goodluck Jonathan had set up the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, under the leadership of former Head of Civil Service, Stephen Oronsaye.
The 800-page report recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies be slashed to 161; 38 agencies be scrapped; 52 be merged and 14 be reverted to departments in various ministries.
The report also recommends that the law establishing the National Salaries and Wages Commission be repealed and its functions taken over by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
It advised the FG to merge the nation’s top three anti-corruption agencies—the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
In a series of posts he made on his X handle on Wednesday, Obi said that if he had been elected the Nigerian President, he would have also implemented the Oronsaye Report as his position on the report was included in his campaign manifesto.
I have received several text messages from people wanting to know if I would have implemented the Oronsaye Report, which full implementation has just been directed by the President. In response to their questions,
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) February 28, 2024
Obi, who noted that the implementation of the report is long overdue, stressing that being in opposition parties does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticism, rather, whenever the government takes the right decision, the opposition members should agree and if need be, propose related or better ideas to move the nation forward.
He said, “I have received several text messages from people wanting to know if I would have implemented the Oronsaye Report, which full implementation has just been directed by the President.
“In response to their questions, I would like to refer everyone to my Manifesto and my response to similar questions during my campaigns. On the 5th of October, 2022 at Harvard University, I was asked: "Will you implement the Oronsaye Report?" and I responded in the affirmative.
“I went further to explain that implementing the report is one of the best ways to make governance efficient, cost-effective, and productive. Being in opposition does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticism. Whenever the government takes the right decision, we should agree and if need be, propose related or even better ideas to move the nation forward.
“I have always been an advocate of the 3 critical components of the Oronsaye Report, which are: i) drastically cutting the cost of governance; ii) eliminating the overlapping of responsibilities to ensure that responsibilities are appropriately domiciled; and iii) increasing efficiency and effectiveness, which will increase productivity.
“Although the implementation of the report is long overdue, its implementation is a welcome development so long as the decision is informed by these principles. Beyond implementing the Oronsaye Report, the government should go further and cut the cost of governance across board.
“Having found it imperative to implement the Report, the government should now do away with the bogus and needless wastages of our scarce resources on frivolous issues, and deploy such funds to the critical areas of Education, Health, and pulling people out of poverty.
“However, we must not rush to implement the Oronsaye Report just because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil servants. A very deep understanding of the workings of the Federal bureaucracy will be required to effectively implement the Report.
“Grasping the symetries between the federal and the other tiers of government will be imperative as Federal agencies have branches and outreaches in all the 36 states. We, the political leaders, should be ready to back up such implementation with our sacrifices from comfort and selfishness, for the overall development of the nation.
“In implementing this 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.
“Also Nigerians are yet to be informed about the extant White Paper pertinent to the report's implementation. Moreover, you cannot ask those who are likely to be affected by the downsizing to manage the process.
“Government must also show clearly the amount of resources to be saved in the implied shrinking of government. It should also indicate clearly where and how the saved resources are to be redeployed.”