Twenty-two weeks after President Bola Tinubu established a 10-member committee to implement the Oronsaye report, there’s been no word on its progress.
On February 26, Tinubu directed the full implementation of the Oronsaye report, which aims to streamline Nigeria’s bloated civil service by eliminating or merging various government agencies to reduce governance costs. Information Minister Mohammed Idris highlighted that several agencies would be affected by this decision.
The Oronsaye Report
The Oronsaye report, initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, was designed to identify inefficiencies in the civil service. The 800-page document, submitted in 2012, recommended scrapping or merging 102 government agencies and parastatals.
Despite several committees and sub-committees being formed over the years to implement these recommendations, little progress has been made.
In 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari set up two sub-committees to advance the implementation, yet the report remained unexecuted.
Even a 2022 committee to review agencies created since 2014 failed to make any significant headway.
Tinubu’s Committee
In February, Tinubu appointed George Akume to lead a new committee with a 12-week deadline to review and implement the Oronsaye report. The committee, comprising key government officials, was tasked with analyzing the mandates of affected ministries and identifying redundancies and overlaps.
The committee’s deadline passed on June 7, yet no recommendations have been publicly released.
National Assembly’s Contradictory Actions
Despite efforts to reduce government agencies, the National Assembly continues to pass bills establishing new ones. The House of Representatives’ special ad hoc committee on restructuring government agencies defended this, stating that legislative functions must continue even as the government reviews past activities.
Where is the Committee’s Report?
As of now, there’s been no official update on the committee’s findings. When questioned, Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information & Public Relations at the Office of the SGF, claimed that implementation of the Oronsaye report is already underway, with some agencies merged. However, he admitted he would need to consult further for more details.
The lack of transparency and the delay in releasing the committee’s report have raised concerns about the federal government’s commitment to civil service reform.
– Abubakar Yunusa Ojima-Ojo, a freelance journalist, writes from Abuja.
