• Committee set up to clear administrative, legal hurdles
• Army University to merge with NDA
• FG to pay unemployed youths

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), yesterday, approved the implementation of some aspects of the Report of the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, which is popularly called the Steve Oronsaye Report.

The announcement came about six months after Tinubu bloated the size of public service through an enlarged cabinet, and increased the cost of governance, contrary to expectations.

Tinubu, who promised to make tough decisions and give priority to the survival of the economy, has the largest cabinet in the history of Nigeria’s democracy with close to 50 ministers in charge of the country.

On assumption of office, the President created about half a dozen new ministries to the chagrin of pro-lean government activities and raising concern about the sustainability of the new ministries.

Some of the new ministries include the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Ministry of Tourism (carved out of the former Ministry of Culture and tourism), Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Ministry of Gas Resources, Ministry of Steel Development and the Ministry of Youth Development. Ministries of Health and Aviation among others were expanded to include new areas.

The new ministries were additions to the ones created by President Muhammadu Buhari, who created the Ministries of Humanitarian Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Disaster Management as well as Special Duties. The newly created ministries also have plug-in departments and agencies that have become major drains on resources.

Tinubu’s decision to add to the existing burden of governance, the President’s men explained, was a necessary step towards driving the diversification agenda of the administration and a strategic plan to focus on hitherto ignored critical sectors such as the blue economy that would drive the new direction.

The government may have realised the impacts of a bloated public sector on the falling revenues. Just last week, the Vice President, Kashim Shetima, blamed the revenue crisis the country has faced on the inefficient ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) over the years.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed at the FEC meeting in the State House, Abuja, that the go-ahead was given in a bold move and consistent with the president’s ”courage to do what is right for Nigeria and reduce the cost of governance”.

The minister said the implementation of the report means that some agencies, commissions and departments of government have been scrapped, merged, subsumed and others moved under new ministries.

To resolve in days ahead, however, are some inherent contradictions in the recommendations. For instance, the committee recommended that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) be merged into a body known as Federal Civil Aviation Authority, on the premise of saving the government over N97.9 billion. But such mergers of regulators and service providers are safety risks in the global aviation industry.

Buhari’s administration had produced a 2022 white paper on the Oronsaye Report to account for the changes that had taken place between 2012, when the original report was submitted, and 2021.

The white paper was concluded and submitted in late 2022 but not implemented before May last year when Tinubu assumed leadership, a former member of Buhari’s media team, Tolu Ogunlesi, tweeted yesterday.

According to the 2022 white paper, the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission will be subsumed under the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which may require constitutional arrangement as RMAFC was established by the Constitution.

The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) will be merged under the Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession Commission while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will absorb the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) is to be scrapped and its functions transferred to the Federal Ministry of Finance just as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) will merge to become the National Emergency and Refugee Management Commission.

The Border Communities Development Agency is to be merged as a department under the National Boundary Commission as the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will be merged.

Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and Voice of Nigeria (VON) are merged into one entity to be known as the Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria. The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) will merge into a single entity in the new arrangement while the National Theatre will join the National Troupe.

Despite the far-reaching realignment and scrapping of agencies, Idris promised that the arrangement would not lead to loss of jobs.

He explained: “What this means is that several agencies, commissions and some departments have been scrapped, some have been merged, while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where the government feels they will operate better.

“This is a very far-reaching decision. It is aimed, one, to fine-tune or restructure government operations. Secondly, it is in line also with the decision of President Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance.”

The special adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, gave details of the agencies involved saying: “For agencies that are required to be merged, I will take it; NACA to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health.

“NEMA to be merged with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons; the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa to be merged with the Directorate of Technical Aid and to function as a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprises; Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to be merged with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council while the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure to be merged with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation and Project Development Institute.”

She added: “The National Biotechnology Development Agency is to be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology. The National Institute for Leather Science Technology is to be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology; the Nomadic Education Commission is to be merged with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non-formal Education.

“The Federal Radio Corporation to be merged with the Voice of Nigeria; the National Commission for Museum and Monuments to be merged with the National Gallery of Arts; the National Theatre to be merged with the National Troupe of Nigeria; the National Metrological Development Centre to be merged with the National Metrological Training Institute.

“The Nigerian Army University, Biu, to be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as a faculty within the Nigerian Defence Academy; Air Force Institute of Technology also to be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as a faculty of Nigerian Defence Academy.

“The Service Compact with Nigeria (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform; the Border Communities Development Agency to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission. The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission is to be subsumed into the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

“The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be subsumed under the Institute for International Affairs; the Public Complaints Commission to be subsumed under the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed into the Institute for Veterinary Research; the National Medicine Development Agency to be subsumed under the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission is to be subsumed under the Nigerian Pension Commission.

Usman disclosed that the Niger Delta Power Holding Company would be relocated to the Ministry of Power while the National Agricultural Land Development Agency will move to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Usman said the President has constituted a committee that will, in 12 weeks, ensure that the necessary restructuring and legislative amendments are needed to ensure full actualisation of the approvals granted.

She said Tinubu tasked the committee to proceed and ensure all terms of reference are achieved in 12 weeks.

The committee is to be chaired by the Secretary to the Government of Federation, George Akume.

Also speaking, the minister of finance and coordinating minister for economy, Wale Edun, disclosed that the President directed the design of a social security unemployment programme where unemployed Nigerian youths will be paid.

“At this period of heightened food prices, President has committed to doing all that can be done to assist in giving purchasing power to the poorest and in that line, he has committed and instructed that the Social Security unemployment programme be devised, particularly to cater for the youths, unemployed graduates as well as the society as a whole.”