Nigeria: Tinubu orders comprehensive overhaul of government agencies based on Oronsaye Report
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has directed the full implementation of the Oronsaye report in a significant move aimed at streamlining government operations.
Implementing the Oronsaye report will lead to the merging, subsuming, scrapping, and relocation of numerous government agencies.
The decision was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, following Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Idris emphasised the boldness of the administration, under President Tinubu’s leadership, in making far-reaching decisions for the betterment of Nigeria.
He explained that the implementation of the Oronsaye Report entails the scrapping of certain agencies, modification of others, and the relocation of some to different ministries for enhanced operational efficiency.
“In a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye Report.
“Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped. Some have been modified, and marked 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,” said Idris.
President Tinubu has appointed a committee to oversee the execution of the mergers, scrapping, and relocations within a 12-week timeframe, as announced by Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Coordination.
The Oronsaye report, submitted in 2012, highlighted the existence of 541 Federal Government parastatals, commissions, and agencies, both statutory and non-statutory.
It recommended substantial reforms, including reducing the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, scrapping 38 agencies, merging 52, and reverting 14 to departments within ministries.
Moreover, the report proposed repealing the law establishing the National Salaries and Wages Commission and transferring its functions to the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
Additionally, it suggested merging 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 – for more effective coordination in combating corruption.
