ADOPTION OF STEPHEN ORONSAYA REPORT AND ITS POSITIVE EFFECTS.
Issues emanating from the merger, subsuming and scrapping of some Federal departments and agencies in Nigeria.
1. On Monday, February 27, 2024, the news came, after the end of a meeting of the federal executive council that following decisions taken, President Tinubu has directed that the report of Stephen Oronsaye Panel set up some years back, be implemented in full forthwith.
2. It will be recalled that sometime in 2011 under the tenure of President Jonathan, a Panel headed by a retired Head of Service of the Federation, Mr Stephen Oronsaye was set up to prune down on the number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) – especially those performing similar functions, at the Federal level of government in Nigeria. Some of the motives of doing this were to do away with the duplication of roles/ functions by the MDAs in addition to cutting down on the cost of governance in the conduct of Nigeria’s affairs.
3. Curiously, after the Panel completed its work, submitted its report in 2012 to President Jonathan with a white paper even issued on it by the government, President Jonathan failed to implement its recommendations. Not even the subsequent President Buhari administration which succeeded Prèsident Buhari had the political will to implement the report despite all the noise made about going ahead to implement it.
4. Today, President Tinubu has decided to implement the report wholesale. Going about its implementation the decision implies that Agencies like Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Bureau of Public Enterprise, National Human rights Commission, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) National Commission for Refugees, Border Communities Development Agency, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) SERVICOM, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) NCAM, NASENI, PRODA, National Gallery of Arts, National Theatre, Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Voice of Nigeria, Federal Road Safety Commission, ICPC, EFCC and Code of Conduct Bureau, etc will all be affected one way or the other.
5. Ordinarily, my perception about the implementation of this report is that it’s quite laudable, considering that it will reduce wastes in governance and make for efficiency in the discharge of responsibilities assigned to the MDAs. However, for this to make meaningful impact, other complementary measures must be adopted. Some of these are as itemized below;-
a) drastically reducing the number of Ministers appointed. This should be reduced from the present number of 48 to twelve. Towards this end, the Ministers should be appointed based on merit, with two representing each of the six Geopolitical zones in Nigeria. This may look contentious if not even annoying to some persons, especially politicians in our midst who see the present arrangement as a way of ensuring political patronage for party loyalists. Come to look at it. If the USA which has 50 states as against Nigeria’s 36, a vast geographical land mass that dwarfs the size of Nigeria and a population that doubles that of Nigeria, has just eleven Secretaries (which is the equivalent position of a Minister in Nigeria) then what is Nigeria doing with as many as 48 Ministers?
What makes this more worrisome is that each of these Ministers is allocated four brand new cars, has fifteen Aides, five Security personnel, lush residential apartment and entitled to huge salary and countless number of sumptuous allowances.
b) slashing the Salaries and allowances of all political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria.
c) erstwhile political office holders like Governors, Deputy Governors and their likes who are enjoying pensions after exiting political power and are appointed or elected into any further political office, should not be entitled to Salaries. Instead, they should be paid allowances in their new offices.
d) legislators/parliamentarians in the country’s national assembly, state houses of assembly and local government legislative assembly should be made to serve on part-time basis and paid salaries akin to what is paid under the civil service salary structure in addition to sitting and transport allowances only.
e) scrapping of security votes usually paid to the President, Governors and local government Chairmen. Such monies should henceforth be appropriated to the annual budgets of the national security agencies.
f) the wide immunity powers enjoyed by the President and state Governors should be watered down such that they can henceforth be sued,tried and convicted at the law court for criminal offense committed even while still in office.
g) there should be a law banning the payment or receipt of foreign currency in transactions involving individuals, organizations and government within Nigeria. Instead, all such transactions should be done in Nigeria’s currency, the Naira,
h) the President Tinubu administration should provide incentives and basic infrastructure to help stimulate Agricultural production and manufacturing in in the country. This will help Nigeria conserve foreign reserves and ultimately earn her foreign exchange.
i) above all, Nigeria should be restructured, or preferably reset/re-jigged considering that some ‘powerful interests/cabal’ in the country do not want to hear the word ‘restructuring’. Towards this end, the over 58 items in the Exclusive list which entrust so much powers to the federal government (thus making the Nigerian President so powerful) should be drastically reduced to just three items comprising defense, currency matters and foreign affairs. By so doing, more items will then be in the Concurrent list on which both the state and federal government could legislate but with federal laws taking precedence where there are clashes. The implication of this arrangement is that it will guarantee for Nigeria true unity/cohesion in diversity considering that it will promote resource control, ensure that component states develop at their own pace, make for state police, encourage the harnessing and efficient utilization of resources, make for speedy overall development of the country, among numerous other benefits.
6. In concluding this piece, I would like to commend President Tinubu for this bold step being taken to cut down on the cost of governance in Nigeria. But for this measure to achieve its desired goal, these other suggestions highlighted here should be adopted to complement it. By so doing, Nigeria will, within a very short space of time, be enjoying true peace and maximum security, witnessing speedy development and taking her rightful place in the comity of nations.
Honourable Dave Esokpunwu.
Public Affairs Commentator.
