26th February, 2024
By Ismail Abdulaziz
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the merging, scrapping and subsuming of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government in line with its policy of reducing cost of governance.
Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, made this known at the end of the second FEC meeting of the year.
She said that the decision was based on the Steve Oronsaye Report on civil service report inaugurated under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration since 2014.
For agencies that would undergo merger, Bala-Usman said the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria is to be merged with the Voice of Nigeria while the National Commission for Museum and monuments is to be merged with the National Gallery of Acts.
She said the National Theatre is to be merged with National Troupe of Nigeria while the National Meteorological Development Centre is to be merged with the National Meteorological Training Institute.
‘’National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health while National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to be merge with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons.
‘’The Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa will 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 Bureau for Public Enterprises.
‘’Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to be merged with Nigerian Export Promotion Council while the National Agency for Science and Technology and Science and Engineering Infrastructure to be merged with National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and the Project Development Institute,” she said.
The Special Adviser further revealed that the National Biotechnology Development Agency will be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology.
She said the National Institute for Leather Science Technology will be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology;
Bala-Usman said the Nomadic Education Commission will be merged with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non-formal Education.
She said the Nigerian Army University will be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as a faculty within the Nigerian Defence Academy.
Similarly, the Air Force Institute of Technology also will be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy to function as the faculty of Nigerian Defence Academy.
On the agencies to be subsumed, Bala-Usman said the Service Compact with Nigeria (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under the Bureau of Public Service Reform.
She said the border Communities Development Agency will be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission.
‘’The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission to be subsumed into the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission while 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 while 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 while the National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission to be subsumed under the Nigerian pension commission,” she said.
On the agencies to be relocated, the President’s aide said the Niger Delta Power Holding Company to be relocated to the Ministry of Power while the National Agricultural Land Development Agency to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
She said the National Blood Service Commission will be converted into an agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health while the Nigerian Diaspora Commission to be converted into an agency and to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Bala-Usman said the President had constituted a committee that would work within a 12-week period to ensure that the necessary restructuring and legislative amendments needed to ensure full actualization of these approvals was granted.