26th February, 2024
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Some ministries, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government may be merged while others may be completely scrapped as the Federal Executive Council, FEC on Monday approved the implementation of the the Orosanye Report
This was one of the outcomes of FEC meeting held on Monday presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to journalists.
According to Idris, President Tinubu approved the implementation of the Orosanye report to reduce cost of governance.
He added that this means that some agencies, commissions and departments of government would be scrapped, some merged or subsumed under some others.
The Minister however said the adoption of the report did not mean people working in the affected agencies and departments would lose their jobs.
“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 Nigerians, has taken a decision to implement the so called Orosanye Report.
“Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped, some have been merged, while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where government feels they will operate better.
“Like I said, this is a very far-reaching decision. It is aimed, one, to fine-tune or to restructure government operations as a whole. Secondly, it’s in line also with decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance”, he said.
The former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan led Federal Government had in 2011 set up a committee led by former Head of Service, Stephen Oronsaye to come up with suggestions on how to reduce the huge bureacracy of the Federal Government.
The Committee tagged Presidential Commission on Restructuring and Rationalisation of the Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies had at the end of its work, recommended scrapping, merger or restructuring of many agencies and parastatals of government to reduce cost.
The Committee had recommended abolition of 38 Federal Agencies including the Public Complaints Commission, National Poverty Eradication Programme, Utilities Charges Commission, National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, National Intelligence Committee etc.
It also recommended the merger of 14 agencies into ministries as reduction of statutory agencies of the Federal Government from 263 to 161