26th May, 2024
Analysis by Okon Okon, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
The trajectory of implementing the Stephen Oronsaye-led committee report on federal civil service reform on learner government can be likened to the popular idiom and fable of belling the cat.
Simply put, “Who will bell the cat?”, the idiom translates to being brave enough to do something that will be for the good and benefit of all, but it is considered, dangerous or difficult to achieve.
According to Wikipedia, the fable that gives rise to the idiom “concerns a group of mice who debate plans to nullify the threat of a marauding cat.
“One of them proposes placing a bell around its neck so that they are warned of its approach.
“The plan is applauded by the others until one mouse asks, who will volunteer to place the bell on the cat. All of them make excuses.”
Everybody seems to agree that we’ve got to bell the cat, but no one wants to step forward and volunteer to lead.
The Federal Government during former President Goodluck Jonathan, took a wise decision to run the nation`s governance in such a way as to ease some of the financial burden in the country. To achieve this, Jonathan’s government formed a committee headed by Mr Steven Oronsaye, who was a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The committee came up with the idea of merging some of the parastatal agencies into Ministry Departments and Agencies so as to reduce the costs of governance in the country.
The idea was to scrap and merge 220 out of the then existing 541 government agencies.
The committee was seen, not only as a palliative measure that serves as the foundation for reducing the cost of governance but to also ensure the effective means of reforming the nation`s civil service.
The report which was first issued in 2012 received the Federal Executive Council`s approval for review, restructure and recommendations for the implementation of the White Paper for rationalisation of some agencies.
But unfortunately, Jonathan`s government could not go beyond the stage of presentation of the White Paper until the administration came to an end.
Again, coming on board, former President Muhammadu Buhari`s administration set up another committee to look into the significance of Oronsaye report, still aiming at restructuring/rationalising the agencies.
Buhari set up another three sub-committees headed by former Heads of Service of the Federation – Bukar Aji, Amal Pepple and Ebele Okeke.
He promised to implement the report, citing dwindling resources and rising costs of governance as major reasons to merge some of the agencies.
The committees were given different tasks to review the Oronsaye report led by Goni Aji, review of agencies established from 2014 to 2021 led by Amal Pepple and publish the White Paper on the reports of the first two committees, chaired by Ebele Okeke.
Inaugurating the committees, Buhari who was represented by Mr Boss Mustapha, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said: “I have directed that the Orosanye White Paper Report be subjected to immediate review to enable the government take the most appropriate decision on its general recommendation.
“I am aware that the review is about to be completed while some may complain about the length of time it has taken thus far.
“The outcome of the various review teams would lead to some fundamental changes in the structure of our civil service and as such it must be subjected to rigorous review and scrutiny before presentation and implementation.’’
He assured that his administration remained focused on strengthening the service and ensuring it helped the government fulfil its objectives.
Meanwhile, Ebele Okeke in her response noted that it was pertinent to liaise with the leadership of the National Assembly to achieve the desired result, adding that most of the agencies created were products of bills from them.
Coming on board, President Bola Tinubu also put into consideration the significance of the reports so as to achieve part of his administration`s agenda in reforming the civil service sector.
It will be recalled that the President on Feb. 26 ordered the full implementation of the Oronsaye report.
On March 7, he inaugurated an 11-member committee to implement the approved recommendations of the report. The president was represented at the inaugural ceremony by Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Tinubu explained that the implementation of the White Paper on the report would involve the merger, relocation, subsuming or scrapping of some of the parastatals, agencies, and commissions.
He said that the exercise was meant to reduce the cost of governance and streamline efficiency across the governance value chain. Tinubu said the committee would review the current mandates of the affected parastatals, agencies and commissions to understand their existing functions, responsibilities and objectives. The committee was given 12 weeks within which to submit its report.
“The committee would also identify redundancies and overlaps or conflicting objectives among the mandates of different organisational units.
“Other guidelines are to define strategic objectives to ensure the revised mandates align with the strategic objectives and priorities of the government.
“It is also expected to engage key stakeholders and gather inputs and feedback on the proposed revisions to the mandates, among others,” he said.
Approval for the implementation of the Oronsaye report is coming 12 years after the panel submitted its report and multiple attempts were made at implementing its recommendations.
Commenting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the move was meant, not only to reduce the cost of governance but to free up monies for reinvestment into developmental projects.
According to him, the Nigerian government could save over N241 billion if the report is duly implemented.
“The goal is to fine-tune and to restructure government operations as a whole and to reduce the cost of governance because some of these agencies are performing very similar functions.
“So the government thought it wise that there is the need – since this committee had already been set up, the white paper has already been produced to take a bold decision to revisit that,” he said.