Following the recommendations of the
presidential committee on the
rationalisation and restructuring of its
parastatals, headed by Mr. Stephen
Oronsaye, the federal government has
finally approved the scrapping of some
of its agencies.
LEADERSHIP can authoritatively
reveal that the agencies pencilled
down to be scrapped include the
Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination (UMTE), National
Examinations Council (NECO), Public
Complaints Commission, and National
Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP), among others.
Dependable sources close to the
committee confirmed that the decision
was taken at a meeting between
President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice
President Namadi Sambo and some
presidential aides, who met twice at
the presidential villa. They were said
to have acted based on the advice of
the White Paper Committee set up by
the president to look into the report.
The Orosanye-led committee had in its
recommendation, which it presented
to the president in April last year,
asked Jonathan to scrap 38 agencies,
merge 52 and the revert 14 others to
departments in the ministries from
which they were created.
It said this was in response for calls by
Nigerians to cut cost of governance as
it will save the country over
N862billion between 2012 and 2015
and eliminate duplication of functions.
Also, the Public Complaints
Commission, it was learnt, is to be
merged with the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) , while
NAPEP will also be scrapped and be
replaced the National Agency for Job
Creation and Empowerment.
One of the sources who spoke to
LEADERSHIP on condition of
anonymity last night revealed that
Jonathan had also, at the meeting,
approved that the West African
Examinations Council (WAEC) should
take over the functions, including all
infrastructure, of NECO which ceases
to exist henceforth.
The source said, “WAEC would now
conduct two external examinations in
a year, with one done in January while
the second would be conducted in
November of every year.”
The scrapping of the UTME, he added,
would entail that every university in
the country would now conduct their
own admission examinations for
students, while the Joint Admissions
and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will
act as regulating body and the clearing
house in ensuring compliance to
standards.
The source said: “The process will be
modelled along the line of Universities
and Colleges Admission Service
(UCAS), the central organisation
through which applications are
processed for entry to higher
education in the United Kingdom.
“Individual university will now do its
own examinations and admissions. If
you want to apply to a university, you
do so but in order not to have a
situation where one person gets
multiple admissions, JAMB acts a
clearing house to free up spaces. All
the universities are free now to admit
students.”
LEADERSHIP also gathered that,
worried over the system’s inability to
promote merit when admitting
applicants into the universities in the
country, government had no choice
but to take the action with a view to
“ensure that the best students go to the
best universities.”

Good one!

leonaidas: Good one!

good one ke! What about the jobs that will be lost? Government should try to scrap corrucption first and free up fund trap in that area b4 going after harmless peaple.

Very, very GOOD moves. Oronsaye's report bn implementd at last.... GEJ is becoming the leada who wud reduce d unnecessary Bureaucracy and high Cost of Governance in an Effective way in Nigeria. He had bn reducing d Cost of Governance, and this IF true, wud even escalate dat decrease significantly with time. Good job, Mr President

taharqa: Very, very GOOD moves. Oronsaye's report bn implementd at last.... GEJ is becoming the leada who wud reduce d unnecessary Bureaucracy and high Cost of Governance in an Effective way in Nigeria. He had bn reducing d Cost of Governance, and this IF true, wud even escalate dat decrease significantly with time. Good job, Mr President

You know what?
This are really good moves which should be commended but GEJ will disappoint us as usual. Not cynical but just what pdp and GEJ are noted for.

taharqa: Very, very GOOD moves. Oronsaye's report bn implementd at last.... GEJ is becoming the leada who wud reduce d unnecessary Bureaucracy and high Cost of Governance in an Effective way in Nigeria. He had bn reducing d Cost of Governance, and this IF true, wud even escalate dat decrease significantly with time. Good job, Mr President

The noise about non-implimentation of committee reports was just mere distraction. Opposition often splash mischief at some gullible Nigerians and they swallow it hook, line and sinker.Implimenting a committe report takes time and gradually. Nigeria does not even have the required shocks to absorb such immediate drastic changes as will be spelt out in a committee report so why all the hue and cry? Besides, committee reports are only advisory and may not always be right.

@topic
I think I prefer JAMB UTME to be retained.
But we do not need NECO. NECO has got no standards at all.

Not sure what napep is, but the jamb decision must be far reaching.

What are the implications of scrapping jamb?

seanet01: You know what?
This are really good moves which should be commended but GEJ will disappoint us as usual. Not cynical but just what pdp and GEJ are noted for.

Bros, I honesty do not know hw yr PERSONAL Sentiments as it relates to d person of d President affects me in d least. I hv a very very HIGH view of him (as you must hv known by now), and if you were following events recently, you wud know why... GEJ has his own peculiar style, every leada does; BUT he gets stuff done Eventuali. Why shld I complain...