FOLLOWING President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to consider the recommendations of Stephen Oransaye-led report on Restructuring and Rationalisation of the Federal Government’s Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, there are seven major government agencies considered for scrap.
These agencies are the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, National Poverty Eradication Programme, Utilities Charges Commission (UCC), National Economic Intelligence Committee, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
In the 103 pages of the white paper, the report stated that the Act establishing the listed agencies should be repealed, while also suggesting the merger of other bodies with similar responsibilities.
The document which was prepared by a seven-member committee and inaugurated on 18th August 2011 by the former President Goodluck Jonathan was expected to fully take effect in 2014 but was not implemented.
Nine years after it was inaugurated, Buhari on Thursday, 30th April directed Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and Head of Service (HoS) dr. Folashade Yemi Esan to implement the report so as to prune down the cost of governance, as the COVID-19 pandemic bites hard on the country’s economy.
“It has reviewed the whole of the size of government and has made very significant recommendations in terms of reducing the number of agencies and that would mean merging some agencies,” said Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
“This is a report that has been in place for a long time and there hasn’t been implementation but the president has approved that this should be implemented and we have conveyed Mr President’s approval to the arms of government that are responsible for this and that will be the office of the secretary of government and the head of the civil service of the federation.”
The Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), an agency established to initiate government reform policies also acknowledged the changes in a tweet on Thursday.
The ICIR here highlights the functions of the seven agencies listed for scrap.
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) was established in 2007 by the Act of parliament to ensure prudent government expenditure. It also performs almost similar responsibilities with the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The Committee advised that the FRC be closed down, a recommendation which was accepted by the Jonathan-led administration. Mohammed Adoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Minister of Justice were further directed to commence needed actions to scrap the commission.
It was agreed that the RMAFC should also perform the responsibilities of FRC while the law establishing the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) should be repealed.
In view of this, activities of the NSIWC are to be governed by the RMAFC Act.
“The Committee recommends that the fiscal responsibility commission be abolished and its enabling law repealed as RMAFC is already empowered by the Constitution to carry out the functions,” it stated.
National Poverty Eradication Programme
The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) is an initiative of the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, designed in 2001 to help reduce poverty in the country.
But, it is part of the programmes pencilled for scrap. The committee recommended that NAPEP should be integrated into a new organisation known as the National Agency for Job Creation and Empowerment (NAJCE) alongside Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
While the federal government agreed to scrap NAPEP, it rejected NAJCE.

Utilities Charges Commission (UCC)
The Utilities Charges Commission is an agency of the FG established under Cap Law in 2004 and amended in 2016. It is meant to monitor charges and advise the government on tariffs charged by any of the public utilities.
The Oransaye Committee, however, advised that the law which sets up the commission be abolished and other enabling laws repealed. Existing staff of the commission were directed to be redeployed to the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation; since the workers are public servants.
“Government accepts this recommendation and directs that the process of repealing the enabling law should be initiated by the OSGF,” the document stated.

National Economic Intelligence Committee
The National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) Act (1994) domiciled in the Presidency has the responsibility to analyse the annual budget and enforce fiscal measures that could help achieve revenue targets, grow the economy and other related matters such as tax evasion.
The 13-member committee is empowered to monitor monetary guidelines issued by the Central Bank on Nigeria (CBN), enforce existing tax regulations and give situation report of its activities on a quarterly basis to the president.
“The NEIC should be scrapped and its enabling law repealed, and further budgetary allocations to NEIC cease forthwith,” the Commission recommended.

Federal Road Safety Corps
Further, the Committee also recommended the disbandment of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Though the advice was rejected by the past administration, the committee argued that road safety management and highway patrol should be the primary responsibility of the Police as obtainable in other developed nations.
The FRSC officials, the committee added should be redeployed to the Police Service Commission (PSC), Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the Vehicle Inspection Office in the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA).

Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) and National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON)
The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) and National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) are among federal government agencies the committee advised should be scrapped.
Oransaye’s report said rather than sponsoring pilgrims, the government should restrict itself to providing the needed vaccines and consular supports.
Functions of the commissions were asked to be taken over by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Though the Jonathan administration rejected recommendations for these two commissions, it is unclear if the current government would accept it, considering the current economic reality in the country and global oil market.
“The federal government should stop sponsoring pilgrims and pilgrimages with effect from the 2012 fiscal year, and government stop granting concessionary foreign exchange rate to pilgrims,” the Committee advised.

including EFCC and FRSC

Hmm. People are going to loose jobs

@Yenefer you stole my FTC

Let them include the Senate house too, we need to cut government cost by all means.

This gonna be hot

Igbasonproff1:
Hmm. People are going to loose jobs

@Yenefer you stole my FTC

what do u want to comment lemme put it there

Road safety shld b merged with d police... No doubt so many departments and agencies are completely irrelevant

The FRSC own na im sweet me pass!

I support the scrapping of FRSC. They are no different from the Police. Chronic bribe takers!

Lol. Scrap ke

What I read up there simply shows that these 'extraneous' agencies will simply be merged with other agencies. In other words, number of agencies reduce, manpower remains constant.

But no be today Nigeria start to spoil sha...secular nation but we still sponsor religious pilgrimages for thousands of people annually. SMH.


If Buhari's only achievement is scrapping those pilgrimage bodies, he would have achieved no mean feat.

Igbasonproff1:
Hmm. People are going to loose jobs

@Yenefer you stole my FTC

nothing like self employed I hate government job .u will employ today tomorrow you become unemploy

Lol,
They are not disbanding FRSC
I have the full report with me.

They only made adjustments to some things in FRSC act

You mean there wouldn't be new alhaji from government money. Aboki will not like this.

This will be a welcome development.Why should religious rituals be sponsored @ the expense of the state? Meanwhile, cut the cost of governance by reducing your allowance, no.of aides, conversion to a uni-cameral legislation.

Even ministry of niger delta and nddc...nothing come out.

Thank GOD china ti takeover.

Akaegwu:
You mean there wouldn't be new alhaji from government money. Aboki will not like this.

It should ordinarily be a welcome development, but I doubt that a proven religious fundamentalist such as Buhari would have the gumption to approve the dissolution of those bodies.

Nigeria should be disbanded and let people go their different ways.

Nbote:
Road safety shld b merged with d police... No doubt so many departments and agencies are completely irrelevant

I disagree with you,because police are freaking lazy,and corrupt but rather FRSC and V.I.O be merged
efcc and icpc
nta,frcn and v.I.o

They should include the country's constitution there.

It needs to be torn, discarded, and re-written.

Therein lies the solution to most of the problems bedeviling this country.

FRSC fund must go to amotekun. Meanwhile Dont ask for my head please.

Vision 2020:
I see people losing their job

Racoon:
This will be a welcome development.Why should religious rituals be sponsored @ the expense of the state? Meanwhile, cut the cost of governance by reducing your allowance, no.of aides, conversion to a uni-cameral legislation.

I tell you, no religious ritual should be sponsored by the state and there is no need for any agency in that regard

Let them include navy n airforce,, they are non essentials.. Am telling u.. Infact some of them will even tell themselves the truth about not doing anything apart from writing memo..

Or better still,, they should reduce their salaries.. Its just a waste of money..

2020, year of correction and ammendments.


I totally support all especially Christian pilgrimage and hajj commission. NYSC, NURTW a.k.a agbero and political thugery networks, and red chambers should be totally scrapped too. Green chambers should be reviewed and reduce the constituent seats per state. Nigeria police and other paramillitary organisations should be reformed.


Above all, nothing seems working due to decayed and rotten system, let us secede. That's the only permanent solution, nothing else...


Vision NoElection2023..

Recession Recession Recession

our brain is slowly resetting ..next is trimming down aides for politicians


.

frsc especially has no relevance, they can be merged back into the Police to be part of the yellow fever guys

Yenefer:
including EFCC and FRSC

Where did you see EFCC there?

You always reason with your feet

The whole world will go right, you will go left

Useless Tsephanayah

The decision stems from the Oronsaye committee report, although it is just still been looked into. Hopefully, they're able to surmount the hurdles of vested interest and finally fix one of the endemic issue in the civil service.

If you don't sack workers, then what's the essence? You merge, scrap, and then redeploy... The same thing. No significant cost savings would accrue.

The government workforce is ridiculously and unsustainably overbloated. It needs to be cut by half at least. Let people learn how to EARN a living by being PRODUCTIVE and by adding value in exchange for money. Go and learn a trade or learn 'handwork' or whatever and stop leeching on public resources in the name of collecting salary for doing nothing.

This craze for government jobs need to stop. Every mediocre idiot with connection would sneak into one FG job or the other and start carrying shoulder, even though he contributes absolutely zero value. That's why the bulk of our annual budget is wasted on very useless recurrent expenditure. No country can make progress with this jagbajantis jamboree system.

Nonsense.

I pray the government has the political will to carry out this reform.

It's one of the many steps in taking Nigeria up from her knees.