ABUJA – The continuous existence of some Federal Government agencies and parastatals was put in doubt yesterday as the Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of federal agencies said their creation was an aberration and a drain on national purse.

Some of these agencies which the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Steve Orasanye, questioned their establishment when he submitted the report of the committee to President Goodluck Jonathan included the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, Federal Road Safety Commission and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency.

According to Orosanye, the creation of some of the agencies was not borne out of altruism but selfish interest without regard to existing laws.

He said: “One case that stands out clearly in this regard is that of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), which should not be in existence in its present form.”

While acknowledging that the body has been quite active, the committee observed that what FRSC was set up to do is a replication of the mandates of two existing bodies, the Highway Department of the Federal Ministry of Works with respect to the maintenance of safety and orderliness on our highways and the role of the Nigeria Police Force in ensuring law and order on our roads.

“Indeed, it is a fundamental breach of acceptable practice of good public sector governance to create a new agency or institution as a response to the seeming failure or poor performance of an existing agency in order to suit political or individual interests.

”Such a practice has proved eventually to precipitate systemic conflicts, crises and even collapse at a substantial but avoidably high financial cost to government,” he said.

He added that “The setting up of FRSC to take over partially the functions already apportioned by law to the Federal Ministry of Works and the Nigeria Police Force as a result of seeming poor performance and/or to satisfy political and individual interests is a typical example of misadventure in the public sector at a great cost to government.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/cttee-wants-efcc-icpc-frsc-others-scrapped/