Tinubu directs full implementation of Oronsaye report to cut size of government

President Bola Tinubu has directed the full implementation of the Oronsaye report.⁣

The Oronsaye report on public sector reforms, submitted in 2012, revealed that there are 541 statutory and non-statutory—federal government parastatals, commissions and agencies.⁣

Speaking with journalists at the end of the federal executive council (FEC) on Monday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information, said Tinubu has approved some reforms based on the Oronsaye report.

Idris said numerous agencies would be eliminated, others combined or restructured to cut governance costs.

The minister assured workers that the move would not initially affect jobs.

“In a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye report,” the minister said.
⁣
“Now, what that means that a number of agencies, commissions and some departments have actually been scrapped.

“Some have been modified, marked while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where government feels they will operate better.”

On her part, Hadiza Bala-Usman, special adviser to the president on policy coordination, said Tinubu has constituted a committee to implement the report within 12 weeks.

The committee will be headed by George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF).

BACKGROUND

In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan constituted the Stephen Oronsaye-led panel to identify inadequacies in the country’s civil service.

In 2012, the committee submitted an 800-page report and recommended the abolishment and merging of 102 government agencies and parastatals.

The committee on the white paper for the report submitted its report in 2014.

Since the submission of the report, the recommendations have not been implemented.

However, several committees and sub-committees were established to implement the report’s recommendations.

In November 2021, the federal government inaugurated two sub-committees chaired by former heads of service of the federation — Bukar Aji, Amal Pepple and Oladapo Afolabi – on the implementation of the report.

The two sub-committees were tasked with the implementation of a white paper on the restructuring of ministries, departments and agencies to reduce the cost of governance.

In July 2022, the federal government inaugurated a white paper committee to review ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) created since 2014.

⁣
⁣