House Urges President Tinubu To Comprehensively Review Orasanya Report

The House of Representatives has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to comprehensively review the 2012 Orosanye’s Report, the Goni Aji Report which reviewed Orosanye’s Report, the White Paper released by the President Jonathan administration, the Ama Pepple White Paper and the Ebele Okeke White Paper in line with current realities in Nigeria.

While considering implementable alternatives that were in tune with current realities, which at the same time would have unintended consequences, impacts, implications and outcomes.

It also urged the Executive Arm of Government to develop and implement policies that would reposition the agricultural sector, the solid mineral sector and the informal sectors which would serve as alternatives to those that may be laid off consequentially while at the same time spurring economic growth.

The call followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance which called “On The President To Comprehensively Review The 2012 Oronsaye Report, All Other Related Reports And White Papers Before Implementation,” moved by Hon. Kama Nkemkanma Hon. Olumide Osoba Hon. Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi.

“The President Goodluck Jonathan administration, set up the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, headed by Stephen Oronsaye, a retired federal civil servant and former Head of Service of the Federation,”  the motion stated.

“Aware that the Oronsaye Committee, after their painstaking assignment, recommended the scrapping and merging of 220 out of the then existing 541 government agencies. 

“Also aware that the Committee’s 800-page report noted that the government’s parastatals and agencies’ functions are overlapping and therefore recommended the reduction of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, the abolition of 38 agencies, the merger of 52 and the reversion of 14 to departments in ministries and the management audit of 89 agencies capturing biometric features of staff as well as the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies/councils; 

The House further noted that in November 2021, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration inaugurated two committees; one of the committees Chaired by Goni Aji, a retired Head of Civil Service of the Federation, was to review the Orosanye report and the second committee, chaired by Ama Pepple, also a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, was constituted to review agencies created between 2014 and 2021.

The House also noted that the full implementation of the report would reduce cost of governance, with the current realities, the full implementation of the report will not substantially reduce the cost of governance as it does not reflect the current situation in the Public Service of the Federation.

The motion also said that the House was deeply worried that the full implementation of 2012 Oronsaye report in 2024 will certainly throw up unintended consequences, implications and outcomes.