Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has constituted a committee that will ensure that necessary restructuring and legislative amendments that will ensure full actualization of the approvals on merger, scrapping and subsuming of agencies and departments are realized within 12 weeks.
The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman made this known to State House Correspondents on the adoption of Oronsanye report of 2012.
President Tinubu has established a committee, as conveyed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Mrs Hadiza Bala-Usman, to carry out the mergers, eliminations, and relocations within a 12-week timeframe.
⁰ In 2012, the Oronsaye report on public sector reforms… pic.twitter.com/07uUXnCSp6— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) February 26, 2024
Bala Usman mentioned the Secretary to the Government of Federation, George Akume as the chair of the committee; the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, member; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi as a member; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, member; the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reform, member; the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination is a member; the two Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly are members; and the Cabinet Affairs Office will serve as secretariat.
“In addition, Mr President constituted a committee that will work within 12 weeks to ensure that the necessary restructuring and legislative amendments that are needed to ensure that full actualization of these approvals was granted. He tasked this committee with immediate terms of reference to proceed and ensure all of these are done within 12 weeks.” The Special Adviser to the President stated.
Merged/Scrapped/Subsumed Agencies
Reeling out the agencies already approved for merger by the Federal Executive Council, Bala Usman listed that the National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) is to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health.
The National Emergency Management Agency to be merged with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons; the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa to be merged with the Directorate of Technical Aid and to function as a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprises; Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to be merged with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure to be merged with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization and Project Development Institute.
The National Biotechnology Development Agency is to be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology; the National Institute for Leather Science Technology is to be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology; the Nomadic Education Commission is to merge with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non-formal Education.
The Federal Radio Corporation to be merged with the Voice of Nigeria; the National Commission for Museum and Monuments to be merged with the National Gallery of Arts; the National Theatre to be merged with the National Troupe of Nigeria; the National Metrological Development Centre to be merged with the National Metrological Training Institute.
The Nigerian Army University, Biu, to be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy, to function as a faculty within the Nigerian Defence Academy; Air Force Institute of Technology also to be merged with the Nigerian Defence Academy, to function as a faculty of Nigerian Defence Academy.
Subsumed: Bala Usman stated that the Service Compact with Nigeria (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform; the Border Communities Development Agency to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission.
The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission is to be subsumed into the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission.
The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution is to be subsumed under the Institute for International Affairs; the Public Complaints Commission is to be subsumed under the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed into the Institute for Veterinary Research is; the National Medicine Development Agency to be subsumed under the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission is to be subsumed under the Nigerian Pension Commission.
Agencies to be relocated, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company to be relocated to the Ministry of Power; the National Agricultural Land Development Agency to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; the National Blood Service Commission to be converted into an agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health; the Nigerian Diaspora Commission to be converted into an agency and to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Clarification On Merger
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris clarified that the merger of two federal government agencies or departments does not translate to the loss of jobs but that the efficiency of staff would be prioritized.
Idris stated that the Executives will work with the National Assembly to modify laws establishing the agencies affected by the merger.
“The fact that two agencies would be merged does not mean that you will lose jobs but of course, you know that efficiency will come in and if it comes in and there is the discovery that somebody is not doing what he should do he will be supported to go elsewhere or create another avenue for him to get employed the whole idea is not to throw people out of a job the whole idea is to make it most possible for the government to save funds where necessary.
“There are instances where some of these agencies are doing the same functions so the government thought that it is important that you look at those and bring them together so that money would be saved.
“We will work with the National Assembly, there are regulatory frameworks that are in place that some of these agencies were created by acts of parliament so you cannot take them out and there would be coordination between the executive.” The Minister added.
Idris described the decision as a landmark resolution, he explained that the pronouncements of the council to adopt the Oronsaye report are in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision.
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