Presidency Silent Over Delayed Implementation Of Oronsaye Panel Report

A year after the President Bola Tinubu-led administration approved the implementation of key recommendations from the 2012 Stephen Oronsaye panel report, concerns are growing as Nigerians seek updates on its execution.

Naijaonpoint reports that the approval was granted on February 26, 2024, with the Federal Government remaining largely silent on the progress of the implementation despite repeated inquiries.

At the time, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that the decision aligned with the Tinubu administration’s commitment to reducing the cost of governance.

He also confirmed that a committee, chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, was established with a 12-week deadline to implement the report.

The committee included the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, as well as two Senior Special Assistants to the President on National Assembly and Cabinet Affairs, who were tasked with serving as the secretariat.

Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Formulation, outlined the committee’s responsibilities, emphasizing that it was to oversee administrative restructuring and legislative amendments necessary for the full execution of the recommendations.

“The committee will look at the administrative restructuring and legislative amendments required to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations,” she explained.

“There are other aspects of recommendations that have also been passed to the committee to look at. It is important for us to appreciate the bold approval granted by the President at the FEC.”

Idris further clarified that the implementation involved the scrapping, merging, or restructuring of various government agencies, commissions, and departments, with some being reassigned to different ministries for better efficiency.

“This administration, under Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigerians, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Orosanye Report,” he said. “What that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped, some have been merged, while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where the government feels they will operate better.”

He assured, however, that employees in the affected establishments would not lose their jobs.

Despite the initial commitment, there has been no official update on the status of the committee’s work or the implementation of the report.

Efforts by the Guardian to reach Minister Idris for comments have been unsuccessful, as he did not respond to messages sent via WhatsApp. Similarly, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, did not reply to inquiries at press time.