The Federal Government has yet to implement the long-awaited Oronsaye Report, which aims to reduce the size and cost of governance in Nigeria. This was confirmed by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, during a recent visit to the headquarters of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila disclosed that although the government is actively working on the necessary steps to implement the report, there is no specific timeline for when this will happen. “Oronsaye’s report is being worked upon. Yes, we’ve been talking about this for months now, but anything worth doing is worth doing properly,” he said.
The Oronsaye Report, formally titled “Cost of Governance: Adjusting the Structures,” was submitted in 2012 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The report was the result of a committee chaired by Steve Oronsaye, a former Head of Service, tasked with finding ways to reduce the cost of governance by streamlining government agencies, parastatals, and commissions.
The committee’s recommendations were sweeping. Out of the 541 statutory and non-statutory federal government agencies, parastatals, and commissions, the report suggested that 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161. Additionally, it recommended that 38 agencies be abolished entirely, 52 agencies be merged, and 14 revert to departments within existing ministries.
Despite these recommendations, the report has remained largely unimplemented for over a decade. Previous administrations have either ignored the report or failed to fully implement its recommendations, leading to continued bloating of government structures and rising costs.
In January 2024, President Bola Tinubu gave approval for the report’s implementation, raising hopes that the recommendations would finally be carried out. However, the Chief of Staff’s recent comments indicate that while there is a commitment to implementing the report, the process will take time.
“It is not as easy as it sounds. A committee has been set up to look at it, and I am sure very soon, the final report will be out and implementation will begin,” Gbajabiamila stated. He emphasized the importance of being thorough, saying, “We don’t want to sacrifice thoroughness on the altar of anxiety or anxiousness of getting things done. It will be done soon.”
One of the key concerns surrounding the implementation of the Oronsaye Report is the potential impact on employment, especially in a country already grappling with high unemployment rates. The report’s recommendations to merge or abolish agencies could lead to job losses, which has been a significant point of contention.
In response to these concerns, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, assured Nigerians that the implementation of the Oronsaye Report would not result in mass layoffs. “The whole idea is that government wants to reduce costs and also improve efficiency in service delivery. It does not mean that government is out to retrench workers or throw people into the labor market,” Idris explained.
The Oronsaye Report is seen as a critical step towards reducing the cost of governance in Nigeria, which has been a major drain on the country’s resources. The proliferation of government agencies has led to overlapping functions, inefficiency, and wasteful spending. By streamlining these agencies, the government aims to improve efficiency and save money that could be redirected towards development projects and social services.
The report’s implementation is also viewed as a test of the current administration’s commitment to reform. Over the years, there has been growing frustration among Nigerians over the government’s inability to reduce the size of the public sector, which many see as bloated and ineffective.
