Tinubu May Scrap These Agencies As Implementation Of Oronsaye Report Begins

President Bola Tinubu has approved the full implementation of the report of the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, otherwise known as the Stephen Oronsaye report.

The report, commissioned in 2011 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, proposed the streamlining or scrapping of federal agencies, parastatals, and commissions to address concerns about duplication and redundancy.

Following a review process in 2021, the Muhammadu Buhari government released a white paper on the report, agreeing with the recommendations to scrap six agencies while rejecting recommendations to abolish 18 others.

On Monday, the Bola Tinubu presidency announced via Twitter that it will commence implementation of the report.

Based on that white paper, the agencies/parastatals recommended to be scrapped are:

• Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC): Its responsibilities will be transferred to the existing Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
• Utilities Charges Commission: This commission will be dissolved, and its enabling law repealed.
• Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA): This body will be merged with the Directorate of Technical Aids Corps (DTAC) to create a more efficient structure for managing international technical assistance programs.
• National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP): Existing government agencies will absorb the functions previously handled by NAPEP.
• Presidential Committee on Barrack Rehabilitation (PCBR): The responsibilities of this committee will be integrated into relevant ministries, streamlining oversight of military barracks maintenance.
• National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA): The government did not disclose its final decision on NOSDRA, only acknowledging the recommendation for its scrapping.

The 18 agencies that were recommended to be scrapped but which the government retained in the white paper are:

1. Federal Character Commission (FCC)
2. Public Complaints Commission (PCC)
3. Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC)
4. National Hajj Commission of Nigeria
5. Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)
6. Civil Defence, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDIPB)
7. Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences (NIMG)
8. Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI)
9. Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) 
10. Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN)
11. Nigerian Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Studies (NIHOTOUR)
12. National Environmental Standards and Regulations Environment Enforcement Agency (NESREA) 
13. Nigeria Customs Service Board
14. National Productivity Centre (NPC)
15. The National Energy Council (NEC) 
16. National Metallurgical Development Center (NMDC), Jos
17. National Metallurgical Training Institute, Onitsha 
18. National Automotive Council Council (NAC)

Onanuga said in a tweet, “Twelve years after the Steve Oronsaye panel submitted its report on restructuring and rationalizing Federal government parastatals and agencies and a white paper issued two years after, President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council today decided to implement the report.

“Many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged, to pave way to a leaner government.”