The Federal Government has confirmed that the Steve Oronsaye report, aimed at reducing the size and cost of government, has yet to be implemented.
Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, revealed this during his visit to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) headquarters in Abuja. He stated that the government is working on the necessary modalities to ensure a smooth implementation of the policy.
Gbajabiamila emphasized the need for thoroughness before implementing the report, saying “anything worth doing is worth doing properly.” He noted that a committee has been set up to review the report and that the final report will be out soon, followed by implementation. However, he could not provide an exact timeline, saying “I can’t give an exact timeline but soon… We don’t want to sacrifice thoroughness on the altar of anxiety or anxiousness of getting things done.”
The Oronsaye report, submitted in 2012, recommended the merger or closure of several government agencies to reduce costs and improve efficiency. However, previous administrations failed to implement its recommendations fully. The report proposed reducing 541 statutory and non-statutory federal government parastatals, agencies, and commissions to 161, abolishing 38 agencies, merging 52 agencies, and reverting 14 to departments in ministries.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga announced that the implementation of the report means “many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged to a leaner government.” However, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris assured Nigerians that the implementation will not lead to job losses. He stated that the aim is to “reduce cost and also improve efficiency in service delivery, not to lay off staff.”
Idris emphasized, “The whole idea is that government wants to reduce cost and also improve efficiency in service delivery. It does not mean that government is out to retrench workers or throw people into the labour market.”
