News

20 Insights Into Oronsaye Report As EFCC, FRSC, Others Set For Merger

Published

5 months ago

February 27, 2024

After years of clamour by Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu on Monday ordered the full implementation of the Oronsaye report.

By implementing the report, several agencies of the government would be merged, subsumed, scrapped, and relocated. ⁣
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The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, revealed this to State House correspondents after Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. ⁣

Here are things to know about the report

– President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, in 2012, set up the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

– The committee was headed by a retired federal civil servant and former Head of Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye.

– After their painstaking assignment, the committee recommended the scrapping and merging of 220 out of the then existing 541 government agencies.

– If implemented, no fewer than 102 heads of agencies and parastatals will lose their jobs.

– The committee’s 800-page report noted that the government’s parastatals and agencies’ functions are overlapping.

– The committee recommended the reduction of statutory agencies from 263 to 161.

– The committee recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, the merger of 52 and the reversion of 14 to departments in ministries.

– The committee also recommended the management audit of 89 agencies capturing biometric features of staff as well as the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies/councils.

– Oronsaye said then that if the committee’s recommendation was implemented, the government would be saving over N862 billion between 2012 and 2015.

– The breakdown showed that about N124.8 billion would be reduced from agencies proposed for abolition; about N100.6 billion from agencies proposed for mergers; about N6.6 billion from professional bodies; N489.9 billion from universities; N50.9 billion from polytechnics; N32.3 billion from colleges of education and N616 million from boards of federal medical centres.

– If implemented, agencies that may be affected include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and Federal Road Safety Commission.

– Other agencies cited doing overlapping functions are the Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited, the National Broadcasting Commission and the Nigeria Communications Commission in the area of frequency allocation.

– Also, the Universal Basic Education Commission, Nomadic Education Commission, and National Mass Literacy Commission are performing overlapping functions and should be brought under one body.

– The committee again believes NTA, FRCN, and VON should be under one management.

– After the committee’s report, the White paper committee set up by Jonathan’s administration rejected most of the recommendations, while those accepted were not implemented.

– In November 2021, the Federal Government inaugurated two committees; one of the committees was to review the Orosanye report and its white paper chaired by Goni Aji, a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

– The second committee was constituted to review agencies created from 2014 till date, chaired by Amal Pepple, also a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

– Upon submission of their reports, the Federal Government in July 2022 set up another committee chaired by Ebele Okeke, a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to produce a white paper on the reports.

– Speaking during the presentation of the white paper to the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in Abuja, Okeke stressed that it is important to discuss with the leadership of the National Assembly to achieve the desired result, adding that most of the agencies created were products of bills from the National Assembly.

– She said, “The committee observed that the legal framework/enabling Act of some of the PACs did not clearly define structure, management, and oversight. Most of the laws were used by agency, commission and board interchangeably. For instance, where the organisation is defined as a commission, the provisions of the law did not support the structure of a commission. In this regard, the committee recommended a change in status/name, and amendment of the Act/Law.

“The committee observed that most of the agencies created (especially under Education and Health) were Bills that emanated from the National Assembly. It is, therefore, important to engage and dialogue with the National Assembly to generate an understanding to streamline the creation of new PACs.

“It is noteworthy that some of the recommendations can be considered as low-hanging fruits that can be implemented immediately after approval of the white paper.”

News

Finally, IGP approves hunger protests across Nigeria

Published

8 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Austin Ojomah

The Nigerian police has finally approved the planned nationwide protests and outlined conditions for participants.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, revealed this on Friday while addressing journalists in Abuja.

He urged all groups planning to participate in the proposed nationwide protest to submit their details to the Commissioners of Police in their respective states.

The police boss said this was to ensure the protest was peaceful.

Egbetokun said, “We acknowledge the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly and protest.

“However, in the interest of public safety and order, we urge all groups planning to protest to provide necessary details to the Commissioner of Police in the state where the protest is intended to take place.

“To facilitate a successful and incident-free protest, they should please provide the following information: state the proposed protest routes and assembly points; expected duration of the protest; and names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers.”

The police boss said the information expected from the organisers also include measures to prevent hijacking by criminal elements, as well as key identifiers for possible isolation of potential troublemakers.

By providing the information, he said, the police will be able to deploy adequate personnel and resources to ensure public safety.

He said the police needed to know the specific routes and areas for the protest to avoid conflicts with other events or activities.

Mr Egbetokun said the police will “establish clear communication channels with protest leaders to address any concerns or issues that may arise; minimise the risk of violence, property damage, or other criminal activity.

“We encourage all protesters to cooperate with the police, obey the law, and adhere to global best practices for peaceful assembly to guarantee a safe and successful exercise of their rights.

News

Reps North-West Caucus Beg Youths, Citizens In The Region Not To Join Planned Protest

Published

9 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

…commend President Tinubu’s development initiative

By Gloria Ikibah

The North-West caucus of the House of Representatives have appealed to youths, citizens in the region not to take part in the planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1.

The caucus also appealed to the region’s citizens to give governments at federal and state levels more time to address their concerns, rather than joining the planned protest.

Chairman of the Caucus, Rep. Sada Soli, lawmaker representing Jibia/Kaita constituency, Katsina state, who stated this on Friday at a press conference in Abuja, emphasized that the region had suffered enough disruption and needed peace to restore its economy and social order

Rep. Soli explained that their stance to the recent signing of the North West Development Commission Bill into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which they believe will address the region’s development challenges.

He highlighted that the commission would guarantee the rebuilding of ruined infrastructure, from roads, schools, health facilities and markets, to homes and places of worship, business premises and other social amenities.

The lawmakers noted that the commission would tackle the multidimensional crisis caused by violence and terrorism in the region, which has affected agricultural activities, trade, and social amenities.

While acknowledging the region’s overwhelming support for President Tinubu in the last election, they expressed trust in his commitment to develop the region and further urged the President to intensify efforts in addressing the security challenges still prevalent in the region and called for a broader security sector reform.

The forum said: “The sporadic attacks have since escalated into a multidimensional crisis that has hampered agricultural activities and trade, and turned some of the most industrious and thriving communities in the North West geopolitical zone into ghost towns as people flee their homes and become refugees.

“This has manifestly impacted on the famous cross-border trade and flourishing agrobusiness between the geopolitical zone and neighboring countries. Most of our border constituencies, which were historically vibrant commercial centres, with massive large-scale farmers exporting produce to various parts of Africa, including Niger Republic, Mali, and Benin Republic, have since been abandoned by farmers, importers and exporters, due to this wanton violence. As a result, Internally Generated Revenues in these states have been negatively affected.

“Politically, in voting so overwhelmingly for President Tinubu in the last election, the North West geopolitical zone had hoped that the famous Asiwaju, who had shown himself to be a patriot of the first order and a man who believed in fairness and equity, would make policy decisions that will bring development to our states by rescuing them from the evils of banditry and cross border terrorism.

“This Commission is, therefore, a tremendous boost to the valiant efforts of the governors of the North West geopolitical zone and it has further justified our trust in President Tinubu’s commitment to help revamp this geopolitical zone and place it on a sound pedestal.

We must, however, appeal to the President to intensify efforts in addressing the security challenges still prevalent in the geopolitical zone particularly, and other parts of the country at large. A broader security sector reform will enable our people to return to their normal lives, leading to positive changes in economic development and social order.

“That is why members of the National Assembly, particularly members of the North West Caucus – and indeed other political, traditional and religious leaders in the North West geopolitical zone, do not support the scheduled nationwide protest planned by some elements to further disrupt the very delicate balance of the country right now.

“We appeal to the peaceful and law-abiding people of the North West geopolitical zone, who have suffered enough disruption of their peace, not to join in this potentially destructive exercise, but rather to give governments at both the Federal and State levels more chance to look at the issues concerned”, he added.

News

Reps Applaud FCT Minister, Wike On AICL Improved Revenue, Infrastructure

Published

10 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Chaired by Rep. Aliyu Muktar Betara has commended the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike on the ongoing infrastructural development projects across the nation’s capital, Abuja.

The lawmakers during an interactive session with the Group Managing Director of Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL), Dr. Moreen Tamuno praised her ingenuity towards improved revenue generation since assumption of office.

The GMD who presented her scorecard and strategy adopted to the committee, in the turnaround of AICL said that the company only manage the District markets not the entire markets across the territory.

According to her, Wuse markets is owned 90 percent by the individuals who bought the shops while AICL owns 10 percent.

She stated: “For example, Wuse market is owned 90 percent by the owners, we own 10 percent. What Abuja Management does for Wuse market is to manage the facility there through the toll taking which they do collect on our behalf and then they manage the facilities, they manage the refuse collections and they also work with the market association.”

Tamuno also disclosed that AICL cannot increase prices like other privately owned markets across the territory, noting that the prices adopted by AICL are controlled by the government.

She added that the Company is also managing part of the leakages envisaged such as monitoring these system of fares collection which was initially collected manually.

This, according to her, will help to tackle the menace of revenue leakages and help to pay dividends to FCTA coffers.

Responding to question on Abuja Properties, she noted that AICL is saddled with the responsibility of owning properties on behalf of the government.

“Before I got here, apart from two regimes of el-Rufai and Moddibo, the rest regimes, Abuja Property was dealing directly with the Minister. So, we did not have a control over what Abuja Property does suffice me to say. But with the incoming of the new Minister he has streamline the system that all of these people will have direct reporting line.

“So, what they do or what they are meant to do is to manage estates, different cadres of estates for the Middle Class, for the High Class and and different kind of people and also declare profits and pay dividends also which has never been done. But in the last discussion last month, because of the new process that has been set up, they are committed to making sure that they will do this year, to declare dividend to AICL.”

On Abuja Transport scheme, she noted that “the Abuja AMMCO has been a little epileptic really. Because as we speak I think they have only about 84 buses and then most of the buses are not working. Before I came, I heard they are meant to sell but on our finding, we found out that the calibre of buses we have ASHOK were very strong bus and there was no need to sell, we would see how we could use some of them to repair others and have them running.

“So, they’ve not been able to break even, there are some epileptic problems that we are looking at to see how we can help them.”

On the Abuja Films Village, she said: “we heard the story of Abuja Film Village, even before I became the Group Managing Director, but suffice me to say that for 24 years nobody went to see where is this place. But when I assumed office all I was hearing is don’t go there they kidnap and all of that. But we were able to weather the storm to get to the point in Guzaki. We have about 3,000 hectares of land there, which is being encumbered already, we have mining is taking place there. We are working with FCT fortunately I did a memo to the Minister which he has approved graciously and set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to know where our boundaries are. I saw miners on the plot he was really a tough place to go to.”

She explained that the Committee is expected to come up with the report to secure the parameters around the land and see what AICL could achieve there.

While noting that the entertainment industry is a thriving Sector, she explained that AICL has met some Stakeholders including Actors Guild who are already partnering with the company, with a view to stimulate the economy and create employment.

She noted that the company which was established over 30 years ago has metamorphosed to become an Holding Company is an investment arm of FCT and a Limited Liability Company, hence not in the Federal Government budget.

According to her, the two administrations ago set up other subsidiaries that suppose to work under AICL namely Power Launch which is a Leasing Company and Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company, Abuja Property Development and Abuna Market.

She added that AICL also has other subsidiaries namely Aso Savings, Abuja Tech Village where AICL owns 20 percent equity, and 6 percent with Abuja Intercontinental Hotel formerly known as Sheraton Hotel. She however noted that during the meeting held with the Hotel’s management, that the Hotel has recapitalized and gone PLC, thereby AICL share has reduced to 3 percent.

While noting that AICL is still in talk with Abuja Intercontinental Hotel since 3 percent is not sufficient to be on the board of the Hotel because it’s a nominal shareholder and could only go to General Meeting, efforts are ongoing to improve the system with a view to regularize the percentages of investment.

She noted that efforts are also being made to ensure that the company’s staff are well motivated by embarking on a lot of capacity building and to drive them to ensuring that we return dividends to owners which is FCT.

Dr. Tamuno who assured that the present AICL under her watch cannot afford to “leave FCT the way it was,” disclosed that her team has developed a “revolution in AICL. If you’ve ever been to the office before my resumption and you come now, from the gate you would know that there’s a change.

“We definitely are building bridges, we definitely are looking at how to reposition AICL and making progress. We’ve not had it good, thank God for the responsive Minister who listens and who’s ready to work to recapitalize. We have the muscle to weather what we are faced with.”

While thanking the lawmakers for the support and trust reposed in her team, Dr. Tamuno said: “Thank you Mr. Chairman for this opportunity to be able to tell you what Abuja Investment is all about but I want to reassure you that as your Junior Colleague, you can be sure that coupled with the fact that women want to do what we have to do, so we can sleep well. I will be able to do the needful and make cintei to FCT and of course to the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President, that I will do.”

Speaking after the AICL Group Managing Director’s presentation, Hon. Betara said: “As discussed with the Committee, you see a lot of members not you, before coming into Abuja Investment, but for us with the discussion we did to your previous team I told you, I was disappointed. Now I realize why the Minister of FCT is bringing in new hands into FCT.

“We know you, with the little time you came in, revenue has come up and we hope you’re not coming down.

“And I will advise you anybody that you’re not ready to work with, remove the person so that you can work well. The Committee is ready to support you and support FCT in general.”

On his part, Hon. Timilehin Adelegbe (APC-Ondo) who showered encomium on the new AICL management team led by Mrs. Tamuno said: “I met her when she was an Ambassador to Jamaica. I think in the whole Pacific she transformed Jamaica she’s very aggressive.

“So, when she was reeling out her achievements I think we have just seen little. What we need as a House is to encourage her and also urge her to do a holistic audit of staff who may be dragging you back which is very very important.”

On his part, Hon. Kanice More (APC-Imo), who applauded President Bola Tinubu for being gender sensitive in the appointment of women into critical sector of the economy, underscored the need to encourage the AICL Group Managing Director to achieve more fears.

He said: “I thank His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu for demonstration of gender sensitivity, inclusivity and friendliness in appointing a Lady, a Woman ans she has demonstrated capacity. I took time to study her, and I’ve listened to her, she started newly we should equally encourage her and I strongly believe that with more encouragement she will do more; and of course, to whom more is given, more is expected.”

Also speaking, Hon. Regina Akume (APC-Benue) said: “Madam, I want to thank you, before I’m seeing a spirit of its not my problem and it’s not my business, it’s government’s business, it’s not my business, that’s the spirit I’m seeing in here.

“And I want advise you all, that as long as you do not take property seriously, you cannot even make your own business because what a man sows he reaps.

“So, please government is for all of us. If you’re put there to do something, I know women are good managers, yes we women are good managers. So put all the broken pieces out them together and make us proud. That’s what I’m asking of you because there’s so much there that you can do. There’s so much laxity and it’s not right. The Chairman has said it, he net with you all, he will support them. But you must make him proud.”

While applauding the achievements recorded so far under the leadership of the FCT Minister, Hon. Betara said: “You have a Minister that’s a Lawyer, maybe that’s why you guys have improved.

“You guys need to improve. He doesn’t tolerate and if it is with law, he knows everything. So, for the Committee, if there’s anything we will require from you before we start the oversight, we are going to write you.”