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Tinubu Directs Immidiate Implementation of Oronsanye Report

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9 months ago

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* Misgivings in Aviation Sector over Proposal to Merge some Agencies

. . .

After 12 years of dilly dallying by successive governments, the much vaunted Orosanye Report that strongly recommended a drastic reduction in the cost of governance, has seen the light of day, after all.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Monday, rose from its weekly meeting, and announced the approval for the adoption and implementation of the Orosanye Report.

The report was submitted to the Federal Government under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2012 but neither him nor his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, had the political will to adopt and implement its lofty recommendations.

But briefing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting, which was presided over by President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Minister, Mallam Mohammed Idris, said Council had approved the adoption of the report.

This, according to him, means that some agencies, commissions and departments of government have been scrapped, merged, subsumed under some others and others moved to new ministries where they are supposed to perform better.

“In a very bold move today,” said the Minister, “this administration, under the leadership of President Bola 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.

“Now, 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 government feels they will operate better.

“Like I said, this is a very far-reaching decision. It is aimed, one, to fine-tune or to restructure government operations as a whole. Secondly, it’s in line also with decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance.”

The Minister, however, explained that the adoption of the report did not mean people working in the affected agencies and departments will lose their jobs.

Orosanye

Highlights of Federal Executive Council decisions on Monday 26 February

 

Here are some of the highlights of the far reaching decisions taken today at the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

 

1. FEC approved construction of Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar Coastal Superhighway to Messrs Hitech Construction Africa. The First phase made up of 47 kms will begin in Lagos.

2. Social security payments to the vulnerable households to begin immediately. Recipients will be those with NIN and BVN.

 

3. Social security payments to be extended to graduates from NCE and upwards

 

4. Consumer Credit to be established very urgently. Chief of Staff to lead a committee that includes Budget Minister, Attorney-General, Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance, to make the scheme a reality.

 

5. The Council in order to enhance efficiency in the Federal service, and reduce the cost of governance, decided to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye panel on the restructuring and rationalisation of Federal agencies, parastatals and commissions.

 

The implementation involves merging, subsuming and scrapping agencies with similar functions.

 

The Oronsaye report was submitted in 2012 to the Jonathan administration. In 2014, the Jonathan government released a white paper on the report. The Buhari administration after re-examining the white paper also released a second white paper in August 2022, but did not implement the report.

 

However, the Tinubu administration has decided to confront the monster of high governance cost by implementing elements of the report.

 

An eight-man committee has a 12-week deadline to ensure that the necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms are effected in an efficient manner.

 

The committee comprises Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service, Attorney General and Justice Minister, Budget and Planning Minister, DG Bureau of Public Service Reform, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Special assistant to the president on National Assembly. The Cabinet Affairs Office will serve as the secretariat.

 

Key recommendations for implementation:

 

1. National Salaries, Income and wages Commission to be subsumed under Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission. The National Assembly will need to amend the constitution as RMAFC was established by the constitution.

 

2. Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission to be merged with Bureau of Public Enterprise and be rechristened as `Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession Commission

 

3. National Human Rights Commission to swallow Public Complaints Commission

 

4. Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate(PTAD) to be scrapped and functions to be taken over by Federal Ministry of Finance

 

5. NEMA and National Commission for Refugees to be fused to become National Emergency and Refugee Management Commission

 

6. Border Communities Development Agency to become a department under National Boundary Commission

 

7. NACA and NCDC to be merged

 

8. SERVICOM to become a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform(BPSR)

 

9. NALDA to return to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

 

10. Federal Ministry of Science to supervise a new agency that combines NCAM, NASENI and PRODA

 

11. National Commission for Museums and Monuments and National Gallery of Arts to become one entity that will be known as National Commission for Museums, Monuments and Gallery of Arts.

 

12. National Theatre to be merged with National Troupe.

 

13. Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa and Directorate of Technical Aid Corp to be merged under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

14. Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to become an agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

15. Federal Radio Corporation and Voice of Nigeria to be one entity to be known as Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria

 

16. National Biotechnology Development Agency(NABDA) and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology to be emerged into an agency to be known as National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency(NBRDA).

 

17. National Institute for Leather Science Technology and National Institute for Chemical Technology to become one agency.

 

18. Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to become one agency.

 

19. The National Metallurgical Development Centre and National Metallurgical Training Institute will be merged.

 

20. National Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed under Institute of Veterinary Research in Vom, Jos.

According to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga who released the details, the list is not exhaustive.

* Unease in Aviation Sector

Meanwhile, there’s an uneasy calm in the nation’s aviation sector over the proposed merger of some agencies as some experts believe that such an action will go against International Civil Aviation Organisation regulations.

The trio of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) were recommended to be merged into a new body to be known as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA) and their respective enabling laws amended accordingly to reflect the merger.

Chris-Aligbe, a former image maker of the defunct Nigerian Airways, in an earlier interview, has faulted the plan by the Nigerian government to merge the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, saying it is not the best thing to do.

Mr Aligbe said that each of the agencies proposed to be merged had its specific function under the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

“I was shocked to the marrow when I heard it. the decision is funny,” he said.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is the regulatory body for aviation in Nigeria. It became autonomous with the passing into law of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 by the National Assembly and assented to by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Act was further amended in 2022.

The Act not only empowers the authority to regulate aviation safety without political interference, but also to carry out oversight functions of airports, airspace, meteorological services as well as economic regulations of the industry.

While the NCAA is the apex regulatory body in the country, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is an air navigation service provider with a mandate to manage the Nigerian airspace to a level consistent with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation standard and recommended practices.

The agency is also designed to increase Air Traffic Management (ATM) capacity in order to manage the increasing air traffic volume and simultaneously reduce delays, to enhance service quality and reduce cost for airspace users.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) came into existence by an Act of the National Assembly – NIMET (Establishment) Act 2003, enacted on May 21, 2003, and became effective on June 19, 2003 following presidential assent. The Act was also amended by the immediate past government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

It is a Federal Government agency charged with the responsibility of advising the government on all aspects of meteorology; project, prepare and interpret government policy in the field of meteorology; and to issue weather (and climate) forecasts for the safe operations of aircrafts, ocean going vessels and oil rigs.

The Act also makes it the responsibility of the agency to observe, collate, collect, process and disseminate all meteorological data and information within and outside; co-ordinate research activities among staff, and publish scientific papers in the various branches of meteorology in support of sustainable socio-economic activities in Nigeria.

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University Don Canvases Implementation of New Public Management to accelerate Nation’s growth

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5 days ago

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November 28, 2024

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By Elizabeth Okwe and Ojone Grace Odaudu


A Professor of New Public Management at the Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) Prof. Charles Nwekeaku has advocated the implementation of New Public Management to accelerate growth and development in Nigeria.


Delivering a lecture titled “New Public Management, National Development and Transformation in Globalized World”.
at the 47th Inaugural Lecture of the university in Keffi, the university Don explained that NPM is a new administrative system that promises to address the perceived inadequacies contained in the Traditional Public Administration system which tend to neutralize it’s efficacy.

According to him, NPM has the potentialities of succeeding where the TPA has failed because of its creativity, efficiency, flexibility, adaptability to new administrative challenges, market oriented posture, good governance as well as inbuilt mechanisms that make NPM withstand the shocks of developmental challenges.

Nwekeaku added that these advantages led him to advocate for all levels of government to get involved in the implementation of NPM, given it’s potential to help accelerate Nigeria’s growth and development.

“The NPM advocates new innovations, ideas, strategies and creativity in meeting the needs of the members of the society who should be seen as loyal and important customers yearning for efficient and effective service delivery from the government.

“It emphasizes the application of the concept of the private sector which sees and treats people or citizens as customers who should get value for their money and who yearn for efficient and effective service delivery from the government,” Prof. Nwekeaku declared.

He explained further that it is in the contextual setting of the NPM that national development can occur as the human and material resources of the state will be actively harnessed for efficient and effective use of the society.

“Nothing practically is working in Nigeria today, and the situation will remain so except the yoke of traditional public administration is yanked off and replaced with the New Public Management,” he said.

The university Don pointed out that in practical terms,the adoption of NPM for national development and transformation will entail the application of principles and practices of corporate governance, alternative service delivery, e governance, and commerce.

“Other are artificial intelligence, financial inclusion, as well as other tools and attitude that engender efficiency, good governance and profitablity in all public institutions and enterprises at all levels of governance,” he said.

In an interview, Prof. Sa’adatu Liman, Vice Chancellor of NSUK aplauded the lecturer for a well researched inaugural lecture and described the topic of the lecture as apt and instrumental in helping to transform Nigeria giving the present economic challenges.

“The lecturer spoke eloquently of the failures of the traditional public administration and the need to apply the new public management system for quality .and growth.

“It it is applied, it will surely bring development to the country because as it is the country has been stagnated due to the continuous use of the traditional public administration procedure,” she said.

Source: City Post

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Anambra Approves Tax Relief for Small Businesses, Awards Contracts for Health and Other Infrastructures

Published

7 days ago

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November 27, 2024

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As part of its efforts to boost small and medium enterprises in the state, the Anambra state government has granted tax relief to businesses operating with less than N100,000 capital. This, according to the government, is in consideration of the difficulties faced by businesses in recent times.

The state government has also awarded contracts worth over N600 million for the supply and installation of new medical and non-medical hospital equipment at both the specialist hospital, Fegge, and the General Hospital, Anaku, Onitsha South, and Ayamelum LGAs. The contract was awarded to CHRISLAUG LTD.

This followed the approval of the projects by the State Executive Council meeting in Awka on Tuesday.

A statement by the State’s Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor said the contract is expected to be delivered in three months.

The statement gave details of the contract and other decisions of the council thus:

“LOT 1: SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF NEW HOSPITAL MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AT THE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, FEGGE, at the sum of N367,560,500.00. It will be supplied 3 months after the mobilisation fee.

“LOT 2: SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF NEW HOSPITAL MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AT THE GENERAL HOSPITAL ANAKU at the sum of N285,473,000.00. It will be supplied 3 months after the mobilisation fee

“The Council encouraged investors to take over the management of public enterprises (PEs) in the state by restating that leasing and concessioning PEs are better alternatives to the Government managing them directly.

“The Council restated that the Anti-touting Law of Anambra State remains in force and strongly advised touts to join the Soludo administration’s empowerment schemes for legitimate livelihoods. The Council also approved tax exemptions in Anambra State for groups whose business capitals are less than N100,000 and devolution of more powers to the local governments in the state in the area of sanitation.

“The Council has approved a memo presented by the Commissioner for Water Resources and Power, Engr. Julius Chukwuemeka, for the rehabilitation of the vandalised injection substation at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus. The contract was awarded to Kolc Ventures at the sum of N228,147,634.33.

“The contract for the provision of free internet access to the Anambra State House of Assembly Complex, Awka, at the sum of N81,872,000.00 was awarded to PINE HEIGHT GLOBAL RESOURCES LTD to be installed within 2 weeks from the date of the contract award.

“The one for the construction of 151 open stalls at Afuzo Market, Isuofia, to boost local commerce and support economic growth was awarded to Crystal Dove Construction Company at the sum of N279,072,710.75.

Allpee International Ltd won the contract for the road-marking of the Amawbia flyover motorway with a spur through Ezeuzu Junction to ICC, along Amansea Old Road at the sum of N118,716,874.41. It will be delivered in 6 weeks.


“The ANSEC also approved the memo for the supply and installation of Solar Street Lights within the Awka Metropolis Lot 1, Lot 2, and Lot 3.
LOT 1: SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF 544 NR SOLAR STREET LIGHTS
awarded to VIGEO-DOME LTD
N460,732,148.31
3 months delivery post mobilization fee.

II: SUPPLY and INSTALLATIONS OF 346 Nr SOLAR STREET LIGHTS.

FRANKTORCH NIG LTD
N385,605,574.49
2 months delivery post mobilization fee.

111: SUPPLY and INSTALLATIONS OF 240 Nr SOLAR STREET LIGHTS.

HONEYDOVE INTEGRATED
N163,800,279.72
2 months delivery post mobilization fee

“The contract for the production and installation of 500 pieces of fluorescent “Solution Is Here” concrete signage for the branding of all landmark infrastructures across the state was awarded to Conifer Konstruction Nig Ltd at the sum of N200,000,013.51

Signed

Law Mefor, PhD
Commissioner for Information
Anambra State

November 25, 2024.

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Economy

Despite Earlier Apprehensions, Senators Agree on Funding for Development Commissions

Published

1 month ago

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October 25, 2024

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Despite Senators’ division over new regional development commissions’ funding arrangement, Lawmakers in the Red Chamber on Thursday finally agreed on the source of funding for the newly created zonal development commissions.

The arguments had unfolded as the Senate and House of Representatives moved forward with legislation to establish these commissions, which were also stripped of operational immunity for their boards and executives.

The disagreement emerged during the clause-by-clause consideration of the South-South Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024, which serves as the structural template for other zonal commissions.
Central to the debate was the Senate Committee on Special Duties’ recommendation that 15% of statutory allocations from member states be directed toward funding these commissions.

Several Senators, including Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP, Kebbi North), Wasiu Eshinlokun (APC, Lagos East), and Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), voiced concerns over the proposed funding model.

 

 

Senator Abdullahi warned that the provision could lead to legal challenges from state governments, as no state would willingly allow its statutory allocation to be reduced.

“Mr President, distinguished colleagues, the 15% of statutory allocations of member states recommended for funding their zonal development commissions would be litigated against by some state governments,” Abdullahi said.

Seeking to clarify the matter, the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, quickly intervened.

He explained that the 15% allocation would not involve a direct deduction from the states’ funds.

He said, “Mr President, distinguished colleagues, the 15% of statutory allocation of member states, recommended for funding of Zonal Development Commissions by the federal government, is not about deduction at all.

“What is recommended, as contained in the report presented to us by the Committee on Special Duties and being considered by the Senate now, is that 15% of the statutory allocation of member states in a zonal development commission would, by way of calculation by the federal government, be used to fund the commission from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

“Each state has a monthly statutory allocation, 15% of which, as contained in this report being considered, will be calculated by the federal government and removed from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for funding of their Development Commission.”

Despite Barau’s explanation, several senators remained unconvinced and expressed their desire to contribute to the debate.

However, Senate President Godswill Akpabio stepped in, asserting that the provision was constitutionally sound.

“We don’t need to debate whether 15% of statutory allocations from member states in a commission would be deducted,” Akpabio said, citing Section 162(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which grants the National Assembly the authority to appropriate funds from either the Consolidated Revenue Fund or the Federation Account.

“Fifteen percent of the statutory allocation has been recommended by the Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly, for funding these zonal development commissions. Anyone who wishes to challenge that in court is free to do so,” he added.

Akpabio then called for a voice vote, and the majority voted in favour of the provision.

In his remarks following the passage of the consolidated bills, Akpabio expressed gratitude to the Senators for their efforts in finalising the Zonal Development Commissions.

He noted that these commissions would provide a foundation for the newly created Ministry of Regional Development.

The bills passed include the South-South Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024, the North West Development Commission Act (Amendment) Bill 2024, and the South-East Development Commission Act (Amendment) Bill 2024.

The South West Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024 and the North Central Development Commission Establishment Bill 2024 were previously passed.

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