Finally, FG begins moves to scrap duplicated agencies

The Federal Government is set to scrap agencies found to be redundant or doing the job of existing ones as part of measures to reduce the cost of governance.

It has therefore set up two committees to review all its agencies created since 2014, after a white paper was released on the report of the Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

Inaugurating the subcommittees on Thursday, Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, said it was also improper for government to continue to fund professional bodies.

Mustapha, who was represented by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation HOS, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, declared that there was futility in creating another body to perform the functions of an already existing statutory entity, noting that the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of an existing institution does not justify the creation of a new one.

He said, “Nigeria has continued to suffer under a daily increasing weight of a high cost of governance under-pinned by high personnel and overhead costs to the detriment of having adequate resources for development projects.

“For a long time now, the country has been struggling to make sure that at least 30% of its annual budget goes into capital projects.

“The inability to implement the report of the Committee on Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions is costing government highly. This cost grows higher for every delay that the implementation suffers.

“This is further worsened by the fact that immediately after the report was released, parastatals and agencies billed for mergers or scrapping began developing means of further entrenching themselves as a major expenditure source to government.

“Furthermore, new agencies were also created to compound the situation.  Besides, the impropriety of government funding professional associations, the underlying principles for restructuring and rationalizing these government agencies remain more urgent now than when the initial committee was constituted in 2011.”

He said the two subcommittees “are to review the main report and White Paper on restructuring and rationalization of federal government parastatals, agencies and commissions; and review new agencies created after the submission of the above report from 2014 to date.”

According to him, this will provide government with action plan and road map to implement the recommendations contained therein.

The Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies was constituted on August 18, 2011, and submitted its report on  April 16, 2012.

While the report recommended that of the 541 statutory and non-statutory Federal Government parastatals, agencies and commissions, 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, it added that 38 agencies should be abolished, 52 agencies merged, and 14 reverted to departments in ministries.

While the subcommittee on the main report is chaired by a former Head of Service, Mr Goni Bukar Aji and has nine other members, including eight federal permanent secretaries, the subcommittee in the review of new agencies/parastatals created after the main report in 2014, is also chaired by a former Head of Service, Ms Amal Pepple.