Jonathan orders Anyim, Aji to implement Oronsaye report

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, and the Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Boni Aji, to constitute a committee that would implement the White Paper on the report of the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and agencies.

The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said the President gave the directive during the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.

Maku said the President also indicated that a special committee would be set up to look at other sectors of the economy that need more attention in the wake of the recent rebasing of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product which received accolades from council members.

He quoted the President as saying that the Federal Government would be moving fast in implementing the White Paper to cut costs and ensure efficiency in the civil service.

He said the committee to be set up would work on the merger of the agencies that have been marked for merger.

He said, “You will recall that the White Paper on the report of the Oronsaye report on the restructuring of agencies has already been publicised.

“The President said we will be moving ahead quickly in the implementation of the document because his administration is very serious in bringing down the cost of governance and ensure more efficiency.

“He has therefore directed the SGF and the Head of Service to put up a committee for his approval to work on the integration of the agencies that have been marked for merger to cut cost and make them more effective.”

The Federal Government had in the 105-page White Paper, approved the merger of three aviation agencies – the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency.

The government also approved the scrapping of the National Poverty Eradication Programme and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

According to the document, the three agencies in the aviation sector will fuse into a new body to be known as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority and their respective enabling laws would be amended accordingly to reflect the merger.

Another highlight of the White Paper is government’s rejection of the committee’s recommendation for the merger of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent and Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

It also rejected the renaming of Code of Conduct Tribunal to Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

The government also rejected the recommendation that Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission be subsumed under the Bureau of Public Enterprises for greater synergy.

While rejecting the recommendation for an amendment in name and status of the Federal Civil Service Commission to the Federal Public Service Commission, the government however accepted the recommendation of a single term of five years for the chairman and members of the commission.

It also accepted the recommendation for the scrapping of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and directed the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate necessary action for the abolition.