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Tag: Oronsaye

  • Oronsaye Panel team takes off

    Oronsaye Panel team takes off

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) George Akume will chair the team on the implementation of the recommendations of the Orosanye Panel Report and White Paper on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions.

    The team was inaugurated yesterday by the Federal Government, a statement by the Director of Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Segun Imohiosen, confirmed last night.

    Read Also: Fed Govt, Labour tango over Oronsaye Report

    Senator, Akume, who inaugurated the team on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, restated that the implementation of the White Papers on the report, which would involve the merger, relocation, subsuming or scrapping of some parastatals, agencies and commissions, is aimed at  reducing cost of governance and streamlining efficiency.

    President Tinubu’s approval for the implementation of the report is coming 12 years after the panel submitted its recommendation and multiple unsuccessful attempts by previous administrations.

    In the Akume-led implementation Committee are: Attorney-General (AGF)/Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan and Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman.

  • Senior civil servants urge President to review, align Oronsaye report with current realities

    Senior civil servants urge President to review, align Oronsaye report with current realities

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s plan to implement the Oronsaye Report which recommended the merger and scrapping of some agencies of government to cut down the cost of governance.

    But the association, which is the umbrella body of senior civil servants in public service in the country, cautioned the Federal Government to ensure that the implementation of the report does not result in job losses.

    The ASCSN, which is an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), said there was a need to cut down the cost of governance, stressing that it had restated this overtime.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja, ASCSN National President Tommy Okon said the union supported the implementation of the report.

    Last month, President Tinubu had directed the implementation of the report within 12 weeks.

    Read Also: Dangote names Lagos refinery road after Wigwe

    Okon said the merger of some offices, total scrapping of some and subsuming others into other Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) was among the best ways to cut down the cost of governance.

    The union leaders noted that the government was grappling with too many agencies that had overlapping responsibilities.

    He said: “We have received several messages and calls from the workers and other stakeholders wanting to know if the implementation of the Oronsaye Report would affect jobs or lead to job loss. Let me use this opportunity to state that we cannot continue to do the same thing all the time and expect different results. 

    “As a union, we have been on this issue of cutting the cost of governance. This has to be done holistically, taking into consideration all arms of government: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. 

  • Oronsaye’s report: Other matters

    Oronsaye’s report: Other matters

    Last week’s directive by President Tinubu for the full implementation of the 12-year old Oronsaye report strikes as a measure of the administration’s commitment to cost saving and efficiency in statecraft.

    The decision presents another dimension to other reforms of the government that have necessitated serious sacrifice and deprivation on the part of the citizenry. It is therefore only apposite that the government is seen taking the rightful lead in plugging wastages and pruning down the high cost of governance that have overtime, been the major source of stagnation of the national economy. That is the essence of the Oronsaye report.

    Set up in 2011 by the Jonathan administration following national concerns on the negative impacts of the alarming and unsustainable cost of running government, the committee was among others, charged to review the establishing Acts and mandates of all federal agencies, parastatals and commissions to identify areas of overlap and duplication of functions.

    It had recommended the reduction of 263 statutory agencies to 161, abolishing 38, merging 52 and reverting 14 to departments in the ministries. However, a white paper committee led by the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke rejected a majority of the recommendations. No further action was taken on the matter by the Jonathan regime before it wound up.

    But in 2021, the Buhari administration dusted up the report with the setting up two committees to get it implemented. The first committee was mandated to review the Oronsaye report and the white paper while the second was directed to review ministries, departments and agencies created between 2014 and 2021. A white paper was also produced after the work of the committees.

    No significant progress was seen to have been made in this direction until last week’s directive which was quickly followed up with the unveiling of the agencies and commissions affected by the exercise.

    Curiously, that list which was released by the Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga only contains agencies, commissions and parastatals affected by the approval of the Federal Executive Council FEC meeting of February 26, 2023 which considered the recommendations of the Oronsaye report. In effect, the recommendations slated for implementation were approved by the last administration a year ago.

    But only two agencies- the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate and the National Senior Secondary Education Commission are to be scrapped contrary to the 38 recommended by the Oronsaye panel. Fifteen are to be merged as against the 52 contained in the original report while nine others are to be subsumed. 

    What seems to have emerged is that the current administration is implementing the decisions of his predecessor on the two white papers produced by the committees set up by both Jonathan and Buhari. It remains hazy if any independent review of the decision of the 2023 FEC on the report was undertaken.

    Its corollary is that whereas the decision of the FEC of February last year, may have factored in the fate of ministries and agencies created during the Buhari regime, it could not have captured those created by the current administration. That still leaves the job incomplete.

    Though an eight-man committee was charged to ensure that necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring for the implementation of the reforms are done in an efficient manner, its mandate did not involve a review exercise. Expectedly, there has been public apprehension on the possible fallouts of the implementation of the report. Much of these hinges on the time lag between the submission of the report and the white papers; their consideration and approval by the FEC and implementation. There is everything to expect that the recommendations would have been affected by the dynamism of our ever changing environment.

    This line of thinking was manifest in the resolution by the House of Representatives last week which dubbed the report ‘outdated’. The House was of the view that the government should thoroughly review the report before going ahead with its implementation. It set up a 23-man committee to recommend measures to cushion the effects of the exercise.

    There is also the fear that implementation of the report may led to possible retrenchment in the face of the excruciating economic circumstances in the country. This will worsen unemployment and throw more people below the poverty ladder. But government’s response to this is that the Oronsaye report is to improve efficiency in public service and not intended to retrench workers.

    That may be the underlying principle. But the two are not mutually exclusive. It is inconceivable that you can scrap agencies, merge some and subsume others without job loss. They cannot just add up.

    But all this cannot in any way detract from the pristine principles behind cost saving and efficiency in running the business of government. Should the business of government be cost effective and run in the most efficient manner? YES!  There doesn’t seem to be any disagreement about that even as the overall public good ought to be the guiding principle.

    Developing countries make concerted efforts to reduce the cost of governance to conserve funds for infrastructural development that will impact positively on the lives of the citizenry. India followed this route by introducing e-governance in administration. Ghana, Thailand, Ethiopia and Kenya resorted to drastic reductions in the number of political appointees to arrive at the same trajectory.

    Beyond the scrapping and merging of agencies, commissions and parastatals, there are other costs of running government that must be equally pruned down if the right objectives are to be realized. The expansive bureaucracy consequent of our presidential system; high number of political appointees both at the federal and state levels are real issues to worry. If there is no commensurate effort on the parts of governments to reduce the overall cost of recurrent expenditure especially as they affect political appointees, we may end up scratching the surface of a malignant tumour.

    Read Also: Oronsaye report implementation: Late but not too late

    What level of progress can we possibly make in situations where political expedience blind the eyes of some governors to the extent of appointing more than 400 special advisers, assistants, etc. with no clearly defined roles? These are the areas to focus. We may need to amend our laws to limit the powers of the presidents and governors to make political appointments tainted by political expedience.

    But all these are spurred and encouraged by the increasing perception of politics as the quickest source of ill-gotten wealth. There must be a deliberate effort to discourage this ruinous tendency. Cost saving and efficiency in running the affairs of government must be seen to permeate all strata of the country’s public life. It must reflect in the salaries and allowances paid to legislators at all levels; it must be seen to be guiding the award of contracts and all public procurement processes.

    This writer was at a workshop organized by an international agency a couple of years ago. A white man and resource person shocked the audience when he disclosed the answer he got when he sought to know why it costs much higher to construct a kilometre of road in Nigeria than Ghana. According to him, the answer he got was that ‘Nigerian kilometre is longer than Ghanaian kilometre’.

    We burst into laughter. But he had succeeded in ridiculing us. He had succeeded in drawing attention to the phenomenon of inflated contracts and the constraints they impose on cost saving and efficiency in the delivery of public goods and services. This area must also come into focus. So also scorching corruption in public offices!

    Implementation of the Oronsaye report is just a small fraction of the fundamental reforms the government should undertake to reposition the country on the path of steady progress, growth and development.

  • Oronsaye report implementation: Late but not too late

    Oronsaye report implementation: Late but not too late

    I don’t envy Nigeria’s next president. Whoever steps into Aso Rock on the 29th of May 2023 will be inheriting an omni-dimensional catastrophe. He will be inheriting a boiling cauldron of insecurity and unease. Destiny has ordained only two paths for him. He will either be a super-man or an undertaker.

    He will need super-human powers and extra doses of luck to save Nigeria. Or he will become the unfortunate undertaker tasked with presiding over Nigeria’s funeral.

    The new president will be inheriting a country on the brink of economic collapse, social implosion, and sectarian strife. His predecessor’s rule has been a vortex of misgovernance” – Onyemaechi Ogbunwezeh –

    Senior Research Fellow and Director for Genocide Prevention at the Christian Solidarity International, Switzerland, Premium Times, August 17, 2022.

    There were many low hanging fruits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could have tapped into, to great aplomb, at his inauguration on 29 May, 2023 because it was crystal clear to  Nigerians that, as succinctly captured above by

    Onyemaechi Ogbunwezeh,

    President Muhammadu Buhari, working in cahoots with his CBN governor Godwin Emefiele for  the benefit of his Villa cabal, and a few others, had by then, turned Nigeria to an empty shell, economically, good only for whatever fate her creditors deemed appropriate.

    You needn’t be an economist to know that in view of the fact that apart from the humongous debts the President had rail – roaded Nigeria into, future earnings from oil had also been pledged to creditors just as a huge proportion of the country’s crude was being stolen rotten. As you read this the senate of the Federal Republic is investigating Buhari’s then illegal N22.7 Trillion Ways and Means debt, most of which are  believed to have been misapplied.

    Such was the parlous state of the country’s finances on 29 May, 2023, that I  had thought that President Tinubu’s ‘numero uno’ concern would be how to substantially reduce Nigeria’s astronomical cost of governance.

    That belief was the rationale behind the article re-produced below. First published 2 July, ’23, that is within a few weeks of his inauguration, it is captioned:’Reducing Nigeria’s Monstrous Cost of Governance Through The President’s Personal Example’.

    It read as follows:

    “To save Nigeria we must, among other things, go back to Education, Healthcare and Infrastructural development. Cut the high cost of governance, with the President, ministers, governors, legislators and all other political appointees taking a substantial pay cut to save money that could then be spent on the welfare of the citizenry”. That was how Chief Philip Asiodu captured it all in an interview titled: ‘Where Nigeria Went Wrong’.

    The challenge of finding a lasting solution to the astronomical cost of governance in Nigeria is one  problem Nigerian presidents have toyed with but shied away from.

    Indeed, the most outrageous aspect of it – the National Assembly’s totally outrageous emoluments – has been attributed to none other than one of them, namely, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Chief  Asiodu credited it to Obasanjo’s anticipated support by the legislators for his then incubating Third Term Project, aka Life Presidency.

    According to the same source, with President Goodluck Jonathan’s own second term ambition in view, attempting to have the humongous salaries and allowances reduced was a no go area.

    He, however, set up a Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government’s Parastals, Commissions and Agencies Committee, headed by Stephen Oronsaye, a former Head of Service, but whose recommendations he knew he would treat with benign neglect just like the recommendations of the 2014 National conference.

    As for President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Chief Asiodu, self interest, arising from his having packed nearly all the MDA’s with Northerners,  ensured that he paid little or no attention, whatever, to the  report until very late in his administration. His late approval to implement the recommendations, therefore, went to nothing.

    With the above kaleidoscopic survey of the challenge, therefore, President Tinubu’s   situation is analogous to that of  Chief Obafemi Awolowo when the following was written about him:”To accomplish these, Awo and his colleagues were determined to blast their way through whatever problems, and compel the force of any adverse circumstance to serve their will. This was because they had put in, long and hard preparations, to meet the challenges and they had evolved elaborate plans which they were ready to launch at a moment’s notice”.

    What is more, and here am quoting  Awo:”we had an abiding, flaming faith in the soundness and practicable-ness of our plans. We regarded ourselves as crusaders in a new cause, and as eminently qualified for the pioneering role which we had imposed on ourselves”.

    With considerable justification, therefore, I believe I can suggest that after his 30 years of productive involvement in Nigerian politics preparing, presumably, for what he personally described as ‘his life long ambition of becoming the Nigerian President’, PBAT should be able to own that assertive pronouncement by Awo, regarding his own preparedness for office.

    In consequence of that, he should now go ahead and deploy his well known qualities as a  strategist, combined with his long experience, and not inconsiderable network, towards reducing  Nigeria’s unsustainable cost of governance, especially the totally unjustiable emoluments of members of the National Assembly which, in my view, is actually the elephant in the room.

    This, of course, will not be an easy task as he will have to confront, head on,  powerful politicians whose  primary interest has always been Self- Love, as against concern for the toiling Nigerian masses. (Otherwise, why insist on N160M imported vehicles for each  member?)

    For these self – centred  politicians, Chief Obafemi Awolowo may very well have been talking to the marines when he wrote as follows in  Path To Nigerian Freedom:”The purpose of governance, its raison d’etre, is first and foremost the security of the lives and property of citizens. Next, in order of importance, is the enhancement of their freedom and liberty; and finally, is the welfare function of promoting equal opportunities and happiness for all”.

    To them, especially those now populating the National Assembly – most of who  probably think that ‘Path to Nigerian Freedom’ is the title of a Nollywood video – everything Awo wrote, will mean nothing since their primary concern is the good life, but only for themselves.

    Reducing their pay, even by one Naira, will therefore be one of the President’s major challenges as the legislature is a co- equal arm of government.

    To succeed, therefore, he would have to lead by personal example: an example that would be so robust, the legislators would have no alternative to doing same.

    The President  must be prepared to show, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the Presidency became his life ambition only because he saw it as the position from where he can most positively impact the lives of Nigerians  irrespective of clan, tribe or religion. He must show that for him, this is the sole driving force propelling him all along.

    “True leadership”, wrote former Ekiti state governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, one of his proud mentees, is influence”. That was in a lecture he titled ‘Of Values and The Building of A Successor Generation in Nigeria’. Continuing, he writes:”It is driven by core convictions, values and ideas. In a profound sense, leadership is living out one’s values and ideas. It is the sheer power of personal example that projects

    influence”.

    All these – values, conviction and leadership – are qualities President Tinubu possesses in quantum. He must now bring them to bear on this major task.

    He must  encourage them to, willy nilly, take substantial cuts from their emoluments which are in multiples of millions of Naira monthly, in a country infamously known as the poverty capital of the world.

    The same treatment – that is, cut in salaries and allowances – must be fully extended to the executive branch where the President would have led by his own example. The  President should also see that all the outlandish wastages that have characterised the executive branch over the years end forthwith.

    The governors and others will, of course, automatically, replicate all these in their respective states.

    That done, the next thing for the President should be the immediate implementation of the recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee.

     Set up by President Goodluck Jonathan on August 18, 2011, the Oronsaye Committee had  the following mandate:

    “to study and review all previous reports and records on the restructuring of Federal Parastatals, and advise on whether they were still relevant; examine the enabling Acts of all the federal agencies, parastatals and commissions and classify them into various sectors; examine critically, the mandate of the existing federal agencies, parastatals and commissions and determine areas of overlap or duplication of functions and make appropriate recommendations to either restructure, merge or scrap some to eliminate such overlaps, duplications or redundancies; and advise on any other matter incidental to the foregoing, which might be relevant to the desire of the government to prune down the cost of governance.”

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    Apart from the fact that Nigeria now spends about 96 per cent of its total revenue on debt servicing, according to the World Bank, many Nigerians have long expressed strong concern over the  unsustainable cost of governance in the country.

    A country that serially borrows to implement its annual budget should, if led by a serious government, never run a government half as expensive as that of Nigeria.

    Worse is the fact that the country presently suffers a huge revenue shortfall, a fact not helped by the ever decreasing income from its hydrocarbon assets – no thanks to massive oil theft that has run like for ages. 

    The President should appreciate that cutting the cost of governance is long overdue and that it no longer qualifies as a stitch in time which, as they say,  saves nine.

    Over then to President Tinubu.

    Nine months may be rather long for him to toy with implementing the Oronsaye report but it is certainly not too late.

    Taken together with some of the other suggestions in this piece, we may all come to see, very soon, those now shouting crucify him, experience a Pauline conversion which will see them begin to embrace the Tinubu administration, exactly as we saw Lagosians do some two and a half decades ago.

  • Oronsaye Report: Reps’ 23-man ad hoc committee to study govt recommendations

    Oronsaye Report: Reps’ 23-man ad hoc committee to study govt recommendations

    The House of Representatives yesterday constituted a 23-man committee to study the proposed restructuring of Federal Government agencies in line with the Stephen Oronsaye Report.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had ordered the full implementation of the report, which recommended streamlining government agencies, scrapping of some agencies, and merging those with similar mandates.

    Announcing the composition of the committee at the commencement of plenary, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said it would examine the recommendations of the Executive and advise the House on what to do.

    The Speaker said the committee, which would be headed by House Leader Julius Ihonvbare, would also advice the House on how to accommodate those that would be affected by government’s restructuring programme.

    The committee, he added, would also recommend appropriate measures to mitigate the likely outcome and fallout as well as how to make laws to accommodate the restructuring programme.

    Members of the committee include Kabiru Tukura, Fatima Talba, Sani Umar, Oluwole Oke, Isiaka Ibrahim Ayokunle, Candice Moore Chukwugozie, Ademorin Kuye, Patrick Etaba, Aliyu Abdullahi, and Yusuf Miga.

    The others are: Abiola Makinde, Olumide Osoba, Adegboyega Adefarati, Yusuf Badau, Husseini Jallo, Patrick Umoh, Sunday Nnamchi, Igariwey Iduma, Sada Soli, Kabiru Ahmadi, Abubakar Hassan Fulata, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, and Kafilat Ogbara.

    But following a Motion of Urgent Public Importance sponsored by Kama Nkemkanma (LP, Ebonyi), Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun) and Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi (SDP, Nasarawa), the House asked the President to review the Orosanye Report and the Goni Aji Report – which reviewed the Orosanye Report – as well as all the White Papers released on the report in line with current realities.

    The House urged the government to also consider implementable alternatives that are in tune with current realities and which would have the minimum unintended consequences, impacts, implications, and outcomes.

    It advised the Executive to develop and implement policies that would reposition the agricultural, the solid mineral, and the informal sectors, to provide alternatives to those who may lose their jobs while stimulating economic growth.

    Moving the motion on behalf of the sponsors, Nkemkanma recalled that after a painstaking assignment, the Oronsaye Committee recommended the scrapping and merging of 220 out of 541 government agencies.

    Read Also: Lagos begins prosecution of pedestrians crossing highways

    He said: “The Oronsaye Report said then that if the committee’s recommendation was implemented, the government would be saving over N862 billion between 2012 and 2015 with a breakdown showing 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.”

    The lawmaker said after the committee’s report, the White Paper committee the Goodluck Jonathan administration set up rejected most of the recommendations, while those accepted were not implemented.

    Nkemkanma recalled that in November 2021, the Muhammadu Buhari administration inaugurated two committees – one chaired by Goni Aji, which was to review the Orosanye Report, and another committee chaired by Ama Pepple, which was to review agencies created between 2014 and 2021.

    He expressed concern about the implementation of the report 12 years after it was submitted, saying it might have become outdated, especially because of the dynamics of the society, the economy, polity, technology, and other facets of national life.

  • Fed Govt insists rejig of agencies won’t lead to job cuts

    Fed Govt insists rejig of agencies won’t lead to job cuts

    Following job loss anxiety over the implementation of Steve Oronsaye’s report, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris yesterday said the Federal Government would not retrench workers.

    He said the merger of some parastatals was meant to ensure efficiency in the civil service and save cost.

    Idris, who spoke at the Ministerial Press Briefing Series in Abuja, said some of the merged or scrapped agencies had been redundant or had outlived their usefulness.

    He said: “The consideration of Steve Oronsaye’s report is to improve efficiency in the Civil service. This does not mean that the government intends to retrench workers.

    “The whole idea is that the government wants to reduce cost and also improve efficiency in service delivery.

    “It does not necessarily mean that the government is out to retrench or throw people to the labour market. That is not the original intention.”

    He highlighted the rationale behind the merger of some of the departments and agencies.

    He said: “Only two days ago, the President approved a revolutionary approach towards reducing the cost of governance through the implementation of the much-talked-about Oronsaye Report – 12 years after the report was submitted to the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

    “This is a clear demonstration of Mr. President’s unwavering commitment to fiscal prudence and responsible governance by championing a comprehensive review of the government‘s commissions, agencies, and parastatals. 

    “In recognition of the need to rationalise the size and scope of government, the President has taken decisive action to merge certain agencies and scrap others that are redundant or have outlived their usefulness.”

    Idris insisted that the government did its homework before coming up with its decisions on Oronsaye’s report.

    He added: “The merger of some agencies and parastatals and the scrapping of others are not decisions taken lightly.

    “It followed careful consideration and strategic planning to ensure that essential services are not compromised and that the needs of our citizens are adequately addressed while putting the interests of the nation first and foremost.

    “Through the implementation of the report, President Tinubu aims to achieve significant cost savings by eliminating duplication of functions, streamlining administrative processes, and optimising resource allocation.

    “This proactive approach will enable the government to operate more efficiently while maintaining the quality and delivery of services to the Nigerian people.

    “It is worth noting that these measures are not undertaken in isolation but they are part of a broader strategy to reform and modernise government institutions by leveraging technology, promoting innovation, and fostering a culture of performance and accountability across all sectors.”

    Idris said Nigeria has begun to reap the benefits of the reforms being spearheaded by President Tinubu, citing some fundamental economic growth being recorded since May 2030,

    According to him, the country recorded GDP growth of 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 as against 2.54 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023.

    “Capital importation rose to 66 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the third quarter.

    “Petrol importation has been reduced by 50 per cent since the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy.

    “The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index crossed the 100,000 mark – its highest ever, mainly due to the pragmatic reforms initiated by the President, which inspired investor confidence in the Nigerian economy,” he said.

    The minister said the revitalised oil sector has started posting positive results.

    He said:  “It is also encouraging to state that oil production has risen from 1.22 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2023 to 1.55 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    “The government’s concerns over the nation’s unemployment rate have led to the deployment of some mechanisms aimed at addressing the issue holistically.

    “The President has also given a directive for the design of a Social Security Unemployment Programme to cater for the unemployed graduates.

    “This is in addition to setting up of a Social Consumer Credit Scheme to boost the purchasing power of Nigerians, as they make adjustments in view of the temporary economic hardship.

    “As the government rejigs the National Social Investment Programme, the direct payments to N25,000 to 15 million households will resume immediately.”

    The minister emphasised the enormous burden of insecurity, which has led to certain proactive steps being taken.

    “The government is equally tackling insecurity headlong and more success stories are coming in daily. Without any doubt, we are winning the war against insecurity.”

    “These are indeed a testament to the bold initiatives taken by Mr. President to reflate the Nigerian economy and return it to the path of growth and sustainable development,” Idris added.

    Following job loss anxiety over the implementation of Steve Oronsaye’s report, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris yesterday said the Federal Government would not retrench workers.

    He said the merger of some parastatals was meant to ensure efficiency in the civil service and save cost.

    Idris, who spoke at the Ministerial Press Briefing Series in Abuja, said some of the merged or scrapped agencies had been redundant or had outlived their usefulness.

    He said: “The consideration of Steve Oronsaye’s report is to improve efficiency in the Civil service. This does not mean that the government intends to retrench workers.

    “The whole idea is that the government wants to reduce cost and also improve efficiency in service delivery.

    “It does not necessarily mean that the government is out to retrench or throw people to the labour market. That is not the original intention.”

    He highlighted the rationale behind the merger of some of the departments and agencies.

    He said: “Only two days ago, the President approved a revolutionary approach towards reducing the cost of governance through the implementation of the much-talked-about Oronsaye Report – 12 years after the report was submitted to the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

    “This is a clear demonstration of Mr. President’s unwavering commitment to fiscal prudence and responsible governance by championing a comprehensive review of the government‘s commissions, agencies, and parastatals. 

    “In recognition of the need to rationalise the size and scope of government, the President has taken decisive action to merge certain agencies and scrap others that are redundant or have outlived their usefulness.”

    Idris insisted that the government did its homework before coming up with its decisions on Oronsaye’s report.

    He added: “The merger of some agencies and parastatals and the scrapping of others are not decisions taken lightly.

    “It followed careful consideration and strategic planning to ensure that essential services are not compromised and that the needs of our citizens are adequately addressed while putting the interests of the nation first and foremost.

    “Through the implementation of the report, President Tinubu aims to achieve significant cost savings by eliminating duplication of functions, streamlining administrative processes, and optimising resource allocation.

    “This proactive approach will enable the government to operate more efficiently while maintaining the quality and delivery of services to the Nigerian people.

    “It is worth noting that these measures are not undertaken in isolation but they are part of a broader strategy to reform and modernise government institutions by leveraging technology, promoting innovation, and fostering a culture of performance and accountability across all sectors.”

    Read Also: Fed Govt reiterates preference for concrete-paved roads

    Idris said Nigeria has begun to reap the benefits of the reforms being spearheaded by President Tinubu, citing some fundamental economic growth being recorded since May 2030,

    According to him, the country recorded GDP growth of 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 as against 2.54 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023.

    “Capital importation rose to 66 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the third quarter.

    “Petrol importation has been reduced by 50 per cent since the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy.

    “The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index crossed the 100,000 mark – its highest ever, mainly due to the pragmatic reforms initiated by the President, which inspired investor confidence in the Nigerian economy,” he said.

    The minister said the revitalised oil sector has started posting positive results.

    He said:  “It is also encouraging to state that oil production has risen from 1.22 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2023 to 1.55 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    “The government’s concerns over the nation’s unemployment rate have led to the deployment of some mechanisms aimed at addressing the issue holistically.

    “The President has also given a directive for the design of a Social Security Unemployment Programme to cater for the unemployed graduates.

    “This is in addition to setting up of a Social Consumer Credit Scheme to boost the purchasing power of Nigerians, as they make adjustments in view of the temporary economic hardship.

    “As the government rejigs the National Social Investment Programme, the direct payments to N25,000 to 15 million households will resume immediately.”

    The minister emphasised the enormous burden of insecurity, which has led to certain proactive steps being taken.

    “The government is equally tackling insecurity headlong and more success stories are coming in daily. Without any doubt, we are winning the war against insecurity.”

    “These are indeed a testament to the bold initiatives taken by Mr. President to reflate the Nigerian economy and return it to the path of growth and sustainable development,” Idris added.

  • Alleged N2b fraud: Court admits Oronsaye’s co-defendant’s confessional statement

    Alleged N2b fraud: Court admits Oronsaye’s co-defendant’s confessional statement

    After about 12 months of denial, a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday dismisseda claim by the Managing Director of Federick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Osarenkhoe Afe, that he was compelled to make confessional statements to investigators with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in a ruling yesterday on a trial-within-trial conducted from June 21, 2016, held among others that Afe voluntarily made the statements.

    The court then admitted them in evidence.

    Afe is being tried with a former Head of Service to the Federation (HOSF), Steve Oronsaye, on an amended 35-count charge in which they are accused of “stealing and obtaining by false pretence” about N2billion.

    After their arraignment last year, Afe, through his lawyer Oluwole Aladedoye, objected to the admission of his statements in evidence, arguing that they were obtained from his client by “oppression”, a development that necessitated the conduct of the trial-within-trial.

    The statements were made by Afe to the EFCC on February 24, 2011 and March 16, 2011, in the course of investigating five companies – Hamilton Global Services Limited; Cluster Logistic Limited; Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited – alleged to have been used to perpetrate the fraud.

    Prosecuting lawyer, Oluwaleke Atolagbe called three witnesses to prove that Afe made the statements to EFCC’s investigators voluntarily.

    The witnesses, who were operatives on the EFCC’s Pension Task Force, testified that Afe made the confessional statements, and that “he was not coerced” into making them.

    Ruling yesterday, Justice Kolawole said: “The second defendant (Afe) was in a good state of mind when he made the statements.”

    The judge said if indeed, he was coerced into making the statements as claimed, he never took any steps, like writing “a letter of protest” and asking “the court to order the EFCC to produce the statement he was coerced to write.

    “If in the course of proceedings, there are new developments, which put the statement in great doubt; this court has the power to expunge it, as it is easier to do that, and I don’t have power to remove evidence that has already been objected,” the judge said.

    Justice Kolawole proceeded to admit the statements as exhibits in the case.

    The judge granted a motion brought by Oronsaye’s lawyer, Barth Ogar, praying the court to release his client’s international passport to enable him travel abroad for medicals.

    In granting the motion, the judge ordered Ogar to, in the next 48 hours, file a personal undertaking that the defendant shall return his passport on or before September 30 for purposes of his further trial.

    Justice Kolawole adjourned to October 12, for the “continuation of judicial trial of the defendants”.

    The EFCC, on May 18, 2016 re-arraigned Oronsaye and Afe before Justice Kolawole on the amended 35-count charge.

    Oronsaye, Afe, his company and other firms are named as defendants in the charge dated November 2, 2015.

    The case was first taken before Justice Kolawole on July 13, 2015, where a 25-count charge was filed against Oronsaye and others, to which along with his co-defendants they pleaded not guilty.

    Before the trial could commence before Justice Kolawole, the court’s Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, reassigned the case file to another judge, Justice John Tsoho.

    On March 1, 2016 when proceedings were to commence before Justice Tsoho, the judge stunned all when he said: “It has been realised that the case came to me in error, and I’ve been instructed that it should be returned to my brother judge, Justice Kolawole, who started it. He should continue where he stopped. I wish you the best of luck.”

    When parties returned to his court, Justice Kolawole said: “The Chief Judge wanted to redistribute cases to new judges transferred to the Federal High Court, Abuja in order to decongest the court, but this case file of Oronsaye was taken in error to Justice Tsoho. This explanation becomes necessary so the public will not be wondering why such back and forth movement.”

     

  • Alleged N190m fraud: Court discharges Oronsaye

    Alleged N190m fraud: Court discharges Oronsaye

    A FEDERAL Capital High Court, Maitama, yesterday discharged former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Steve Oronsaye of the N190 million corruption charges levelled against him.

    Oronsaye was also the chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He was arraigned on a seven-count charge of breach of trust and diversion of N190 million meant for the committee he chaired.

    Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, in her ruling on the no-case submission filed by Oronsaye, held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against Oronsaye.

    “There was contradictory evidence by the prosecution witnesses on whether the defendant was still the head of service as at the time he chaired the committee.

    “The court seems to discredit the evidence, suffice it to say that there is no evidence linking the accused with the statutory element and ingredients of the offence with which he is charged.

    “The court of trial must as a matter of law discharge him because it has no business scanting for evidence that is nowhere to be found.

    “I have looked through the case and I am unable to see any justifications for this case.

    “The defendant is hereby discharged,” she held.

    According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the prosecution closed its case on November 15 after calling six witnesses.

    On December 9, the defence filed no-case submission on the grounds that the prosecution had no case against the defendant.

    In his submission, the defence counsel Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued that there were omissions of essential elements in the charges against his client.

    He said on that account, the charges were imperfect.

    Agabi said the charge was initially two-count, later amended to seven-count.

    According to him, it showed a sign that something was wrong with the charge from the beginning.

     

     

  • Oronsaye: Court adjourns till March 1

    Oronsaye: Court adjourns till March 1

    A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama yesterday adjourned till March 1 for adoption of addresses in a case of alleged breach of trust and diversion of N190 million filed against Mr. Steve Oronsaye.
    Oronsaye, former Head of Service of the Federation, was also the chairman, Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force, set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
    He was docked for breach of trust and diversion of N190 million meant for the committee he chaired.
    The judge, Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, adjourned the matter after listening to the submissions of counsel in the matter.
    The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Faruk Abdullahi, informed the court that he just filed reply to the no-case submission filed by the defence.
    The defence counsel, Mr. Peter Erivnode, reminded the court that the no-case submission was made since Dec. 9 and duly served on the prosecution and it was almost two months now.
    He said the prosecution realising that the matter was for adoption today decided to file its reply this morning.
    Erivnode told the court that this was a clear indication that the prosecution was not prepared to pursue this matter diligently.
    “In this circumstance, we pray the court to grant us an adjournment to enable us study what was in the reply,” he said.
    The prosecution called six witnesses to prove its  case and also closed its  case on Nov. 15.
    On Dec. 9, the defence opened its case by filing no-case submission, saying that the prosecution did not have any case against the defendant.

  • Oronsaye: Accused’s house was not invaded, says EFCC

    Oronsaye: Accused’s house was not invaded, says EFCC

    THE Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday heard that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not invade the house of Mr Osarenkhoe Afe.

    Afe  and four companies , Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited,  Cluster Logistic Limited,  Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment& Construction Company Limited are standing trial with former Head of Service, Stephen Oronsaye.

    The second prosecution witness, Mustapha Gadanya, spoke while testifying in the trial within trial of the former Head of Service.

    The judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, had ordered the trial within trial to ascertain whether Afe’s statement to the EFCC was obtained under duress.

    Oronsaye is standing trial on an alleged amended 35-count-charge bordering on breach of trust and money laundering.

    Gadanya, led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Atolagbe Oluwaleke, said: “I assure you that his house was not invaded and his phone and Ipad were not ceased by the EFCC. Before the second defendant was invited to EFCC, we did an investigation into the Head of Service on National Fraud and in the course of our investigation, two companies were linked to him.

    He said: “We discovered that the receipt of payment of the two companies, Fredrick Hamilton Global Service Limited and Innovative Solutions Limited was from the Head of Service.

    “I was asked to invite him and I went to his house along with Nurudeen Buhari and one armed mobile police officer.’’

    Gadanya insisted during cross-examination by Afe’s counsel, Mr Oluwole Aladedoye, that allegation that Afe’s house was invaded was not true.

    He added that when they came back to the office, he took Afe to Mr Wakili Mohammed, Head of Economic Governance, who discussed with him and issued a search warrant for the house.

    Kolawale adjourned the case till July 7 for continuation of the substantive matter.

    “I assigned Nurudeen Suleiman and Nurudeen Buhari to go back to his house to execute the search warrant as directed by Wakili, which they did. When they came back with the recovered items they got, I assigned Rouqayya Ibrahim to take Afe’s statement.

    “She took the statement which I reviewed and I briefed Wakili who then said I should detain him. I served him the bail condition which requires two reliable sureties, who must be directors with landed properties in Abuja, which he acknowledged and received his copy.

    “Afe, however, could not meet up with the bail condition by Feb. 24, 2011, so he was detained but later released on leniency to John Kpara and Cynthia the following day.’’

    The third prosecution witness, Nurudeen Suleiman, said he went to Afe’s house to conduct a search warrant with his colleague, Buhari along with an armed mobile police.

    “We were assigned by Gadanya, to conduct the search warrant and when we did, we recovered some items.

    “The items include; a laptop, Ipad, some documents of the Head of Service, Zenith Bank cheque book, letter headed papers belonging to his company Fredrick Hamilton and other items.

    “We recorded all the items on the search warrant of which we signed and he also signed, thereafter, we returned to the office and handed the items to Gadanya,’’ he said.