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President Jonathan assigns N178bn to agencies proposed for closure

By David Abellegah on November 17, 2012

The recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee on a manageable Civil Service might have been dumped because the federal government has granted full budgetary allocations to departments and agencies in the 2013 fiscal year, against the recommendations of the committee.

As contained in the 2013 budget proposals submitted to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan, the FG made a provision of at least N178.79bn for government bodies recommended for abolition next year.

The federal government budgeted N122.28m for recurrent expenditure and N56.51bn for capital expenditure out of the N178.79bn.

It will be recalled that the president constituted a committee in August 2011 “to cut the waste and high cost of governance in the country,” the committee was called the Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of FG Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies and headed by a former Head of Service, Mr. Steve Oronsaye.

The committee however submitted its report on April 2012 to the President, its recommendations were the abolition of 38 agencies, merger of another 52 and reversion of 14 agencies to departments in the relevant ministries.

On receipt of the document by the committee, which was around 800 pages, the assured Nigerians that a White Paper committee would be set up right away would be given two months to deliberate on it and come up with a final submission.

As promised on April 18, a White Paper Committee led by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), was instituted to re-evaluate the proposal s of the Oronsaye Committee.

The committee was given 60 days to deliver its recommendations.

Members of the panel are the Minister of Land and Housing Ms. Ama Pepple, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali; Minister of Labour and Productivity; Chief Emeka Wogu; Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson; and Minister of National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman.

Others are Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Mrs. A. J. Awosika, BPE Director-General, Emeka Eze, Senior Special Assistant Economic Matters to the President, Dr. Ochi C. Achinivu, and a Permanent Secretary in the General Services Office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Mr. Femi Olayisade (who is the secretary).
Interestingly on Friday, when a member of the White Paper Committee was contacted by reporters he said that the committee had finished its job several months ago.

However, the member was silent on the specific date the committee concluded its work.

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