However, Oronsaye said that the report should be implemented only after government has come up with decisions on the agencies recommended for abolition, merger or internal reorganization. But it did little to assuage the fears of thousands of workers who see the idea as a subtle attempt by the government to push them into an overstretched job market. Many workers of the affected agencies say they now feel ‘unsure’ about their jobs.
Sharing his experience on phone with Weekly Trust, Mr. Alex M. Kyesplang, a federal civil servant in Jos, Plateau State said the newspaper reports on the Oronsaye panel recommendation is giving him and his family sleepless nights. “We heard about the committee some time ago but we never thought that the recommendation would include scrapping of some places of work. I am scared because I have not yet seen the details of the report which were not carried by the papers. What if my organization is affected? Where do I start from?”
Our findings, by Oronsaye
According to Oronsaye, a former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Committee noted duplications and overlaps in the mandates of many parastatals and agencies. He such instances to include: The setting up of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to take over partially the functions already apportioned by law to the Federal Ministry of Works and the Nigeria Police Force as a result of seeming poor performance and/or to satisfy political and individual interests is a typical example of misadventure in the Public Sector at a great cost to government.
The functions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) are the traditional functions of the Nigeria Police, adding that successive administrations have continued to appoint the Chairman of the EFCC from the Police Force, while the methodology adopted by the ICPC in conducting investigations as well as the training of its personnel are carried out by the Police.
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, established as the commercial arm of the Nigerian Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), has now expanded its scope and is in rivalry with its parent body.
Indeed, only recently, the Nigerian Communications Satellite Corporation Bill was passed by the House of Representatives has created further needless duplications as it veers into the statutory functions of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in the area of frequency allocation.
The Nigerian Broadcasting agencies (NTA, FRCN and VON) focus more on structures rather than acquisition of broadcasting software. The world over, countries have made concerted efforts to manage the agencies responsible for their mass media communication by establishing and taking advantage of a single coordinating point.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) was created to perform a function already assigned by law to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). The continued existence of NOSDRA is tantamount to paying huge salaries to persons who do nothing but wait for spills to occur even when there is a standard operating procedure for oil companies in Nigeria to clean up oil spill whenever it occurs.
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Nomadic Education Commission (NEC), and the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NCMLA) all perform functions related to the provision of basic education.
Organised labour’s protest
Speaking to Weekly Trust on the matter, Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Owei Lakemfa said labour issues should be addressed first, just as he pointed out that government has neglected to involve labour in the whole process.
Lakemfa said “If you are going to merge parastatals or scrap some of them like the report is suggesting, it means that labour issues will be thrown up. Will it for example result in redundancy, in job losses, if the answer is yes, to what extent? Who and who will be involved or affected? What are the safety nets that can be provided? What about their gratuities and their pensions?” He added that other issues could crop up to further worsen both security and poverty conditions in the country.
“Mass unemployment is a source of insecurity. When a person is unemployed, he can become desperate, can be used by negative forces and if such a person or his child is hungry, you cannot preach patriotism to him. So, there are implications.”
Earlier, a statement issued by Joe Ajaero, Acting President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said “To avoid the social and Labour issues and crisis that may occur as a result of the Report, the white paper and Government actions, Congress appeals to the Presidency to invite Labour at this stage for discussions on the issue.”
Will EFCC, ICPC survive?
Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr Parry Osayande had said in the past that the proliferation of the anti-crime bodies in Nigeria is affecting the ability of the police to effectively discharge their functions. He described the EFCC, the ICPC, the Federal Road Safety Commission, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency as ‘white elephant agencies,” that should all dissolve into the Nigeria Police Force or be scrapped.
Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran agrees to the merger of some agencies because some of the agencies were actually set up to serve the parochial interest of some elements in the corridors of power. They are conduit pipes to siphon money from public coffers to private pockets.
He said while the Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service, Civil Defence Corps, and similar bodies can be merged under the Nigeria Police Service (not Force) with separate units, agencies like EFCC, ICPC and CCB should never be merged with each other. Each should be reinforced to play their separate functions according to the separate Acts that set them up.
He also said that regulatory bodies like NAFDAC and SON could also be merged and strengthened to accommodate various departments and units. The PPPRA is a needless waste just like the NNPC and Department of Petroleum Resources need not be separated and NBC and NCC need not have different bureaucracy.
Adoke’s neutrality questioned
Two days after submission of the Oronsaye report, President Jonathan appointed another committee under the chairmanship of Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Bello Adoke to draft a white paper on the Oronsaye committee report.
A staff of one of the anti-graft agencies told Weekly Trust that he doubts the ability of his organization to survive “this unending onslaught against it.” The staff who spoke under anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter said “if the Jonathan administration has not made up its mind to kill the EFCC and ICPC Adoke is not the right man for the job because he has shown clearly where he stands on this issue with his past utterances and conducts.”
He said sometime in June or July last year, the Attorney-General of the Federation openly sought for the merger of the EFCC with the ICPC just like the former AGF and Minister of Justice Michael Kaase Andoakaa (SAN) attempted merging the two bodies and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CBC).
Also speaking, chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, said a politician like Mr Mohammed Adoke, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, should not head the White Paper Drafting Committee because “Mr Adoke has openly canvassed the merger of the anti corruption agencies in the country. He had made several efforts towards muzzling the powers of the agencies and subsuming their prosecutorial powers under his control. Whatever the case is, the civil society organisations are organising to resist any attempt to carry out a fait accompli on the agenda of Mr Mohammed Adoke and his cohorts.”
Some agencies react
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) could not be reached for comments but chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, during his confirmation by the Senate in February, advised against the merging of the agencies, suggesting instead that each of them should be strengthened and funded well.
Also speaking, the spokesman of the NIGCOMSAT, Mr Sonny Aragba-Akpore, while responding to questions from Weekly Trust, said the Oronsaye committee did not recommend the scrapping or merger of the agency with any. “Where did you get information about merger from? Oronsaye did not say anything of such. Go and read the report again and stop insinuating. He only spoke about overlap in certain areas.”
However, the Nigerian Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA) said yesterday that the Oronsaye report vindicated its position on NIGCOMSAT. A top official of the agency who pleaded for anonymity told Weekly Trust in Abuja that the report is a welcome development to NASRDA and pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to implement the report of the committee to the letter. He said there is nowhere in the world where two space agencies exist. “Even in the United States of America, there is only one space agency. So the government should collapse any agency claiming to be a space agency into NASRDA.”
Controversy trails report
Dr. Kabir Mato, a political economist and the Head of the Political Science Department of the University of Abuja said he does not agree to the scrapping of some agencies just because government desires to cut cost of administration. “I’m of the view that scrapping of some critical agencies will not necessarily reduce cost of running government because the bulk of the problem lies in corruption and leakages in the system and therefore the inability of these agencies to perform will not be resolved by scrapping them because the problems will persist and possibly degenerate. I think this recommendation is diversionary and does not address the problems at stake.”
Dr. Mato said he doesn’t believe that scrapping of the ICPC and EFCC would help in reengineering the Police. “The Police Force is an integral part of Nigerian problems. It has of late being rated as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country. It is facing enormous internal challenges and we cannot pretend about this. The anti corruption agencies are created just as is the case with many other countries across the globe to help tame the monster.”
A veteran broadcaster and former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Aremo Taiwo Allimi had last year urged President Jonathan to ignore any recommendation for the merger of the VON and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). He said “Merging the two organisations is like making the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs a department in the Ministry of Interior, which will amount to morbid ignorance.”
“The so-called restructuring and rationalization of federal agencies and parastatals is not new. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo did the same, and it was a failure. This time around too, it is an exercise in futility. Stereotype presidential committees do not succeed. Broadcasting is a participatory instrument for social change in Nigeria.
“To either suggest or even think of merging the VON and the FRCN is enlightened illiteracy in the broadcasting industry of today,” Allimi said.
Report divides lawmakers
Spokesman of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), when contacted, only said the upper legislative chamber would support government efforts towards reducing the cost of governance. Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom North-East) described the recommendation as a very good decision for the purpose of reducing the cost of governance.
“In fact, the NTA, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) should be collapsed into a single entity because they are duplicating duties,” said Enang who once sponsored a bill seeking the merger of ICPC, EFCC that was rejected by the senate.
Enang said since some people would have to lose their jobs if the report is implemented, “it should be done in such a way that it would not affect those who have not spent up to 20 years in the service. They should be transferred to Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHOSF).”
Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman (PDP, Kogi Central) said there could be no better time than now to scrap many agencies and merge others. “Now is the time for us to evaluate these agencies and trim down their number to ensure effective service delivery.”
However, Senator Sadiq Yar’adua (CPC, Katsina Central) said the Orosanye report “is not the right step in the right direction because agencies and parastatals of government were established by Acts of parliament. The National Assembly has not amended these Acts. “It is very bad for the committee to have wanted the anti-corruption agencies scrapped. We should rather do everything possible to strengthen these agencies to be able to perform their functions well”.
Senator Mudashiru Hussain (ACN, Osun West), said the report of the Orosanye panel is therefore absolutely unacceptable. “It is proposing the scrapping of the EFCC and ICPC when corruption is pandemic in the Nigeria. In India, there are 18 agencies dealing with corruption and here in Nigeria we have just two agencies. If they are scrapped, people would lose their jobs, and that would compound the nation’s socio-economic problems.”
When contacted House of Representatives spokesman Zakari Mohammed said “We will not comment on a report we have not seen.”
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