Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has commended President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government for approving the Oronsaye Report’s implementation.
This report, initiated during the leadership of former Head of Civil Service, Stephen Oronsaye, serves as a comprehensive document outlining recommendations for the restructuring and rationalization of Nigeria’s federal agencies, parastatals, and commissions.
Submitted in 2012, the extensive 800-page Oronsaye report shed light on the existence of 541 federal government parastatals, commissions, and agencies—both statutory and non-statutory. The recommendations proposed a reduction of 263 statutory agencies to 161, the elimination of 38 agencies, merging 52, and reverting 14 to departments within various ministries.
In a series of posts via his X handle on February 28, Obi, said despite being in the opposition, says he knows the significance of acknowledging commendable decisions by the government.
He underscored the need to not only agree with such decisions but also to propose related or even improved ideas to propel the nation forward.
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In his words:
“I have received several text messages from people wanting to know if I would have implemented the Oronsaye Report, which full implementation has just been directed by the President. In response to their questions, I would like to refer everyone to my Manifesto and my response to similar questions during my campaigns. On the 5th of October, 2022 at Havard University, I was asked: “Will you implement the Oronsaye Report?” and I responded in the affirmative.
“I went further to explain that implementing the report is one of the best ways to make governance efficient, cost-effective, and productive. Being in opposition does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticism. Whenever the government takes the right decision, we should agree and if need be, propose related or even better ideas to move the nation forward. I have always been an advocate of the 3 critical components of the Oronsaye Report, which are: i) drastically cutting the cost of governance; ii) eliminating the overlapping of responsibilities to ensure that responsibilities are appropriately domiciled; and iii) increasing efficiency and effectiveness, which will increase productivity.
“However, we must not rush to implement the Oronsaye Report just because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil servants. A very deep understanding of the workings of the Federal bureaucracy will be required to effectively implement the Report. Grasping the symetries between the federal and the other tiers of government will be imperative as Federal agencies have branches and outreaches in all the 36 states. We the political leaders, should be ready to back up such implementation with our sacrifices from comfort and selfishness, for the overall development of the nation. In implementing this Report, conscious effort must be made to cushion the effects of such a major overhaul on the workers, to avoid driving more people into hardship, in these very challenging times.” significant overhaul.
