The federal government has been advised to scrap the nation’s anti-graft graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) and 375 other agencies citing inefficiency and replication of duties at a huge cost on the nation’s purse.
The recommendation was made by the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies in its 800 paged report which recommended the reduction of the nation’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which are 541 in number, to 163.
According to the report the long-standing challenges that beset the Nigerian public sector has created a “single story” of inefficiency, corruption, poor work environment, low morale, ineffectiveness, deceit and low productivity, thereby establishing a perception of a dysfunctional and unproductive public sector.
The committee led by the former Head of Service, Stephen Oronsaye, during the submission of the report on Monday, recommended the outright scrapping of the anti-graft agencies (EFCC and ICPC) which it claims are performing the traditional functions of the Nigeria Police Force which includes fighting corruption.
Affirming that over the years, the Police force has failed at such duties, the committee questioned why the chairman of the EFCC is still appointed from the police and why the methodology adopted by the ICPC in conducting investigations as well as the training of its personnel are carried out by the police.
The report ponders “if it was really expedient to dismember the Nigeria Police rather than allow it to evolve as a vibrant and effective agency.”
Mr Oronsaye in his presentation to the president noted that “an institution is inefficient and ineffective should not be a basis for the creation of new ones”, adding that “it is a breach of acceptable practice of good public sector governance to create a new agency or institution as a response to the poor performance of an existing agency just to suit political or individual interests.”
He pointed out that the unnecessary duplication of the functions of agencies and parastatals puts the average cost of governance in Nigeria among the highest in the world.
The retired Head of service urged the federal government to embrace leaner governance just as it’s done in more advanced countries.
Also recommended for scrapping is the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), which the report observed was set up to do “a replication of the mandates of two existing bodies namely: the Highway Department of the Federal Ministry of Works with respect to the maintenance of safety and orderliness on our highways and the role of the Nigeria Police Force in ensuring law and order on our roads.”
Also cited was the case of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, which was established as the commercial arm of the Nigerian Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), but has now expanded its scope and is in rivalry with its parent body. The report further noted that the Nigerian Communications Satellite Corporation Bill recently passed by the House of Representatives also duplicates the functions of NASRDA.
It also added that the needless duplications of the bill further veers into the functions of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in the area of frequency allocation.
In the environment sector, the committee observed that 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. This is despite the fact that there is a standard operating procedure for oil companies in Nigeria to clean up oil spill whenever it occurs” the group claimed.
The report also had criticism that the federal government owned media companies stating that the nation’s boadcasting agencies (NTA,FRCN and VON) focuses more on building structures rather than acquisition of broadcasting software that will lessen its human capacity.
For the education sector, thee committee noted that three different agencies: 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.
The Committee strongly recommends a restructured Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), which must be charged with the coordination and monitoring of compliance by the MDAs.
The committee, which was inaugurated in August 2011, was asked by the president to review all previous reports/records on the restructuring of Federal government parastatals and advise on whether they are still relevant.
It will be recalled that former defence Minister, Theophilus Danjuma had given a similar recommendation to the president when he was inaugurated as Acting President in 2008.
Danjuma as the head of thePresidential Advisory Committee recommended that the federal government prune down the number of MDAs in the nation’s public service to save cost and improve efficiency.