FG to Set up Another White Paper Committee to Review Oronsaye Report

Olawale Ajimotokan

The federal government has said it would set up a White Paper Committee to review the report of the Committee on Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions created between 2012 and October 2021.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, disclosed this yesterday, during the submission of the reports of the Committees on Review of White Paper on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions and Review of Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions Created after the Conclusion of Report on Restructuring and Rationalisation.

The committees were constituted in relation to the report of a committee headed by Stephen Oronsaye in 2011.
Mustapha said government would also make its position known as soon as possible on the report of the Committee.
He assured that all outstanding actions to finalise the issue of restructuring and rationalisation would be addressed in the shortest possible time.

He said government was conscious of the fact that, irrespective of reforms in the other sectors, if the public sector reform was not sustainable and internalised, governance would lag from delivering effective and efficient services to the people.

The SGF noted that the daily galloping recurrent expenditure which was 40.3 per cent (N6.9 trillion) as against 31.9 per cent (N5.471trillion) for capital expenditure in the year 2022 appropriation has further placed enormous burden on the administration to deal with the matter of cost of governance.

The Chairman of the Committee on Review of Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions Created after the Conclusion of Report on Restructuring and Rationalisation, Ms. Amal Pepple, noted the committee expanded its work to cover the period immediately after the release of the original report and left out parastatals, agencies and commissions created between 2012 and 2014. She said the recommendations of her Committee were strictly guided by the Terms of Reference and focused on reducing cost of governance, improving cost efficiency, eliminating duplication or overlapping functions of government funding professional associations.

The committee said if government was desirous of addressing high cost of governance, it must place moratorium on creation of new federal parastatals, agencies and Commissions and must direct the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission to adhere strictly to the Act establishing it and henceforth desist from approving salaries.
It also recommended strict adherence by political office holders to the terms of their engagement especially in relation to appointment of aides.