Ndoma-Egba Decries Escalating Cost of Governance, Loss of Efficiency, Effectiveness in Nigeria

Sunday Ehigiator

A former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has decried the long-standing and escalating cost of running government in Nigeria, arguing that the desire to cut costs has, paradoxically, often been at the expense of efficiency and effectiveness.

Drawing on his experience as a young commissioner in 1984, Ndoma-Egba lamented the vast difference between the lean governments of the past and the current expansive structures.

The former senator who spoke at “The Exchange,” a podcast hosted by Femi Soneye, recounted a time when the number of commissioners per state was capped at a mere seven, a limit grudgingly increased to nine by the then-military Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, after officials complained about the overwhelming workload.

“Crucially, in those days, there were no special advisors or special assistants, maintaining a dramatically smaller government footprint,” he said.

He later took on the role of Chief Executive of the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DIFRI), managing three major roles simultaneously.

He argued that this extreme concentration of responsibilities, though initially intended to “cut costs,” resulted in the sacrifice of efficiency. He stated, “With that kind of load, you sacrifice efficiency,” suggesting that while the initial intent was financially sound, the practical outcome hindered service delivery.

Ndoma-Egba also connected the issue of cost to project execution. He recalled a time when, as Commissioner for Works, he had a rough idea of the estimated cost of a kilometre of road, noting it was about N50,000 at the time. This knowledge allowed for accountability and comparison with other nations.

However, the problem of high-cost governance persists and is now a major part of the national economic pain.The senator noted that the argument about the cost of governance and projects has “always been there,” dating back to his time as a young appointee.