Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government has inaugurated the White Paper Committee to review the new parastatals, agencies and commissions that were created since 2014.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, yesterday, inaugurated the eight-man committee headed by Mrs. Ebele Okeke.
The committee will consider the recommendations and produce a White Paper on the report of the committee headed by Ms Ama Pepple, which the government constituted to review new agencies created from 2014 to date.
Mustapha said the government was concerned about the increasing cost of governance with regard to revenue challenges in the country that needed to be addressed. He said the high cost of governance was being worsened by the creation of new agencies.
He said the inability of the federal government to implement the report of the Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commission, which Steve Oronsaye headed in 2011 was costing the government highly.
The SGF noted that the Oronsaye Committee which submitted its report on April 16, 2012, made various recommendations, including abolition, reduction, merger and reversion of some of the agencies to departments in the ministries.
However, a White Paper was issued on the committee report in March, 2014 followed by an implementation committee that was inaugurated in May, 2014. But the White Paper rejected most of the recommendations, and merely noted an equally greater number. The accepted recommendations were also not implemented.
He noted that it was to address this challenge that prompted the federal government in November 2021 to inaugurate two committees. One of the committees was to review the Steve Orosanye Report and its White Paper chaired by Mr. Goni Bukar Aji, a retired Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, while the second committee, chaired by Pepple was constituted to review new agencies created from 2014 to date.
The Okeke committee is to look at the recommendations made by Pepple committee for consideration by government. It will submit its report to government within six months.
The other members of the committee are Mrs. Ibukun Odusote and Mr. Mustapha Lawal Sulaiman, both retired permanent secretaries. Others are Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, Mr. Mahmuda Mamman, Hassan Musa and Dr. (Mrs.) Ifeoma Anyawutaku, all active permanent secretaries. The Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Dasuki Arabi is the Secretary.
