PRELIMINARY REACTION TO THE ORONSAYE’S REPORT.
Replying a question by Vanguard Newspaper.
Question– Please we will like to know what you think – should state governments follow the example of the federal government now trying to reduce the cost of governance through the implementation of the Oronsaye report?
Answer– I think the first port of call is to look at the report itself.
The Oronsaye report in itself is a bit outdated, needs a lot of constitutional bureaucracy to come to life and it’s somehow deficient in the area of reducing “cost of governance”.
Any ideological person will know that it’s just a means to reduce how much money is spent to cater for civil servants in MDAs. I agree with the issue of duplication of tasks that it aims to address and it is in line with our policy at the AAC, that some parastatals that government funds will have to go. A very embarrassing example is the Pilgrimage Commission that Tinubu just subsidized with billions. How does that even make sense? Why should the government of a secular state be funding religious trips?
It all shows that the whole report implementation announcement by Tinubu is a ruse. How do you say you want to reduce cost of governance yet fund unproductive parastatals and your government has apparently created Office of the First Lady and that of the first Son? That’s a joke.
That’s why I said it’s deficient. The report has not addressed why a President will appoint 52 Ministers (highest since 1999) and many SAs to SSAs. How do you claim you are reducing or merging agencies but you increase Ministries? That’s plus 2, minus 2, which is equal to zero.
The ultimate goal should be to reduce the cost of running the lifestyle of those in government. You can merge EFCC and ICPC. Good. But then scrap the office of the First Lady and first son. Merge Senate and House of Reps where billions are shared on a monthly basis, or better still keep one, scrap one. That’s our manifesto at the African Action Congress (AAC). The resources of Nigerians should not be used to service a bicameral legislative system.
Many also do not know that the report recommends a wicked cut down on spending on social services, especially education and that’s what the Tinubu regime is targeting. The regime knows what and what it wants to implement in the report. Nigerians can’t be fooled.
Until this is addressed, the State following what you call example of the Federal Government is defective. And with our history of poor policy and implementation, the states will just end up laying off innocent workers.
- Femi Adeyeye
National Publicity Secretary,
African Action Congress
1/3/2024