The irony of Tinubu's government and the Oronsaye report

President Bola Tinubu’s mandate on the report’s immediate implementation has brought the Stephen Oronsaye Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies report back to the forefront of national discourse.

Maybe many Nigerians are accustomed to hearing statements like this from their president. Both the Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari administrations have issued identical directions at various points in time, but none of the report’s recommendations had been implemented twelve years after the report was submitted. Political observers have even gone so far as to characterize Tinubu’s edict as merely a decoy intended to divert attention away from the severe suffering that the nation is facing. However, some have contended that the President ought to be given the benefit of the doubt given his apparent strong desire to adopt drastic and audacious measures to alter Nigeria’s economic trajectory.

The Oronsaye report’s implementation is perfectly acceptable. The President said that thirty commissions, agencies, and parastatals of the federal government will be eliminated, combined, or taken over. It is necessary to remind people that the nation cannot continue to be wasteful, even while some interest groups and individuals may still argue and perhaps protest that certain government agencies or parastatals should not be merged or subsumed for reasons that are only known to them.

The nation’s financial stability is in jeopardy due to massive debt incurred on frivolous expenses. Given the current state of the economy, there is an urgent need to significantly reduce the cost of government.

The Nigerian Defence Academy is tasked with giving officer cadets the knowledge, skills, and values required to meet the requirements of a military officer through academic, military, and character development. I still find it hard to understand why a Nigerian Army University was established. Given that both the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assert that they combat corrupt practices related to financial crimes, why should they disband independently? In addition to being a waste of money, these agencies operate poorly because of their redundant responsibilities. If the report were to be strategically executed, I believe the President would have a significant impact.

Conversely, it is paradoxical that Tinubu is attempting to reduce the expense of government while shattering the record by appointing the greatest number of ministers in the nation’s history. They say charity starts at home.

I am curious as to how Tinubu and his 47-member cabinet (except from betta Edu being the only one on suspension) decided to carry out the recommendations of the Oronsaye report without first devising a strategy to shrink the size of the government by reducing the number of ministers who are primarily a drain on the national coffers.

A few people believed that the money allocated to a minister might support between 100 and 500 public officials, given their enormous allowances, the number of aides who drive “operational” SUVs, and the overhead associated with maintaining their offices. According to a report, each minister received an annual salary and benefits package of N11.85 million, in addition to an N6.08 million furniture allowance. It would be brave of Tinubu to radically combine some departments and remove some ministers from their positions in order to show restraint and guarantee stability in the economy.

Similarly, I will propose that the Senate be abolished, despite the fact that some may argue that the current constitutional revisions should open the door for a reduction in the number of Senators and House of Representatives members. We have little to show for the current economic crisis that has been brought about by an operating bicameral legislature. Additionally, an exponential adjustment should be made to the number of constituencies in the Green Chamber.

Furthermore, it would be noted that the President’s policy declarations lack sincerity. While he has been urging the average Nigerian to roll up his sleeves and put up with the current economic hostilities because the country’s economy is dire, his administration has budgeted N1.5 billion for SUVs for the “Office of the First Lady,” N4 billion for remodeling his residential quarters, another N4 billion for renovating Dodan Barracks, his official residence, and N3 billion for remodeling the Vice President’s official quarters. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike has reportedly set aside N15 billion for the building of the Vice President’s new residence.

Recently, N500 million was allocated by the same government to establish the 37-member Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage. What’s more? When the President declared that he and other senior government officials would be traveling abroad with fewer officials, the country went into a frenzy. The Presidency subsequently issued a statement stating that Tinubu had given the order for no more than 20 people to accompany him on any overseas travels. Conversely, the President, accompanied by two of his children, flew out on a state visit to Qatar with a delegation of 38 people. “Massive cost-cutting measures”—where are they? What is the correlation between his actions and statements? The President ought to follow through on his promises and actions.

Last but not least, Tinubu need to seriously reduce the number of redundancies in government departments, parastatals, and even the presidency rather than merely attempting to gain quick political points by ordering the prompt execution of the Oronsaye report.

In addition, he needs to address corruption, make sure that income leaks are stopped, and have a budget that is cost-effective in order to promote the new Nigeria that we are all hoping for.