Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says the implementation of the Oronsaye report is a welcome development albeit long overdue.
In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan constituted the Stephen Oronsaye-led panel to identify inadequacies in the country’s civil service.
In 2012, the committee submitted an 800-page report and recommended the abolishment and merging of 102 government agencies and parastatals.
The committee on the white paper submitted its report in 2014.
Since the submission of the report, the recommendations have not been implemented.
On Monday, President Bola Tinubu directed the full implementation of the Oronsaye report.
The report revealed that there are 541 statutory and non-statutory federal government parastatals, commissions and agencies.
Speaking with reporters at the end of the federal executive council (FEC) on Monday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information, said Tinubu has approved some reforms based on the Oronsaye report.
Idris said numerous agencies would be eliminated, while others would be combined or restructured to cut governance costs.
Reacting to the development in a post on his X page on Wednesday, Obi said he has received numerous messages from people wanting to know if he would have implemented the Oronsaye report had he won the election.
The former Anambra governor said his answer is yes, adding that the implementation of the report was part of his campaign manifesto.
He said being in the opposition does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticisms, noting that whenever the government makes the right decisions, related or even better ideas on how to move the nation forward should be proposed.
“Although the implementation of the report is long overdue, its implementation is a welcome development so long as the decision is informed by these principles,” Obi said.
“Beyond implementing the Oronsaye Report, the government should go further and cut the cost of governance across board.
“Having found it imperative to implement the Report, the government should now do away with the bogus and needless wastages of our scarce resources on frivolous issues, and deploy such funds to the critical areas of Education, Health, and pulling people out of poverty.”
Obi added that implementation of the report should not be rushed because those who will directly be affected are mostly civil servants.
He urged other political leaders to back the implementation of the report.
“We must not rush to implement the Oronsaye Report just because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil servants,” Obi said.
“A very deep understanding of the workings of the Federal bureaucracy will be required to effectively implement the Report.
“We the political leaders, should be ready to back up such implementation with our sacrifices from comfort and selfishness, for the overall development of the nation.
“In implementing this Report, conscious effort must be made to cushion the effects of such a major overhaul on the workers, to avoid driving more people into hardship, in these very challenging times.
“Also Nigerians are yet to be informed about the extant White Paper pertinent to the report’s implementation. Moreover, you cannot ask those who are likely to be affected by the downsizing to manage the process.
“Government must also show clearly the amount of resources to be saved in the implied shrinking of government. It should also indicate clearly where and how the saved resources are to be redeployed.
“More importantly, the implementation needs to be accompanied by a template to avoid a future bloating of government.
“By doing the right things and implementing the right policies, we will build the New Nigeria of our dreams.”