Opinion
The Earth Shook
When we told people that the 3 main contestants for the presidential ticket in the 2021 elections, only Tinubu had the testicular fortitude to make unpopular but right decisions for the country, few believed us.
A good number may have begun to see with us when the two others prevaricated on the issue of currency swap at the cusp of the elections, but Tinubu stood firm against that policy then, not minding that it was by his own party, the APC.
Many more Nigerians who didn’t know this aspect of Tinubu’s strength began to know it when he acceded to the removal of the fuel subsidy, a policy reached by previous administration but not implemented by them, right at his inaugural speech.
On Monday, the 26th of February 2024, the earth shook under the feet of the D and As in MDAs as President Tinubu gave accent to the Steve Oronsaye Committee Jonathan commissioned in 2012 and Buhar’s 2022 amended whitepaper on subsuming, merging and scraping some federal agencies and parastatals to cut down government expenditures, drive efficiency to reengineer efforts towards curbing financial wastages and increasing revenue generation instead.
Some agencies affected by this Tinubu’s presidential accent didn’t see it coming.
In June last year, only a month after Tinubu Presidency began, a circular had gone round to some agencies and parastatals to prepare for self-funding and sufficiency by the 1st of January 2024. Some of those affected by yesterday’s announcement were not on that June list.
The affected agencies are:
Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD)
National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC)
MERGED
National Agency for Control of Aids (NACA) to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to be merged with National Commission on Refugee, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI)
Directorate of Technical Cooperation on Africa (DTCA) to be merged with Directorate of Technical Aid (DTAD) and to function as a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE)
Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) to be merged with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC)
National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to merge with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization (NCAM) and Project Development Institute (PRODA)
National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to be merged with National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB)
National Institute for Leather Science Technology (NILEST) to be merged with National Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT)
The Nomadic Education Commission (NEC) to be merged with National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non-Formal Education
Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria (FRCN) to be merged with Voice of Nigeria (VON)THE National Commission
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments to be merged with National Gallery of Arts
The National Theatre to be merged with the National Troupe of Nigeria
The National Meteorological Development Centre (NMDC) to be merged with National Meteorological Training Institute (NMTI)
Nigerian Army University (NAUB) to be merged with Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA)
SUMSUMED
Service Compact with All Nigerians (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission (NBC)
National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to be subsumed into Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC)
Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be subsumed under Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA)
Public Complaint Commission (PCC) to be subsumed under the National Human Right Commission (NHRC)
Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis (NITR) to be subsumed into Institute of Veterinary Research (VON)
Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) to be subsumed under the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD)
National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission to be subsumed under the administration of Nigerian Pension Commission (PENCOM)
The Nigerian Film and Video Censor Board (NFVCB) to be subsumed as a department in the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy
RELOCATED
Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDHC) to be relocated to Ministry of Power
National Agricultural Land Development Agency (NALDA) to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
National Blood Service Commission to be converted into an agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health
Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to be converted into an agency and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The need to rejig the size, structure and operations of the government and bureaucracy to drive efficiency has been the stringent call from many well-meaning Nigerians for many years.
In election to walk through fields that even the braves tiptoed, Tinubu again has shown willingness and commitment to listening to the people and fearlessly taken steps that are designed for the betterment of all, as a good leader and guide should.
When we campaigned, we urged that what Nigerians needed to do for Tinubu was simply to identify projects and ideas that are geared towards yielding the best benefits to most, if not all Nigerians and making these known to him as President. If he bought into these ideas, consider them done.
One of the examples we cited then was Nwankwo Kanu Heart Foundation.
No governor, including those of the Southeastern States, then, saw the potentials in the proposal nor considered it worthwhile, until Kanu managed to bring it to the attention of Tinubu the then Governor of Lagos State, that is, governance in labour divided.
By yesterday’s action, President Tinubu has played his part. All MDAs need to play theirs taking a cue from the president’s bold and beneficial minded leadership and guidance so that we may all breathe as Tinubu breathes.
Dili Ezughah, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Press Council was the Secretary of the Strategic Communications Directorate/APC/Tinubu/Shettima PCC.
