Four months after the Tinubu administration revived interest in proceeding with recommendations, it is yet to make any progress in the implementation of the Oronsaye Report.
If one is to give an ear to rumour milling, it is tipped that political manoeuvring and lobbying by some powerful individuals who will lose from the proposed merger of ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) is the main cause.
Some, however, speculate that the government may face logistical and financial challenges in mergers hence, the delay causing anxiety among civil servants and citizens who clamour for a leaner and agile government system.
It is widely believed that the government must provide clear and transparent communication on the progress of mergers and address any concerns or obstacles hindering the implementation of the Oronsaye report.
It may be recalled that FEC had approved the merging, scrapping, and subsuming of some MDAs in February this year in line with its policy of reducing the cost of governance.
President Tinubu’s special adviser on policy coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman, said the decision was based on the Steve Oronsaye Report on Civil Service Reforms inaugurated under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2014.
Furthermore, a director in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, while speaking on the expiration of the 12 weeks given to the presidential committee to develop a workable plan for implementing the merger of MDAs, said “The 12 weeks given to the presidential committee to implement the merger just expired, and today is Monday; you people should be patient and hold forth. Let us see what this week brings out. It is too early to ask what is happening. If the MDAs are prepared, I would not know how prepared they are, because MDAs are under the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. They oversee parastatals, not the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.”
