President Bola Tinubu, during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, announced the abolition of the Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of Sports Development, marking an attempt to implement the Oronsaye’s report.
The presidency revealed that the responsibilities of these ministries would be absorbed by other entities as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at streamlining government operations.
Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesperson, stated that a new Ministry of Regional Development would be established to oversee all regional development commissions across Nigeria. This new ministry will consolidate the functions of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and other regional bodies, including the North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, and North East Development Commission.
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This restructuring is seen as an effort to centralize the management of regional development and reduce administrative redundancies.
In addition to the changes affecting the regional commissions, the FEC approved the merger of the Ministry of Tourism with the Ministry of Culture and Creative Economy. This decision reflects the government’s drive to simplify its structure and consolidate overlapping responsibilities within the federal administration.
With the dissolution of the Ministry of Sports Development, the government announced that the National Sports Commission would now assume its functions. The commission, previously a parastatal under the sports ministry, will be responsible for overseeing the administration and development of sports in Nigeria.
“The National Sports Commission will take over the role of the Ministry of Sports. The FEC also approved the merger of the Ministry of Tourism with the Ministry of Culture and Creative Economy. The decisions were taken today at the meeting of Federal Executive Council in Abuja,” the statement said.
Short of the Oronsaye Report’s Recommendations
While the recent changes mark a significant step in the reorganization of Nigeria’s federal structure, they fall short of fully implementing the Oronsaye report, a comprehensive public sector reform proposal submitted in 2012.
The Oronsaye report, spearheaded by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye, aimed to overhaul Nigeria’s bloated public sector to improve efficiency and reduce government spending. The 800-page document recommended slashing the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, merging 52 agencies, scrapping 38, and converting 14 into departments within existing ministries.
Among its key proposals was the elimination of the National Salaries and Wages Commission, whose functions were to be absorbed by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Responsibility Commission. The report also advocated for merging Nigeria’s leading anti-corruption agencies—the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)—to create a unified entity for combating corruption.
If fully implemented, the Oronsaye report was estimated to save the Nigerian government over N241 billion annually. The restructuring efforts announced by Tinubu, however, cover only a fraction of the recommendations, signaling a lack of political will toward comprehensive public sector reform.
In February, Tinubu’s administration declared its intention to implement all aspects of the Oronsaye report, including merging, scrapping, and relocating about 32 government agencies. Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, disclosed that a committee had been set up to oversee these changes within 12 weeks. However, the implementation has stalled, with Wednesday’s decisions representing baby steps rather than a sweeping overhaul.
Implications for the Niger Delta and Other Regions
The abolition of the Niger Delta Ministry raises questions about the future of development efforts in the oil-rich region, where issues like environmental degradation, resource mismanagement, and underdevelopment have long been a concern. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a regional body created to address the developmental challenges of the area, will now operate under the newly established Ministry of Regional Development.
Many argue that scrapping the Niger Delta Ministry could dilute focus on the region’s unique challenges, potentially leading to decreased funding and slower development. Conversely, supporters of the move believe it could lead to better coordination across regional development commissions and address criticisms of mismanagement and corruption that have plagued agencies like the NDDC.
When you are weak, greedy and corrupt, it’s hopeless believing that positive change will happen at scale. That pretty much sums up Nigeria’s political leadership. Theres been amalgam of constitutional amendments, but none has jettisoned the clause on appointing a minister from each state of the Federation. It’s always left untouched, yet we constantly yammer on cost of governance. Where else do you have this level of fraudulent people masquerading as citizens?
A very poor country that is always living large, but somewhat keeps pretending to be serious about development. Take Nigerians seriously at your own risk. People who don’t care about prudence, but quick to reproduce the same line items in their annual budgets, so unreal.
What do you even need development commissions all over the place for? These are commissions that bring no development, but conduits to steal and wreck the land. We practically create ministries and commissions for every living and non-living thing. This epitomizes leadership failure, so the more these things are created, the more we showcase our irresponsibility and lack of purpose.
Just eight or ten ministries will do all the tasks here, because we do next to nothing, other than wasting everyone’s time.