Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has stated that there is currently no specific timeline for implementing the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Report. He made this statement during an interview on Tuesday following his visit to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) headquarters in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila, who previously served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, dismissed claims that the report’s implementation has been deliberately delayed. He assured that the Federal Government is working on all necessary measures to ensure a smooth implementation when the time comes.
The Oronsaye Report, completed 12 years ago, remained largely untouched during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. However, the current government sees the report as aligning with its goals to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
In February, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Tinubu, approved the full implementation of the report. This decision involves merging some government agencies and commissions, while others may be dissolved or relocated.
To oversee these changes, an eight-member committee was established with a mandate to complete the task within 12 weeks. Despite this, six months have passed without any visible progress. Instead, in July, the President created a new Ministry of Livestock Development, a move that has drawn mixed reactions.
The Oronsaye Report was first commissioned in 2011 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan to address overlapping functions among government agencies, which were causing excessive spending. The report recommended reducing 263 agencies to 161, abolishing 38, and merging 52 to cut costs and improve government efficiency.
