From Fred Itua, Abuja
Senate may soon commence moves to scrap some moribund departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who mulled the idea, said other agencies and departments with conflicting responsibilities will be merged.
Ekweremadu said this when the upper legislative chamber considered an interim report of its Ad hoc Committee on Alleged Mis-use, Under Remittance and other Fraudulent Activities.
He said Senate may soon request for a copy of the report of the Presidential committee on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government parastatals, commissions and agencies, chaired by a former Head of Service, Mr. Steven Oronsaye.
Oronsaye’s committee had recommended scrapping of 102 statutory agencies from the current 263, abolition of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and reversion of 14 to departments in the ministries.
The 800-page report also recommended the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies and councils.
The committee was set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan did not submit the outcome of the exercise to the National Assembly for further consideration before he left office in 2015.
Top on the list of agencies recommended for scrapping are the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Ajaokuta Steel Company and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO).
On the list recommended for merger are the Standards Organisation of Nigeria; Consumer Protection Council (CPC); National Orientation Agency (NOA); National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO); Nigerian Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Studies (NIHOTOUR); National Troupe and the National Theatre; National Gallery of Arts; Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN); Nigeria Leather Science Technology; National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT); National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA); Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI); FIIRO, NASENI, NCAM; National Rural Electrification Agency (NREA); National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN).
Also affected are the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA); Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR); National Economic Recovery Fund (NERFUND); National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA); Nigerian Institute for Education Planners and Administrators; National Metallurgical Development Centre Jos, National Metallurgical Training Institute Onitsha, Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences (NIMG) Jos; Nigerian Geological Survey; National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA); National Productivity Centre; Nigerian Copyright Commission; NTA, FRCN, Voice of Nigeria; National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Roll-Back Malaria, Epidemiology and Surveillance, Occupational and Environmental Health, Health Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Ekweremadu argued that some of the agencies are only receiving free annual allocations but are not productive.
He called for a review of some Acts setting up the agencies.