The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Monday, February 26.

One of the President’s media aides, Bayo Onanuga, also said in a post on X, shortly after the meeting that the directive aimed at a “leaner government.”

The directive came barely seven months after the President formed the biggest-ever cabinet in the country with 48 ministers and dozens of aides who are remunerated with the country’s lean resources.

The ICIR reports that fears had grown among workers because of possible job losses given the duplication of responsibilities by some Federal Government agencies since the Oronsaye team presented the report.

For instance, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) does almost the same jobs as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The two institutions have hundreds of workers.

The report recommended their merger.

Similarly, the report recommended that the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and the Voice of Nigeria (VON) should be merged. These are in addition to several other agencies of the Federal Government that will be scrapped or merged.

If implemented, the Federal Government’s 263 statutory agencies as of 2012 could be reduced to 161, making 102 heads of those agencies lose their jobs.

The report, submitted to the Federal Government in 2012, caught the attention of the three presidents that have led the nation between 2012 and now. They are former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Mohammadu Buhari, and the incumbent Tinubu.

Jonathan and Buhari had at different times considered its implementation but failed.

The former set up the committee in 2012 and named it “The Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies”, with former Head of Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye heading it.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while speaking to the State House correspondents said the decision by Tinubu to merge the MDAs was in the interest of Nigerians.⁣

“So in a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye Report.⁣

“Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped. Some have been modified, and marked while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where the government feels they will operate better,” Idris said.

Similarly, Onanuga noted that the President and the Federal Executive Council had decided to implement the report.

“Twelve years after the Steve Oronsaye panel submitted its report on restructuring and rationalising Federal Government parastatals and agencies and a white paper issued two years after, President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council today decided to implement the report.

“Many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged, to pave the way to a leaner government,” he said.

The implementation involves merging, subsuming and scrapping agencies with similar functions.

According to Onanuga, an eight-man committee has a 12-week deadline to ensure that the necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms are effected in an efficient manner.

The committee members include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Minister of Budget and Planning, Director-General Bureau of Public Service Reform, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, and Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly.

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This information was presented during the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair, which was held on Thursday in Abuja and was organized by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ACCI, by NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta.

The 12-day fair this year has “Sustainable Financing and Taxation” as its focus.

According to Mr. Danbatta, who was speaking on behalf of the Director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, Umar Alkasim, there were 159,034,717 million active internet users worldwide as of August 2023, and broadband penetration was 45.57 percent.

According to him, the capacity of Nigerian firms to use new technology and have the essential digital skills to conduct business internationally is what determines how competitive they are.

Mr Danbatta said: “In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023, while Teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent at the same period.

“Also, the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 Million with broadband penetration at 45.57 percent as at August, 2023.

“In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depends on their ability to leverage new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.

“This in turn benefits the economy financially.”

He said that NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services would benefit Nigeria and make it competitive and comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation and contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth

“Emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.

“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services.

“This is in order to deepen the competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our businesses and industries digitally compliant,” the EVC added.

To sustain the steady growth of the telecoms sector, Mr. Danbatta said that NCC would continue to create a conducive environment.

He said that an environment that would stimulate the deployment of robust broadband infrastructure to improve the quality of service, QoS, and quality of experience (QoE) for telecom consumers, be it individuals or corporations.

“This is because, as a country, we need robust telecom infrastructure that will help our industries transition to becoming information and communication technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage,” Mr. Danbatta said.

Umar Alkasim, the director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, had earlier reaffirmed the NCC’s commitment to ensuring fair competition and level playing fields for all sector participants.

Mr. Alkasim stated that the commission was defending the interests of consumers from abuse of their rights and privileges against unfair practices in the telecom service value chain. He was speaking on behalf of the NCC’s Head of Consumer Policy Development and Monitoring, Ayanbanji Ojo.

“This commitment is demonstrated by the commission’s continuous effort to establish seamless programmes that would Protect, Inform and Educate (PIE Mandate) telecom consumers through various consumer-centric initiatives,” he said.

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Danbatta described Nigeria as an African continent telecommunications powerhouse with 82 percent of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29 percent of internet consumption.

Addressing stakeholders at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja, at the opening ceremony of the Emerging Technology Workshop and Forum for the telecom industry, Danbatta, however, lamented that the ranking of Nigeria globally in relation to Network Readiness Index (NRI) not impressive.

Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Director of Spectrum Administration at the NCC, Abraham Osadami said Nigeria would need to expand its telecommunications infrastructures to attain appropriate ranking.

Danbatta said: “Nigeria is a telecommunications powerhouse, with 82% of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29% of the continent’s internet consumption. Our nation rates eleventh globally in terms of internet penetration and seventh in terms of mobile phone usage.

“Despite these remarkable metrics, the fact that our Network Readiness Index (NRI) ranking for 2022 is 109th out of 131 countries is both humbling and challenging.

“The NRI is a guiding metric that measures the role and impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

“It explores the performances of 131 economies in four key categories: technology (infrastructure), governance, people, and impact. As agents of social and economic transformation in our nation, prioritizing network readiness is not only a strategic necessity but a mandate.”

Highlighting the significance of the Forum, Danbatta said the surge in data utilisation, the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), the advent of artificial intelligence, and the emergence of cutting-edge technologies necessitated the urgent need for ongoing network surveillance and expansion.

“To navigate this era of transformation, we must embrace innovation, make strategic investments, and cultivate a growth-friendly ecosystem” he added.

The EVC said even though the industry has achieved remarkable growth in the past two decades, more investments would be needed to upscale the performance of the industry and meet the expectations of the citizens.

He said the forum would engage in thought-provoking discussions and tap from the resources and presentations of renowned professionals in the technology landscape for maximum results.

Danbatta said: “As we convene here today, the innovation symphony resonates with our common goals. The Emerging Technology Forum acts as a beacon, directing us towards the intersection of transformation and advancement.

“This forum is where we bridge the divide between aspiration and achievement. Through spirited dialogues, collaborative exchanges, and the exploration of emerging technologies, we move closer to our vision of a fully interconnected, telecommunications-driven Nigeria.”

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Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman (EVC) of NCC, disclosed this at the second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE) in Lagos, on Wednesday.

Danbatta was represented by Ubale Maska, the commission’s executive commissioner (technical service).

He expressed the commitment of the agency towards the drive of the federal government to place the economy on a sustainable pedestal through all the necessary policies put in place.

In fostering this vision, Danbatta said the commission created the Nigeria Office for Development of Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) as a special-purpose vehicle to bring it to fulfilment.

“I am happy to inform you that NTICE is one of the achievements of NCC through NODITS because it has served not only to promote pillar number five (strategic partnering) of the strategic management plan SMP 2020-2024 of the commission,” the NCC boss said.

“The commission is equally committed to continuously supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and innovators to promote our talented young persons and ventures through angel investments, research and development support, exposure to investors and sponsorship to local and international tech events.”

In addition to NCC’s feats, Danbatta said the ban on the importation of whole-body SIM cards — announced at the maiden NTICE event last year — was another significant achievement.

“This ban has not only eased the burden on our demand for foreign exchange but has also created business in excess of N55 billion for the local SIM card manufacturers in Nigeria which in turn has created direct and indirect jobs,” he added.

Danbatta said by promoting indigenous content, Nigeria can boost economic growth.

He also urged the government to grant the telecommunications industry autonomy to enable it to thrive.

‘PRICING REGIME OF INDUSTRY IS NOT SUSTAINABLE’

In his remarks, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), asked the federal government to consider granting the industry autonomy.

He said the industry’s success, especially in the most recent years, has been traced to its independence.

Adebayo said ALTON is requesting the independence of the industry regulator — the NCC. 

“So, while we welcome Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy and congratulate him, we ask that a guarantee be placed on the autonomy and independence of our regulator,” the ALTON chairman said.

“Let him (the minister) stay with the issue of policy and leave NCC with regulation

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