FG TO MERGE EFCC, ICPC

The Federal Government has approved the merging of its two anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.

The merger of the two commissions comes as part of the government’s decision to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

This is contained in the report of the review committee on the White Paper chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, obtained by our correspondent on Monday.

The EFCC was established in 2003 to investigate financial crimes such as Advance Fee Fraud (419) and money laundering. Its establishment by the ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration was seen to be an urgent response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, which had named Nigeria as one of the 23 countries non-cooperative in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering.

The ICPC was also inaugurated by the Obasanjo administration to, among other functions, receive and investigate reports of corruption and prosecute the offender[s]; and to examine, review and enforce the correction of corruption-prone systems and procedures of public bodies with a view to eliminating corruption in public life.

 Both agencies were set up by enabling laws.

Also the Federal Executive Council has ordered the scrapping of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the National Poverty Eradication Programme and 218 other agencies established by it.

The names and number of federal agencies ordered to be scrapped or merged are included in a list already approved by the FEC, a copy of which was obtained by one of our correspondents on Monday.

Reuben Abati, spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan, had disclosed on June 12, 2013 that the FEC was considering the scrapping of 220 out of 541 federal parastatals, commissions and agencies.

But the Presidency said on Monday that no final decision had been reached on the implementation of the Oronsaye committee report.

“The report is still at the FEC level and a committee was set up to review the White Paper. There is no final decision yet on the recommendations, anything outside this is mere speculation. Nigerians should wait until government releases the White Paper. They should not rely on speculation,” Abati told journalists in Abuja.

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, had at the end of the FEC meeting last Wednesday told journalists that the council had concluded its three-week discussions on the draft White Paper on the report of the committee.

 The FEC list also shows that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission has been abolished with its functions transferred to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Responsibility, while BPE has been ordered “to conclude its assignment” and be wound up.

The Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Commission will also assume the responsibilities of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, which has also been abolished by the Federal Government.

Also abolished is the Public Complaints Council, whose responsibilities are to be taken up by the National Human Rights Commission.

The development followed months of speculations about government’s plan to cut down cost of running the government and to re-invigorate federal ministries, departments and agencies for greater efficiency.

Among the recommendations of the Oronsaye-committee rejected by the FEC was the scrapping of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

“The government rejects the recommendation of the Presidential Committee that the NCPC and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria be abolished and their functions be transferred to a department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” President Jonathan’s review committee stated.

Affected by the mild shake-up recommended by the Oronsaye committee are two professional organisations, the Council for Registered Engineers and Surveyors Registration Council which the Federal Government had ordered would no longer receive budgetary allocation from the 2015 Fiscal Year.

Shake-ups which the Federal Government had also carried out on some of the parastatals, commissions and agencies include a recommendation that “the law establishing Police Service Commission be amended to make Hon. Minister of Police Affairs to head the commission”.

The Federal Government has also directed that “the withdrawal of the Military from the Contributory Pension Scheme be reversed,” while the enabling law of the Nigeria Football Association “will be amended to reflect the directive of International Federation of Association Football (otherwise known as FIFA) that the organisation should be renamed Federation”.

The National Youth Service Corps is also to be “restructured with a view to developing a framework to cover critical areas of national socio-economic development to which corps members would be deployed for their primary assignments.”

Among the agencies to be retained by the government are the Nigeria Police Council, Bureau of Public Procurement, Infrastructural Concessionary and Regulatory Commission, National Sports Commission, National Institute of Sports and Citizen Leadership Training Centre.

Also to be retained are the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, which is to incorporate the Federal Highways Department of the Federal Ministry of Works and transformed into an “extra-ministerial department”, National Boundary Commission, Border Communities Development Agency and National Merit Award.

Othes are the Debt Management Office, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, National Bureau of Statistics, Centre for Management Development and New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS.

Abati on Monday described as speculative reports that the government had resolved to scrap some of its agencies and merge others.

Maku had said that the FEC secretariat had been directed to tidy up the draft White Paper with a view to producing a clean copy that will be presented to Nigerians.

But the minister had given an insight into one of the areas where the changes expected might be more pronounced as the research institutes and centres under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Maku had said while some of the research institutes would be scrapped, some others would be placed under existing universities for improved efficiency.

He added that a committee chaired by the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, was set up to take another look at a section of the Oronsaye report that has to do with research agencies spread across the country.

The idea, according to him, is to bring a report that will rationalise the agencies and ensure that they become more effective and result-driven.

Maku had said, “From what we have done, it is very clear that major decisions will be taken in many of the key sectors to reduce the number of agencies, particularly those that are performing duplicating duties and whose functions overlap.

“For example, there are so many research agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology and when you look at some of the agencies, some of the functions they perform could indeed be coordinated by universities.”

Source: Punch