Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has confirmed that there is no specific timeline for the implementation of the Steve Oronsaye Report.

Speaking on Tuesday during an interview after an official visit to the headquarters of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja, Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, refuted claims that the report had been stalled.

“The Oronsaye Report is being thoroughly reviewed. Yes, it has been discussed for several months now, but anything worth doing is worth doing properly,” Gbajabiamila stated.

He explained that the Federal Government is currently working out the necessary modalities to ensure a smooth rollout of the policy when it is eventually implemented.

“It is not as straightforward as it may seem. A committee has been established to examine the report, and I am confident that the final report will be released soon, followed by its implementation. I cannot provide an exact timeline, but it will happen soon. We do not want to compromise thoroughness in the rush to get things done,” he added.

The 12-year-old Oronsaye Report saw little progress during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office, but the new administration has indicated that implementing the report aligns with its cost-cutting measures.

In February, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), chaired by President Tinubu, approved the full implementation of the Oronsaye Report, which recommends the merger of some parastatals, agencies, and commissions, while others are to be subsumed, scrapped, or relocated. This move is part of the government’s strategy to reduce the cost of governance and streamline efficiency across the public sector.

To ensure the implementation of these changes, FEC established an eight-member committee with the mandate to complete the mergers, eliminations, and relocations within 12 weeks.

However, six months later, the report has yet to be implemented. Instead, the President recently created a Ministry of Livestock Development from the Ministry of Agriculture, a move that has sparked mixed reactions.

The Oronsaye Report dates back to 2011 when then-President Goodluck Jonathan established the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions, and Agencies, with Steve Oronsaye as chairman.

On 16th April 2012, the committee submitted an 800-page report identifying overlapping agencies that were causing excessive expenditure. The report recommended that the 541 parastatals, commissions, and agencies be reduced to 161, with 38 agencies abolished and 52 merged.