487 federal agencies to guzzle N2 trillion
Hundreds of federal agencies, many of them with duplicated roles, will consume nearly two trillion naira in running their bureaucracies this year, Daily Trust investigations have shown.
Official figures from the 2017 budget proposals show that N1.985 trillion, over one quarter of the federal budget is allocated to the 487 federal agencies, departments, commissions, institutes and other bodies.
This is happening against the backdrop of the government’s resolve to cut cost of governance, a stance taken even before the current economic recession set in.
Most of the 487 federal agencies that are annually guzzling trillions have duplicated roles; dozens KEEP DONATING TO THE hardly do anything apart from keeping the red tape long, while a large number of them continue to outlive their statutory duties.
There are also little-known agencies, ostensibly performing some roles when in reality such duties are no longer being executed by government.
Despite this, the National Assembly is planning to create about 25 additional federal agencies.
A Presidential Committee headed by former Head of Service of the Federation, Steven Oronsaye in 2011, recommended the merger of agencies and commissions with overlapping roles.
A whitepaper to that effect was produced but former President Goodluck Jonathan never acted on it up to the time he left office.
Some of the ministries with the highest number of agencies are Agriculture, Health, Education, Science & Technology, Mines & Steel, Water Resources, Information & Culture, and Trade, Industry & Investment.
Many of the 487 agencies are relevant, like the teaching hospitals, but the majority only give advice or exist to undertake research whose results are not noticeable.
Nigeria has commissions for complaints, refugees, electricity, boundaries, salaries and wages, human rights, utility charges, pensions, population, Niger Delta, fiscal responsibility, and federal character.
It also has agencies for automobiles, peace, tourism, museums and monuments, gallery of art, lottery trust fund, lottery regulation, procurement, privatisation, public servants’ conduct, consumers’ protection, and poverty eradication.
For instance, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA) are two federal agencies regulating electricity supply in the country.
The federal government also has research institutes on cereals, root crops, palm oil, cocoa, rubber, veterinary, dates, animals, horticulture and produce inspection. There are also institutes for fresh water fish, fishery and oceanography
Most of these research institutes are either less active or the results of their research work are neglected.
Under education, the Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC), the Nomadic Education Commission (NEC), and the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and NonFormal Education (NCMLA) all perform functions related to the provision of basic education. These agencies have different staffing and boards that gulp billions annually.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) duplicates the function already assigned by law to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on tackling oil spillage.
The mandates of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) are the traditional functions of the Nigeria Police.
Both the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Public Complaints Commission (CPC) tackle issues concerning individual rights violations.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) have mandates in the area of frequency allocation.
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, established as the commercial arm of the Nigerian Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), has now expanded its scope and is in rivalry with its parent body.
On space science alone, the federal government has about six agencies. They are Africa Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology, Ile-Ife; Centre for Scientific Technology Development, Lagos; Centre for Space Transport and Propulsion, Lagos; Centre for Basic Space Science, Nsukka; National Space Research and Development Agency, Abuja; and NigComSat, Abuja.
Apart from the duplicated institutes, for instance, there are about three colleges of fresh water fisheries in New Bussa and Baga. They are National Institute of Freshwater Fish, New Bussa; Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa and Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, Baga.
In Lagos alone, there are Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology and National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research.
This does not include dozens of institutes and colleges for animal science, land, plants and others.
Daily Trust learnt that among the federal research institutes are those that outlived their usefulness but are still there gulping public funds.
Also, Nigeria has about 24 ‘business incubator centres’ spread across the country. It has institutes and centres for electronics, engineering designs, space science, generic and biotechnology, building and roads, natural medicine, hydraulic equipment, space transports, basic space, technology management, satellite technology, technology acquisition, power equipment and science laboratory.
The 41 research institutes, agencies and commissions under the Ministry of Agriculture would gulp N30 billion this year.
The Health ministry has about 115 of such agencies with over N250 billion budgeted for them in 2017.
Petroleum ministry has six of such agencies/institutes with N60 billion earmarked for them in this year’s budget.
The intelligence community, comprising of four agencies under the office of the National Security Adviser, would spend N67 billion this year.
Also, about 30 of such research institutes and commissions in the Education ministry will spend over N100 billion in 2017.
Under the State House, 15 commissions will spend N25 billion. Trade and Investment has 16 and it will spend N10 billion on them; Science and Technology has 99 and has budgeted N29 billion for them.
Interior ministry has eight of such agencies and plans to spend N479 billion this year, the Justice ministry has eight and has earmarked N21 billion for them; Information and Culture has 21 and will spend N38 billion; Works, Power and Housing has 13 and would spend N42 billion; Mines and Steel has 10 and has budgeted N10 billion for them.
Defence ministry’s 14 bodies would gulp N308 billion; Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has 18 and has earmarked N44billion for them; Water Resources has 16 and will spend N7 billion for them; Transportation with eight has budgeted N15 billion; Sports and Youths Affairs with only four will spend N78 billion.
The Oronsaye panel recommended the reduction of statutory agencies of government from 263 to 161, scrapping of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and conversion of 14 to departments in ministries as well as the removal of all professional bodies/councils from the national budget in order to slash the exorbitant cost of governance.