President Bola Tinubu
By Jon Egie
Days after the submission of the first batch of ministerial nominees to the Senate, President Bola Tinubu plans to restructure some federal government ministries.
Some will be merged, others will be created, and a few will be scrapped.
This reshuffle is based on the Stephen Oronsaye report’s recommendations on restructuring the civil service.
According to Punch, President Tinubu is set to implement some of these recommendations.
The Ministries of Education, Youths and Sports Development, Agricultural and Rural Development, Solid Minerals, Works and Housing, Power, and Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development are among those being considered for restructuring. These changes will also lead to the creation of new ministries.
There are plans to split the Ministry of Education into two: the Ministry of Tertiary Education and the Ministry of Basic Education, each overseeing tertiary and primary and secondary education respectively.
“The decision to create two ministries would improve the quality of service delivery in the two sectors,” sources in the civil service revealed.
The Ministry of Works and Housing will be unbundled, with a standalone Ministry of Works focusing on federal roads and highways and a revamped Ministry of Housing aimed at stimulating economic growth.
The Ministry of Humanitarian, Social Development and Disaster Management will be transformed into the Ministry of Human Development, with social development as one of its responsibilities.
The Federal Ministry of Transportation will be split into the Ministry of Railways and Rail Transport and the Ministry of Waterways and Marine Transportation.
The Ministry of Information will be renamed the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, with the National Orientation Agency taking on a significant role in disseminating information to the public.
Other new ministries will include Solid Minerals and Iron and Steel Development.
The Ministry of Budgeting and National Planning will be restructured, with budgeting merged with the Ministry of Finance, and National Planning moved to the newly formed Ministry of Statistics.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will also see changes, with the commerce component moved to the Ministry of Trade and Investment, and the industry component transferred to the new Ministry of Employment and Industry.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, hinted at these changes in a recent interaction with journalists.
However, it remains unclear whether the Tinubu administration will scrap some ministries and agencies per the Oransanye report.
Despite this uncertainty, experts believe the restructuring process will benefit certain ministries and facilitate the steady implementation of government policies.
Credit: PUNCH
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