Civil servants in Abuja have expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to merge, scrap, and subsume departments and agencies of federal ministries as a measure to reduce the cost of governance. They praised Tinubu’s leadership for implementing recommendations from the Steve Oronsaye report, which previous administrations had failed to act upon.

The Oronsaye report, submitted in 2012 and reviewed in 2022 by former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari respectively, outlined measures to restructure and rationalize government parastatals. Doris Nsa , a civil servant, commended Tinubu’s administration for prioritizing cost reduction and stated that the implementation of the report’s recommendations would address governance issues and redirect funds to more impactful areas.

Muhammed Dada echoed this sentiment, highlighting the significance of Tinubu’s decision in reviving hope for the report’s implementation. He emphasized the need for restructuring to eliminate duplicative roles among agencies and optimize budget allocations.

Christopher Ukpana pointed out the overlap between agencies like the National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the Centre for Disease Control, suggesting that merging such entities would streamline operations and optimize resource utilization. Ijeoma Ikechukwu emphasized the necessity of enhancing efficiency in service delivery, particularly amidst Nigeria’s economic challenges.

Overall, civil servants applauded Tinubu’s decision as a timely and necessary step towards reducing governance costs and improving resource management. They urged the government to ensure that the merging and scrapping process follows due process and legal provisions to maximize effectiveness.