President Bola Tinubu ordering the implementation of the Oronsaye report after setting up a bloated team of ministers and aides does not inspire confidence.

Development Diaries reports that President Tinubu has established a committee tasked with executing mergers, scrapping, and relocations within a 12-week timeline.

The 800-page Oronsanye Report advocates reducing the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, scrapping 38 agencies, merging 52, and reverting 14 to departments in different ministries.

But how will this reduce governance costs when the federal government says no jobs will be lost in the process?

It will not serve the intended purpose for the president to start implementing the Oronsaye report while keeping the presidency in its current bloated form.

President Tinubu appointed 47 ministers and at least 20 aides, breaking the previous record for the highest ministerial nominees since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule. We still believe that reducing the size of the president’s cabinet would serve as a tangible demonstration of commitment to cost-cutting measures within the government.

It was unwise for a government faced with headline inflation that rose to 24.08 percent in July 2023, dwindling foreign reserves, and rising public debt estimated by the Debt Management Office to be 37 percent of GDP at the time to set up a bloated cabinet.

The president must demonstrate a strong will to initiate drastic cost-cutting that could send a strong message to the Nigerian populace that the government is serious about tackling fiscal irresponsibility.

In addition, the president ought to reduce the number of aides accompanying him on official trips. That is the appropriate message to deliver to Nigerians.

Development Diaries calls on President Tinubu to downsize his cabinet, including doing away with the needless waste of resources on frivolous issues, to build citizens’ trust and confidence in Nigeria’s leadership and governance institutions.

Photo source: Bola Tinubu