University lecturer cautions FG over implementation of Orosanye Panel’s Report. Professor Mustapha Gimba, a former head of the department of economics at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, has issued a warning to the federal government over the application of the Orosanye Panel’s Report.
According to Prof. Gimba, implementing the findings now, during these trying times, would result in job losses, hardship, and an increase in criminal activity. He also observed that the life expectancy of redundant workers would be drastically reduced owing to unforeseen suffering.
The Federal Government established the White Paper Drafting Committee, led by Mrs. Ebele Okeke, a former head of the Federation’s civil service, in July to assess new parastatals, agencies, and commissions. In order to review the Orosanye reports, the committee was required to produce the white paper reports of the committees established by the Federal Government in November 2021.
The process’ principal objective was to further show how committed the Federal Government is to repositioning the public service for efficient service delivery. However, the federal government had pledged that no jobs would be lost.
However, Prof. Mustapha observed in a Saturday interview with DAILYPOST that the report’s implementation goal is to cut costs, but he questioned how a ministry or parastatal will merge without laying off any employees.
“When it comes to merging two ministries or parastatals, there is no method, and no one will be held accountable. Where we currently have two distinct Director Generals, merging them results in the elimination of one.
According to him, many Nigerians are already suffering from severe hardship as a result of criminal activity and inappropriate economic policies, and implementing the Orusanye findings at this time will put the lives of many Nigerians, including young people without jobs, in risk.
Additionally, he advised the federal government to avoid backdoor recruitment and replacement of any kind in various ministries and parastatals rather than implementing the reports. He added that as people leave the workforce, it will be clear that personnel costs and other overheads will automatically decrease.
“New hires are sometimes made in organizations without posting job openings. “These ministries or parastatals will die a natural death without extra recruiting or replacement when staff retire, eventually reducing the workforce,” he warned.
