COST OF GOVERNANCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON NIGERIA’S ECONOMY

Abstract

In an effort to prune the rising cost of governance in Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan in August, 2011, set up a Presidential Committee on Rationalization and Restructuring of Federal Government's Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies. The committee, which was headed by former Head of Service of the Federation, Stephen Orosanye, recently submitted its report, which contained far reaching recommendations - some of which have thrown government employees into some sort of quandary and apprehension. In the report, the committee reviewed the extant laws in sync with its mandate and submitted inter alia: "The average cost of governance in Nigeria is believed to rank among the highest in the world…If the cost of governance must be brought down, all arms of government must make spirited efforts at reducing their running cost." Out of the present structure of 263 statutory agencies, the panel recommended a reduction to 161, with additional proposals that: 38 agencies be abolished; 52 be merged and 14 others be reverted to departments in various ministries. The agencies and parastatals employ varying numbers of workers estimated at 30,000 nationwide. However, since most of these institutions are creations of the law, it remains to be seen how the National Assembly will acquiesce to these proposals. Judging from the welter of public opinion as expressed in the mass media and in other outlets, the
Orosanye's Report has attracted far more opponents than those who support it. When the Adoke Review Committee set up to look into the recommendations of the Presidential Panel finally submits its report, the government must exercise utmost caution and discretion in the choices of: what to implement now; what to discard and what belong to the future. In making these choices, it must also consider the contending interests of all stakeholders; the asphyxiating economic environment of the Nigerian worker and how the chosen items will accentuate the realization of the objectives of the government's Transformation Agenda. The objective of this paper is to explore the implications of high cost governance on the socio-economic sectors of the Nigeria economy