FOR some time now, President Jonathan's administration has been tinkering with the idea of merging parastatals and agencies with similar mandate in their supervisory ministries in a move ostensibly to cut waste.In fact, a committee set up by the Secretary to the Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, to this effect has concluded its work waiting for the nod of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to go ahead with its implementation.But, the snag has been the issue of legal impediment. While most of the parastatals and agencies derive their mandates from laws establishing them, some are off-shoots of legal treaties entered willingly by the Nigerian government.A legal practitioner based in Abuja, Barrister Eze Onyekpere, gave an insight into the legal implications of the exercise.According to him: 'It is clear that from all indicators that the level of recurrent expenses that goes to the running of the administration and bureaucracy has become unsustainable. It is, therefore, a step in the right direction if FGN seeks to cut down waste and reduce unnecessary expenditure, which can be re-directed to areas that will impact on the lives of the majority of the populace. However, this move sounds contradictory considering the fact that the FGN created new ministries at inception less than six months ago.'He observed that, 'Nigeria is spending so much on the agencies, yet service delivery is at the lowest ebb and Nigerians are not getting value for the monies spent on the upkeep of redundant agencies. The Adviser to the President on Monitoring and Evaluation talked about a service compact and targets set between the President and Ministers and between the Ministers and the respective agencies under their control. Such an evaluation mechanism should be used to determine agencies that are not meeting their targets and on the basis of that, they should be declared redundant.''For Ministries and Departments (MDAs) established by legislation, if they must be scrapped or merged with others, there is the need for a review or repeal of their enabling law(s) to ensure that there is no infraction on the laws of the land,' he advised.Onyekpere noted: Essentially, the agenda of streamlining agencies is both an executive and legislative agenda at the same time. Instances can be given of the EFCC and ICPC doing virtually the same function, yet corruption is still on the rise. Regulatory and other agencies in the telecommunications sector also need to be streamlined.'For those MDAs established for the purpose of implementing Nigeria's treaty obligations, he said it is a fundamental aphorism in the jurisprudence of international law that a country cannot use her domestic law and policy to defeat her international treaty obligations. 'As such, scrapping such an MDA set up for the fulfillment of Nigeria's obligations may amount to a violation of such obligations. This will not be acceptable to the international community or the states parties to the treaty.'According to him the thrust of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is that a country is expected to bring her domestic laws in line with her international obligations shortly before ratifying a treaty or shortly after ratification, accession or signing the treaty. Nigeria can only repudiate treaty obligations if she follows the procedure of contracting out of a treaty and is effectively relieved of her obligations.Stakeholders in the different sectors have also expressed their divergent views over the proposed mergers.Merger shouldn't be priority, OnonamaduSOME stakeholders in the Civil Society world at the weekend gave a verdict over government's plans to merge some of its ministries, departments and agencies, noting that Nigeria's problems were not the number of such agencies, but its ability to curb the corruption that plagues the public service.In an interview with The Guardian, the Executive Director of the Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights, Emeka Ononamadu, stressed the need to address the cause of fundamental problems of the public service, instead of running around the symptoms.One way of tackling the problems, Ononamadu said, is the advancement of Nigeria's union to full fiscal federalism.This, he said, would push certain development challenges to states as well as the expansion of their ministries to ensure effective delivery.He said: 'The major social and economic challenges facing Nigeria today is corruption. If agencies are merged and corruption is not tackled, it will be an exercise in futility. President Obasanjo took this path and Nigeria was worse for it because he was unable to sufficiently empower the various anti-corruption agencies to effectively tackle corruption. He was also unable to reposition the ministries that were run like cartels.'He enumerated outright fraud, waste and abuse of Nigeria's common resources in the name of governance as some of the common shades of corruption.His words: 'We are aware that government wants to reduce the cost of governance, but how can that be practicable when what an average federal legislator or government appointee takes home is far beyond his input in terms of service' They also don't believe in the principle of reduced governance cost. The world is aware of what the American president earns monthly, but do we exactly know what a minister earns, or the governors and president' Do we know what ministers and various other appointees in various government offices earn' Therefore, merging of ministries, agencies and departments will neither reduce cost of governance nor make them to live up to their responsibilities.''There is no ministry in Nigeria that is not useful. The problem is the way they are managed and who manages them. Another problem is that the monitoring of these ministries and oversight by 'the suspicious federal legislators' has been compromised. That is the reason Nigeria pumps huge resources through a ministry without corresponding result in return. We think that more ministries should be established with professionals, not politicians manning them, so that better results can be achieved.For example, if the Head of Ministry of Power and Steel is weak both sectors will suffer, but if they are separate, if the head of Ministry of Power is weak and the head of Ministry of Steel is effective, Nigeria will not lose from both ends.'Ononamadu further said: 'We should strengthen the ministries to live up to their responsibilities. If a minister is unable to handle one ministry, what assurance do Nigerians have that he would do better if saddled with additional responsibilities of manning two ministries' Again, merging ministries will not encourage professionalism in governance. A professional in housing is unlikely, except by chance, to be a professional in works. A professional in science absolutely cannot be a professional in technology because both are completely different.'He said: 'If ministries are merged, what it means is that government is promoting mediocrity on the platform of reducing cost of governance. We want an arrangement that can serve Nigerians better and improve our economy in such a way that it can compete with other global economies. As a developing nation, our priority should be how we can be efficient and more productive. We do not think that merging ministries is the right answer at the moment. The national work value or ethics is embarrassing.'He also raised fears over possible job loses from the mergers of ministries, departments and agencies, stressing that it would portend a dangerous trend for an economy with a high unemployment rate.He wants government to prioritize the corruption war, stressing the need to reposition the ministries, recreate work values in the nation's workforce and fight corruption 'as if tomorrow will never come.''Some agencies in the trade and investment sector should be merged'Executive Secretary of the African Free Zones Association (AFZA), Mr. Chris Ndibe has called on government to effect the merger of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) and the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) into one body to give room for better coordination of free zones activities.'Nigeria seems to be the only country in the world with two different bodies regulating free zones. This shouldn't be. One body is okay to regulate the zones in any serious system,' he told The Guardian.The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority have over the years being feuding over control of the oil and gas free zones.Experts have over the years decried the existence of two different bodies for the free trades zones in Nigeria, observing that the non-streamlining of the functions of the Nigeria Export Processing Zone (NEPZ) and that of the Oil and Gas Free Zone (OGFZ) is one of the lingering problems impeding effective operations of the authority.They are, therefore, seeking the interpretation of laws establishing both NEPZA and OGFZA to specifically identify the designated duties of the respective agencies and possibly merge both bodies.Mergers can succeed only if constitutional process is followed says HonConstitutional lawyer and Port Harcourt based Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Sebastine Hon has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to exercise restraint on the move by his administration to merge some parastatals and agencies with similar mandate in their supervisory ministries in a move ostensibly to cut waste.In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Hon urged the President to exercise reasonable caution before he takes action on the proposed merger of bodies that are executing international treaty or other contractual obligations, especially, those involved in executing the Millennium Development Goals.The revered lawyer, who said he was not against mergers as there are some moribund bodies that needed to be scrapped, called for the strengthening of some of the parastatals rather than just looking at the cost effect of running them.While expressing his support for the proposed mergers, subject to constitutional and legal due process as he adumbrated above. Hon said the President cannot validly order the merger of two bodies established by the Constitution without first amending the Constitution to accommodate the merger.According to him, any attempt to merge two statutory bodies without first amending the relevant statutes will fail more so when it is even more difficult and complex when such merger will ground or render ineffectual in any way Nigeria's international treaty obligation.He said: 'For it is settled law that no country can lawfully legislate or formulate any policy that is capable of countering, counteracting or otherwise rendering ineffective an existing international obligation like a treaty.''The reason is plain enough: international public law exists to instill discipline and international legal cum public order; otherwise recalcitrant countries will always breach international contractual obligations without attracting the necessary legal sanctions,' he addedOn the way out of this sensitive situation, he said the government should ensure the amendment of relevant portions of the Constitution and statutes, with a view to accommodating this policy swing.'This is where Mr. President needs expert advice, which will clearly centre on the do's and don'ts of the powers Nigeria can lawfully exercise pursuant to, or in derogation of the relevant international treaties it voluntarily entered into.'Mergers still imminent in ICT sectorThe Nigerian Information and Communications Technology sector might still witness further mergers, as more facts have emerged that the federal government is still on the verge of bringing other ICT related agencies under one body.Specifically, this move is aimed at re-positioning the Nigerian ICT sector as number one in Africa and to avoid duplication of functions.Information at the disposal of The Guardian revealed that, though the mergers might not be in the immediate future because of some contentious issues that must be resolved, government is still critically looking at ways of ensuring efficient use of spectrum resources in the country.A source at the information ministry disclosed to The Guardian that the option of scrapping the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and merging it with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) due to functions overlap in the area of spectrum licensing, is still being looked into critically by the government.Apparently, the source, who said that, while the federal government yielded to several calls by ICT stakeholders earlier this year for a distinct Ministry of Communications Technology to be called Federal Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (FMCIT), the federal government created the Ministry of Communications Technology, which is headed by Mrs. Omobola Johnson.The communication technology ministry has under it agencies including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); National Information and Technology Development Association (NITDA); Nigeria Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT); Galaxy Backbone Plc; Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST); Nigeria Frequency Management Agency (NFMC).But, more facts are emerging on the need to bring NBC under the new communications technology ministry for efficient spectrum management, as it is being canvassed by stakeholders in the nation's ICT parlance. Spectrum is said to be finite resource in any country.The Guardian learnt that lack of spectrum harmonisation between the two agencies, could hinder deployment and increase costs of infrastructure and services, especially now that more spectrums is being advocated for players in the nation's ICT sector to drive broadband services penetration across the country.According to the source, NCC and NBC are the two main regulatory agencies in broadcast and telecoms respectively whose functions often overlap especially in the area of licensing of spectrums.In the new arrangement, which is being set up in line with global technology convergence of computing and telecommunications sector, the NBC and NCC merger, is expected to bring both telecoms and broadcast media under one umbrella, as it is being done in countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ghana among others.Buttressing, the call for the NBC/NCC merger, Communications Technology Minister, Omobola Johnson at an ICT stakeholders meeting in Lagos reaffirmed her readiness to work with the current structure in her ministry as created by the Federal Government collaborating with the NBC in areas necessary to move the economy forward.Johnson indicated that technology convergence process started by the Federal Government by creating the ICT Ministry would not be complete without merging the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) under one regulator.'A converged regulator is still needed. I think it is only a matter of time.'She said the NBC, which is still under the Ministry of Information and the NCC that is under her ministry have a lot to share and so of necessity be merged.Speaking to The Guardian, a technology expert, Dr. Chris Uwaje noted that technology convergence has made the merger strategically imperative for two fundamental reasons, which are; National spectrum issues, which needs a one-stop clearing house and the digitalization and convergence of Voice and Data - and indeed the IPv6 factor.According to him, if the minister had said that the two bodies might eventually come together, the process will generate more efficiency and dramatically reduce the operational costs of e-government.On any legal implications, Uwaje said: 'It is a simple matter. It is government's going concern, and executive and speedy amendment of existing ACTs will resolve the merger issues. Government must match its acts with measurable resources. ICT should be declared a national emergency - which requires robust funding for the Ministry, because it is the only government structure to-date, capable of creating massive employment for the Nigerian youths which make up more than 60 per cent of the population.'However, the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, said he has never been part of the use of the word 'merger' to describe what is expected from the envisaged restructuring of the ICT industry.Omo-Ettu said he had expected that a re-arrangement of various technology-application-agencies would come under the new restructured Communications Technology one of which is NBC while technology-development-agencies would congregate under Science and Technology Ministry.Giving a lucid explanation, he said in telecommunications, we seek to regulate Transmission and Services, adding that, transmission can further be broken down to Spectrum and Technology. 'From starters, we opted not to regulate technology while we are left to regulate both Spectrum and Services.'In broadcasting, we seek to regulate Transmission and Content. Transmission can further be broken down to Spectrum and Technology. Here we have opted to regulate Technology by prescribing that digital technology must be it by a terminal date. However regulation of Content has very heavy political considerations to weigh. It explains why emerging democracies may be concerned about the kind of independence which regulators may be allowed.''The independence which the operating law grants NCC is so much that politicians have it very difficult to sleep with. A careful reading of the industry would tell me that it is such independence that politicians do not live with. From that perspective, the avoidance of content regulation going into significant independence is quite understandable. Of course time is what is required to bring such thinking at par with what tomorrow's information society may force on us,' he noted.In terms of benefits derivable from the fall-out in regulation of Technology and Spectrum, Omo-Ettu, an engineer noted that the coming of IP has made the issue of both telecommunications and broadcasting to be interchangeable and doing business in a unified regime is bound to be cheaper for the investor than in the un-unified regime.He said this is because we consider that savings made on such issues will translate to cheaper and faster access for consumers.'Of course it is not that the unified regime is the only model that is possible. As a matter of fact such gains do not translate to very much in corrupt polities. We are only stressing it because we have hope that things may improve tomorrow.'However, another school of thought had argued that the merger should not be carried out to avoid a situation where spectrums meant for broadcast would be allocated for telecommunication.Speaking with The Guardian in Abuja, the Head, Public Relations Unit of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Awwal Salihu said that the commission had led the call for transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting and as a result, is not opposed to the merger or convergence in technology.Salihu observed that government has the right to decide the way it wants to go but added that if government wants to merge the NBC and NCC, it has to take a look at the laws establishing the two agencies and decide whether to scrap the two agencies and create a new organization.'We are not against convergence or merger, what we are saying is that we shouldn't make any of the agencies a toothless bulldog. It is either government abrogates the laws of the two agencies and creates a new law that would establish a new body that would handle the job of the two components that is the proper way to do it,' he said.Noting that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has designated some spectrums for broadcasting, communication, aviation, maritime and security among others adding that the regulator for each frequency should be the one to hold frequency bulk, Salifu advised that the National Spectrum Management Council or the Ministry of Communication as the case may be should continue to handle the management of the entire spectrum and never leave it for any of the regulators to manage.'If we are going to remain as NBC, NBC should then manage the entire broadcast sector while NCC manages the entire Communication sector but a situation where one regulator would be asked to manage the spectrum that belongs to another sector would end up making the other a toothless bulldog.Agric Ministry should embark on massive restructuring of parastatals and agenciesBarely a week after the scraping of the National Program for Agriculture and Food Security (NPAFS) National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), another vital agency in the sector, has also been scrapped.The Guardian learnt that the abolition of (NFRA) became necessary not only because of lack of constitutional back up of the agency, but to also avoid duplication of functions already being carried out by the National Grains Reserve Agency.The staff of the erstwhile agency, according to the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ezekiel Oyewomi, would be redeployed into departments in the Ministry, via which they would carry out their functions respectively.The Guardian also learnt that for it to actualize the Agricultural Transformation Action Plan (ATAP), the Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has unfolded plans to decentralize the Federal Ministry of Agriculture into six geopolitical zones.The minister, who disclosed that the zones would be manned by Coordinating Directors, said that the decentralization would bring the ministry nearer to people at the state and grassroots level.Scientists decry planned merger of NAFDAC with NIPRID, NACA with NPHCDAStrong opposition is mounting in the science and health sector of the economy against the planned merger of some agencies and parastatals in a bid to cut wastage. However, some groups are in favour of the move.The Guardian learnt of a planned merger between the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRID).Also, a possible merger of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA); the Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) and Federal College of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (FCCAM); and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) is in the offing.NAFDAC, NIPRID, FCCAM and NPHCDA are under the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH); NACA is under the Presidency; while RMRDC, NNMDA and FIIRO are under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST).While some stakeholders welcome the possible merger between NNMDA and FCCAM, and RMRDC and FIIRO, most decried the plan to merge NACA and NPHCDA, and NAFDAC and NIPRID.The Guardian learnt that NACA was established to be under the direct supervision of the Presidency not the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) and thereby cannot be merged, while the NPHCDA already has a critical mandate of saving lives of mother and child.Some stakeholders queried the plan to merge NAFDAC and NIPRID, while some said it is a welcome development. They, however, decried the gross underfunding of NIPRID, FIIRO, NNMDA, FCCAM, RMRDC, and NAFDAC. They argued that NNMDA and FCCAM, and RMRDC and FIIRO have similar mandates.The Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria (PSN) has decried the planned merger of NAFDAC with NIPRID, while the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB) supports the move.President PSN, Azubuike Okwor, told The Guardian that the federal government should be talking about how to better fund agencies and parastatals such as NAFDAC and NIPRID to better perform their functions and mandates not merging them. 'We at the PSN are even calling for a Pharmaceutical Commission (PC) to help NAFDAC and NIPRID, and you are talking of merger,' he said.Okwor said NAFDAC and NIPRID should not be merged because their mandates are not the same. The PSN boss said if the country wants to emulate the success China and India have made in using the pharmaceutical sector through well funded local drug production to boost their economic development, we need to make NAFDAC and NIPRID more vibrant with improved funding.'Chairman LSTMB, Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, said the planned merger is a welcome development. 'We welcome the merging of NNMDA and FCCAM. I do not understand why the FCCAM was established in the first place. What was it meant to achieve' The practice of alternative and complementary medicine is not yet institutionalized in the country so there is no need for the College.'We also welcome the merging of NAFDAC and NIPRID. It will prevent the duplication of duties and wasting of resources. In fact we welcome the planned merger of agencies and parastatals. It is a welcome idea.'NAFDAC was established by Decree No. 15 of 1993 as amended is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health, with the mandate to regulate and control quality standards for foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, detergents and packaged water imported, manufactured locally and distributed in Nigeria.In Nigeria, the need for the advancement of indigenous pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) in order to enhance Development and commercialization of pharmaceutical raw materials, drugs and biological products has long been recognized. Therefore in 1987, the federal government approved the establishment of NIPRD as a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. This approval was based on the recommendation of PSN.Air traffic controllers plan strike over aviation agencies' mergerThe National Association of Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) said it is set for a showdown should the Federal Government make good its plan to merge some of the aviation agencies.Speaking to The Guardian recently, Vice-President, Victor Eyaru said the association would not hesitate to call its workers out for strike he said is capable of paralyzing the entire aviation industry.Eyaru explained that the idea would violate the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) status, which set up the agencies to provide aviation safety services.There are also indications that the government is tinkering with the idea of merging the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).Penultimate week, chief executives of the various aviation agencies were in Abuja to discuss the modalities for merging the two bodies.Stakeholders who spoke to The Guardian raised the concern whether this is the part of the reforms government proposed and despite government's good intention to save funds, they queried whether it would not affect a sector which was set up using ICAO statutes.A source stated that the committee set up to look at the development was concerned at the wastage coming from the various boards of directors of aviation agencies with the plan to collapse them all into one board for all the parastatals.In his reaction, President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Captain Dele Ore said it was a good idea for certain agencies to be merged, stressing that such merger is, however, inimical to the progress of the sector as a globally regulated one. He said it took some time for the industry to get it right.The ICAO Annex 38 of the Chicago Convention of which Nigeria is a signatory has given the nation the standard.Ore warned that there could be repercussions if government goes against such an Annex, adding that it could lead to blacklisting for defaulting.For any change to be made, the aircraft pilot noted that the country has to make representation to the global aviation regulatory body to defend its position. To him, arbitrary change could set the country back 20 years.President, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) Safiyanu Dauda Mohammed said the call was un-necessary and uncalled for.Safiyanu declared that FAAN and NAMA have nothing in common as both provide different functions entirely in the aviation sector.He explained that there should be division of labour between the agencies adding that while FAAN was responsible for airports, NAMA on the other hand provides navigational aids under the international civil aviation regulated policies.He said it was a very bad experience when the agencies were merged during the military dictatorship, which was later demerged to its present status that has led to improved service.'It is not good for us to have this merger, what we need to do from the way we are operating is to see how we can improve on what we have', he added.An aviation consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult, Chris Aligbe has also warned the sponsors of the proposed plan to merge some aviation parastatals to desist from such move which he said is suicidal.He said the agencies as they are now are better left independent since their functions do not overlap.Speaking at an interactive session with aviation journalists recently, Aligbe said the government/sponsors of the merger deal should concern themselves with addressing airports infrastructural rot and not pursuing a programme that will stunt the growth of the sector if it sees the light of the day.'Merging means the aviation industry will never grow. We'll drift many years behind. Are we in a vicious circle' Those flying the kites should stop. We must shoot down the kite. The functions of NAMA and FAAN are specified and they don't clash', he said.Aligbe, who was also a former spokesman of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways and member of vision 20: 2020, also tasked the Federal Government to come up with a sound and workable blueprint for the aviation sector that would buoy all its programmes and projects.He said absence of a good aviation policy keeps marring the concession deals in the sector as investors lose confidence in funneling their money into the industry.He also condemned the proliferation of airports across the country, pointing out that most of them will never become economically viable.He said most of the airports were built for political consideration and not for economic relevance, adding that such airports have constituted a big financial burden on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).'So we need a sound aviation policy that will be there and guide those wishing to establish one. You must look at the economic relevance of the airports before it's built. Though some governments will not like it but the truth must be said. We don't have aviation sector reform. Due to its absence, any appointee Minister just does his/her best. Due to a lot of lopsided issues, air transport and aviation are not well linked together. It's not just the ministry's function. Where is the legislation' The policy will take care of ground handling companies. It's unfortunate that Nigeria with a population about 160 million does not have world-class airports and airlines. This should change', he said.
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