“Peter Obi Applauds Tinubu for Decision to Implement Oronsaye Report”

“Former Presidential Candidate Peter Obi Commends President Bola Tinubu for Commitment to Fully Implement Stephen Oronsaye Report”

Obi, a fierce critic of the Tinubu administration, in series of tweets on Wednesday said he had received several text messages from people wanting to know if he would have implemented the Oronsaye Report, which full implementation has just been directed by the President.

In response to their questions, I would like to refer everyone to my Manifesto and my response to similar questions during my campaigns. On the 5th of October, 2022 at Havard University, I was asked: “Will you implement the Oronsaye Report?” and I responded in the affirmative.

“I went further to explain that implementing the report is one of the best ways to make governance efficient, cost-effective, and productive. Being in opposition does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticism.

“Whenever the government takes the right decision, we should agree and if need be, propose related or even better ideas to move the nation forward. I have always been an advocate of the 3 critical components of the Oronsaye Report, which are: i) drastically cutting the cost of governance; ii) eliminating the overlapping of responsibilities to ensure that responsibilities are appropriately domiciled; and iii) increasing efficiency and effectiveness, which will increase productivity,” he said.

Obi said, although, the implementation of the report was long overdue, its implementation is a welcome  bevelopment so long as the decision was informed by these principles, saying that beyond implementing the Oronsaye Report, the government should go further and cut the cost of governance across board.

He said having found it imperative to implement the Report, the government should now do away with the bogus and needless wastages of scarce resources on frivolous issues, and deploy such funds to the critical areas of Education, Health, and pulling people out of poverty.

“However, we must not rush to implement the Oronsaye Report just because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil servants. A very deep understanding of the workings of the Federal bureaucracy will be required to effectively implement the Report.

“Grasping the symmetries between the federal and the other tiers of government will be imperative as Federal agencies have branches and outreaches in all the 36 states. We, the political leaders, should be ready to back up such implementation with our sacrifices from comfort and selfishness, for the overall development of the nation.

“In implementing this Report, conscious effort must be made to cushion the effects of such a major overhaul on the workers, to avoid driving more people into hardship, in these very challenging times,” he stated.

According to Obi, government must also show clearly the amount of resources to be saved in the implied shrinking of government and should also indicate clearly where and how the saved resources are to be redeployed.

“More importantly, the implementation needs to be accompanied by a template to avoid a future bloating of government. By doing the right things and implementing the right policies, we will build the New Nigeria of our dreams,” he added.