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Are You in Support of the Scrapping of EFCC, ICPC & FRSC?

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The performance of some government agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has come under scrutiny by individuals and groups in both the private and public sector in recent times.

While some have lauded their performances and advocated for more power and resources to be given to the agencies, others have faulted them, alleging that they were under-performing and misusing the powers invested upon them.

One of such parties faulting the performance of some government agencies is the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies. Chairman of the committee and a former head of service of the federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye presented a report at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday, saying his panel had recommended the reduction of the existing 263 government’s statutory agencies in the country to 161.

Although Oronsaye did not outline the complete list of agencies the committee wanted scrapped, he made specific reference to the EFCC and the ICPC, which he said were performing the traditional functions of the Nigerian Police Force.

He argued that the Federal Road Safety Corps should not be in existence in its current form and that their functions were a replication of the mandates of two existing bodies.

He said although the FRSC had been quite active, the committee observed that what the body was set up to do was a replication of the mandates of two existing bodies: the Highway Department of the Ministry of Works with respect to the maintenance of safety and orderliness on highways and the role of the Nigeria Police in ensuring law and order on the roads.

“The setting up of the FRSC to take over partially the functions already apportioned by law to the Federal Ministry of Works and the Nigeria Police Force as a result of seeming poor performance and/or to satisfy political and individual interests is a typical example of misadventure in the Public Sector at a great cost to government.”

In all, Oronsaye said if the committee’s report was adopted and agencies reduced in accordance with the recommendation, government would be saving over N862bn between 2012 and 2015.

Oronsaye’s argument against the EFCC and the ICPC was stemmed from the fact that their duties are actually the traditional functions of the Nigerian Police.

“It was noted that the functions of the EFCC and the ICPC are the traditional functions of the Nigeria Police. The Committee observed that even though the two commissions were established separately to address corruption, which the Police appeared to have failed to do, successive administrations have ironically continued to appoint the Chairman of the EFCC from the Police Force, while the methodology adopted by the ICPC in conducting investigations as well as the training of its personnel in investigation procedure is carried out by the Police.”

He added that the committee, in the course of its assignment, noted duplication and overlap in the mandates of many parastatals and agencies. One of which was the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency which was created to perform a function already assigned by law to the Department of Petroleum Resources.

So, do you agree that the EFCC, ICPC and FRSC are performing “overlapping functions” with other agencies and should be scrapped? Can their functions be performed by other agencies and therefore save the counrty lots of money?

Aside from the agencies mentioned, are there any other federal or state government agencies you think aren’t performing well and should be scrapped also?

Please share your thoughts.

News Source: Punch News

Adeola Adeyemo is a graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from University of Lagos. However, her passion is writing and she worked as a reporter with NEXT Newspaper. She believes that anything can be written about; anything can be a story depending on the angle it is seen from and the writer's imagination. When she is not writing news or feature articles, she slips into her fantasies and creates interesting fiction pieces. She blogs at www.deolascope.blogspot.com

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