Headline

Senate Proposes 376 New Agencies, Shuns Oronsaye Report

Published

3 years ago

December 28, 2022

The Senate has proposed the establishment of 376 new agencies and institutions despite moves by the Federal Government to restructure the public service in line with the Steve Oronsaye Committee Report on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commission.

The report recommended the scrapping or merging of some ministries, departments and agencies in order to reduce the cost of governance.

A white paper committee set up by the Federal Government to review the parastatals, agencies and commissions created since 2014 submitted a draft report in August.

The Federal Government also in November last year, inaugurated sub-committees headed by former heads of service of the federation, Bukar Aji, Ama Pepple and Oladapo Afolabi , on the implementation of the Oronsaye Report, while the Ebele Okeke Committee was to draft a White Paper on the Ama Pepple Committee Report and harmonise the other committee reports.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had said that the Federal Government would soon conclude the process of restructuring the public service.

But findings by our correspondent indicate that the 9th Senate has passed a total of 1,070 bills, including 376 establishment bills for the creation of various institutions and agencies in spite of the economic challenges facing the country.

Some of these establishment bills have been passed while others have progressively moved to committee levels in defiance of the recommendations of the Oronsaye report.

The establishment bills include: the Federal University of Education Kontagora (Est. etc.) Bill, 2019 which was sponsored by Senator Sabi Abdullahi. The bill was read for the third time in December, 2019.

Also, the Federal College of Education Illo Establishment Bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Abdullahi Yahaya was first read in January, 2019 and passed for third reading in December, 2019, while the Federal Polytechnic Kabo (Est. etc.) Bill, 2019 sponsored by Senator Jibril Barau was first read in March, 2019 and passed for third reading in November, 2022.

Similarly, the bill to establish the City University of technology Auchi , Delta State was also passed for the first time in 2019, sponsored by Senator Francis Alimikhena was first read in October, 2019 and passed for the third time in April, 2022.

The bills also include the Federal University, Wukari (Est. etc) Bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Bwacha. It was first mentioned at the Senate in October, 2019 and passed for third reading in January, 2022.

The bill to establish the Federal University Gusau sponsored by Senator YaU Sahabi was first read in October 2019 and passed for the third reading in November, 2019.

A former Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun sponsored the creation of the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Abeokuta. The bill was first moved in 2019 and subsequently passed in February, 2022.

The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege equally sponsored the bill to establish the Federal Polytechnic Orogun, Delta State in 2019. The bill was reported out of committee in June, 2021.

A former Majority leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, also presented a bill on Federal Medical Centre Igboho Oyo State in 2021 which was sent for concurrence to the House of Representatives in November, 2021 and passed in February, 2022.

Likewise, the National Commission for the Eradication of Child Destitution (Establishment) Bill, 2019 by a former Sokoto governor, Senator Aliyu Wamakko passed first reading in September, 2019 and passed third reading in June, 2022.

However, the Federal College of Education Usugbenu, Edo State (Est, etc) Bill, 2019 sponsored by Senator Clifford Ordia is currently awaiting Committee Report after scaling through second reading in November, 2019.

The Bill for the establishment of the Federal College of Education Giwa Kaduna State, sponsored by Senator Uba Sani, scaled the third reading in July, 2020 after scaling the first reading on the floor of the Senate in October, 2019.

Also, a bill to establish a Federal Polytechnic in Aba proposed to the Red chamber by Senator Theodore Orji scaled the first reading in November, 2019 and passed third reading in November, 2020.

The PUNCH reports that most of the institutions were situated in the states and constituencies of their sponsors.

These include the proposed establishment of the Nigerian Research Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Bakassi (Est) Bill, 2020 by Senator Gershom Bassey; the Federal College of Education, Mutum Biyu, Taraba State sponsored by the senator representing, Taraba Central, Yusuf Yusuf.

Also a bill introducing a Teaching Hospital Development Tax Fund by Senator Musa Sani passed the first reading in November, 2019 and scaled the last reading in October, 2021.

Senator Obinna Ogba sponsored a bill on the establishment of a National Sports Commission and the Federal University of Sports, Nkalagu, Ebonyi State.

The Senate on June 21, 2022 passed into law four Bills to establish four Federal Medical Centres in four states.

The hospitals will be sited in Osogbo, Osun State; Onitsha, Anambra State; Gada, Sokoto State; and Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, respectively.

Efforts to get the comment of the Senate spokesperson, Senator Basiru Ajibola, on Tuesday, failed as his line was unreachable. He had yet to respond to a text message sent to his phone as of the time of filing this report.

The list also includes Nigerian Transportation Accident Investigation Bureau (Est. etc.) sponsored by Senator Ibn Na’allah; the Lagos State Special Economic Assistance Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu; and the National Religious Equity Commission (Est.etc) Bill, 2019, sponsored by Senator Stella Oduah which scaled first reading in November 2019.

Also, a bill to establish a Constituency Development Fund (Est. etc) Bill, 2019 , sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume was first read in November 2019.
PUNCH

Headline

Why Europe Is Blocking More Nigerian Goods At Its Borders

Published

17 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

Nigeria’s exports continue to face repeated rejection in European Union markets, a challenge caused by consistent quality failures, weak regulatory enforcement, and heavy dependence on raw commodities.

New trade figures further show that while export values expressed in naira have risen sharply, dollar earnings have continued to decline, undermining Nigeria’s competitiveness abroad.

Meanwhile, South Africa remains one of the African countries with the highest rate of export acceptance in Nigeria and the EU, highlighting the gaps between both economies’ standards and certification systems.

According to data from International Trade Centre (ITC) , Nigeria’s export earnings fell for a second consecutive year in 2024, dropping by 8.5% to $57.9 billion.

The figure had already declined from $63.3 billion in 2022 to $60.65 billion in 2023. In naira terms, however, total exports rose from ₦26.8 trillion in 2022 to ₦36 trillion in 2023 and surged to ₦77.4 trillion in 2024.

These increases reflect the naira’s steep depreciation, not an improvement in the volume or acceptance of Nigerian goods overseas.

Intelpoint data show that the naira weakened from ₦645.2 to the dollar at the end of 2023 to ₦1,478.9 in 2024, marking the sharpest yearly decline in a decade.

EU border agencies have repeatedly rejected Nigerian agricultural and manufactured goods for failing to meet essential sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

Frequent violations include excessive pesticide residue, poor traceability, contamination detected during inspection, and inconsistencies in certification documentation issued in Nigeria.

These failures stem largely from fragmented supply chains, weak monitoring capacity and a lack of internationally accredited laboratories.

South Africa, Morocco and Kenya maintain far stronger conformity systems, and South Africa in particular consistently delivers some of the highest acceptance rates across EU ports.

The ITC figures show that oil remains the backbone of Nigeria’s exports, contributing nearly 90 per cent of total earnings between 2022 and 2024. Over that period, the country earned $163.2 billion from crude oil out of total export revenues of $181.8 billion.

Despite this dominance, oil earnings have continued to fall, declining from $57.4 billion in 2022 to $55.6 billion in 2023 and then to $50.3 billion in 2024.

Because crude prices are determined externally and the product is exported with limited value addition, Nigeria gains little competitive advantage from currency depreciation.

Non-oil exports recorded mixed fortunes. Cocoa earnings rose from $679 million in 2022 to $759 million in 2023 and climbed sharply to $2.6 billion in 2024.

Fertiliser exports fell from $1.9 billion in 2022 to $935.4 million in 2024. Ores and residues, however, increased from $158.6 million in 2023 to $824.4 million in 2024.

Despite positive growth in some sectors, quality problems have continued to undermine acceptance in Europe, particularly for foods such as beans, palm oil and processed crops.

Nigeria recorded stronger performance in African markets in 2024 due to the relative strength of the West African CFA franc.

Companies such as Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Guinness Nigeria reported export sales of ₦22.8 billion in 2024, up from ₦9.92 billion in the preceding year. EU markets, however, maintain stricter inspection standards, and Nigeria’s structural weaknesses continue to limit penetration.

The country’s export structure remains heavily constrained by outdated processing technology, weak inspection capacity, irregular regulatory monitoring, and an overreliance on raw commodities.

Also, pipeline vandalism and crude theft also prevent Nigeria from meeting its production benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day, despite a rise to 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024.

In December 2023, the Federal Government introduced the Trade Policy of Nigeria (2023–2027), aimed at aligning export regulations with World Trade Organisation rules and boosting global competitiveness.

The policy forms part of a wider reform agenda tied to the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021–2025) and Agenda 2050.

Despite these initiatives, limited investment in quality assurance, industrial processing and standards enforcement continues to weaken Nigeria’s acceptance in high-value markets such as the EU.

Headline

US Imposes Visa Restrictions On Nigerians Linked To Religious Freedom Violations

Published

20 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Editor

The United States government on Wednesday announced visa restrictions targeting individuals involved in violations of religious freedom in Nigeria. The measures may also extend to immediate family members of the affected persons.

In a statement titled “Combating Egregious Anti-Christian Violence in Nigeria and Globally”, the Department of State said the restrictions were being implemented in response to mass killings and attacks on Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and elsewhere.

The statement explained that under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the State Department would now have the authority to deny visas to those who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” with the policy potentially extending to their immediate family members.

It further cited former President Donald Trump’s remarks, noting that the United States “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.” The policy will apply to Nigeria and other governments or individuals implicated in violations of religious freedom.

The announcement follows growing international concern over attacks on religious communities in Nigeria, including targeted killings, abductions, and destruction of property attributed to armed groups.

Headline

Putin Says Russia Ready For War, Blames Europe For Sabotaging Peace

Published

2 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.
AFP