THE Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government to ensure the implementation of the Oronsaye Report does not amount to workers losing their jobs.
National President of ASCSN, Comrade Tommy Okon, who noted that the union has thrown its weight behind implementation of the report, said there is the need to cut down the cost of governance in the county, a call which the union has made severally.
He went on to say that the merger of some offices, total scrapping of some and subsuming others into other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) is one of the best ways of cutting down governance costs, as they are too many overlapping of responsibilities in some parastatals, agencies and commissions.
He said, “We have received several messages and calls from the workers and other stakeholders wanting to know if the implementation of the Oronsaye Report would affect jobs or lead to job loss.
“As a union, we have been on this issue of cutting the cost of governance and this has to be done holistically, taking into consideration all arms of government. This will be the best ways to make governance efficient, cost-effective and productive.
“Let me also say that being in union does not warrant blind and thoughtless criticism. Whenever the government takes the right decision, we should agree and if need be, suggest even better ideas to move the nation forward just like what the Trade Union Congress did by forwarding 15-point suggestions to Mr President on how to get the nation out of the woods.
“We have been clamouring for government at all levels to cut the cost of governance. To us, this is one of the best ways to achieve it.
“Therefore, there is the need for government to drastically cut the cost of governance, eliminate the overlapping of responsibilities to ensure that responsibilities are appropriately domiciled, increasing efficiency, effectiveness, increased productivity, national competitiveness and international ranking.”
While calling on President Bola Tinubu to review contents of the report to ensure it aligns with current day realities, the union sought the inclusion of organised labour in the implementation process of the report in order to ensure credibility.
It said, “Now that it is imperative for government to implement the report, we call on President Bola Tinubu to reexamine the contents of the report in line with the present national realities because the state of the nation 12 years ago when the report birthed cannot be the same today. Government should ensure that the acts establishing these agencies of government are repealed before the implementation to forestall litigations.
“The government must, as a matter of urgency, do away with unnecessary and needless wastages of our scarce resources on frivolities and deploy such funds to the critical areas of education, health, transportation, food security, national security and pulling people out of poverty.”
However, these should be done with due diligence because those that will be directly affected are mostly civil Servants.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on the Constitution Review Committee to also consider either making the National Assembly to operate on part time basis or make it a unicameral legislature to cut cost of governance because there is no distinctive features between both houses except for confirmation of ministers and other statutory compliance which could be addressed once the constitution is amended.
“The National Assembly should stop further consideration of bills for the establishment of government agencies to reduce wastages.
“We call on government to make conscious effort to cushion the effect of this major overhaul on the workers to avoid bringing more people into hardship at this very challenging and trying time.
“Government should also carry out more enlightenment campaigns to educate the populace on the gains of implementing the report. We also believe that government should involve the organised labour in the implementation process to ensure credibility.
“Finally, we warn that job loss at this critical time of our socioeconomic challenges and food crisis would be a recipe for mass protest and industrial unrest.”
