Oronsaye: An ex-civil servant after government’s heart
Twenty months after leaving office as Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOS) Mr. Steve Oronsaye has remained in the public eye heading one committee or the other or being a member in some. Little was known of him nationally or even amongst federal civil servants in Abuja before June 2009 when he was […]
Twenty months after leaving office as Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOS) Mr. Steve Oronsaye has remained in the public eye heading one committee or the other or being a member in some.
Little was known of him nationally or even amongst federal civil servants in Abuja before June 2009 when he was appointed HOS by late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua but his performance in that office good or bad had profound effect on not only the civil servants but Public Service itself.
While some see him as a villain and will nurse very strong grudges which they may probably take to their graves, others might have seen him as a hero who created a rare opportunity for growth and the difference between a life of service ended in obscurity or reaching the peak of growth in the public service.
At the last count, he has chaired and submitted reports of two committees all with far reaching conclusions with one implemented to the letter and the other still in the court of public opinion even though recent actions of government especially with the Petroleum Industry Bill forwarded to the National Assembly suggest that its implementation might have started.
Soon after his retirement on 16th November 2010 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60, his first outing for the Federal Government was as a member of the Presidential Committee on the Review of the Reform Processes in the Nigerian Public Service headed by Alhaji Adamu Fika. The committee was inaugurated 30th March 2011.
Less than four months later on 29th July of the same year, he was to head an eight-man committee inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan to look into the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a view to identifying its challenges and repositioning it towards achieving its core objectives.
In its report, the committee recommended the dissolution of the NDDC board as well as the sack of its chairman, a charge that was carried out by the Federal Government.
On 7th February, 2012, he was made deputy chairman of the 17-member Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force headed by Malam Nuhu Ribadu to “enhance probity and accountability in operations of the Petroleum Industry.” The work of the committee is still ongoing.
However, the most controversial committee he has headed was the Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies inaugurated on 18th August 2011, which submitted its report on 16th April this year.
The committee recommended the reduction of statutory agencies of government from 263 to 161 just as it also recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and reversal of 14 to departments in ministries.
Contained in an 800-page report, the committee stated that the average cost of governance in Nigeria is believed to rank among the highest in the world which he said affects national growth and development.
For example, the committee recommended the reintroduction of tuition fees in a bid for the Nigerian university system to regain its lost glory, stating that it costs N450, 000 and N525, 000 respectively to train arts and science students per session in Nigerian universities, recommending a five-year period of a phased withdrawal of government funding of the top six first generation universities starting from the 2013 fiscal year.
The schools mentioned are the University of Ibadan, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin.
However, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its counterpart, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have cautioned government on the method of implementation. President of the NLC Comrade Abdulwahed Omar said workers have no problem with any policy that may increase efficiency and save cost for the Federal Government but said it must not lead to job losses.
On April 18, 2012, the NLC through its Acting National President, Comrade Joe Ajaero opposed, specifically the scrapping of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which it said have proven records of success.
Ajaero urged government to invite organised labour for discussions on the whole report to avoid unnecessary tension on labour issues that will definitely arise due to job losses that might occur in its implementation.
He said: “Now that the Report is out and a government team to produce a White Paper has been constituted, the NLC finds it imperative to raise the social and Labour issues that will result.
“It is necessary to clarify that the NLC believes that the cost of governance needs to be reduced although we think this has to do mainly with government expenditure on political appointees and hangers on.”
Many Nigerians believe that a sizable proportion of the recommendations of the committee will have catastrophic consequences on Nigerians, towing the position of the NLC for government to fight corruption and reduce spending on political office holders.
For Oronsaye, life after office as HOS doesn’t revolve around committees only. He was appointed a non-executive director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, a position he still holds and on 16 July 2012 he was appointed into the board of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It is noteworthy to add that Oronsaye, an accountant by training, is not new to controversy or known to hide at the first sign of trouble. He introduced a tenure policy of eight years for directors and permanent secretaries in the Federal Civil Service, claiming it was necessary to fix the problem of stagnation in the service as well as reinvigorate it.
Prior to this action, some permanent secretaries and directors could stay on the post for more than 15 years depending on their age or years in service, while others (assistant/deputy directors) stagnated without promotion even though they passed exams because of lack of vacancies, which in turn affects those below them too.
As a result, nine permanent secretaries were forced to retire in October 2009, and many directors retired by January 2010. Earlier, he had introduced a continuous assessment for permanent secretaries to be taken four years after appointment to determine if they are qualified to complete the second tranche of four years.
This policy was vehemently resisted by those at the receiving end with a group even going to court to be overruled when the policy was gazetted by the Yar’adua administration. The media too was not left out of the fray as they were awash with articles of those for and against, all in a bid to win public opinion. The policy stayed.
Steve Osagiede Oronsaye was born in Lagos on November 16, 1950 to parents who hailed from Uhunmwonde and Oredo Local Council Areas of Edo State.
A Wikipedia entry states that Oronsaye trained with the firm of Peat Marwick Cassleton Elliot (1973–1978) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1978. He became a Partner of the firm in 1989.
He joined the Federal Ministry of Finance in December 1995, as Director Special Duties. Oronsaye was responsible for the merger of the Administrative and Accounting functions of the offices of the State House, computerization of processes and procedures of the State House, Personnel records, Accounts and Access controls for the offices.
In 1999 he was appointed Principal Private Secretary to President Olusegun Obasanjo, a position equivalent to Federal Permanent Secretary and was confirmed as Permanent Secretary, State House, an unusual appointment since he was not a civil servant
In 2006, Oronsaye headed the committee on the review of the Civil Service Rules and Financial Regulations. He was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance on August 20, 2008.