Senate to FG, follow due process in scrapping, merging ministries

 

The Nigerian Senate has asked the Federal Government to follow due process in the scrapping and merging of many ministries, parastatals, agencies, commissions, and boards to cut the cost of governance.

Earlier, the government said it would implement the Steve Oronsaye committee report, which recommended scrapping ministries, including the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), to save costs.

However, lawmakers feel that the National Assembly should be consulted before such a move is made.

 

They stated this on Tuesday during a debate on a motion on the “Urgent Need to Halt the Violation of the National Film and Video Censors Board.”

 

The motion, moved by Senator Ogoshi Onawo, indicated that a presidential committee chaired by Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, had started implementing the Oronsaye report without recourse to the Legislature.

 

According to him, a cabinet memo signed by Akume, has directed that the Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy mandate the immediate dissolution of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFCVB), which will now be integrated as a department within the ministry instead of operating as a separate federal agency.