The Federal Government, yesterday, accepted the recommendation that Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA; Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, be merged into a new body to be known as the Federal Civil Aviation Authority, FCAA, while their respective enabling laws are to be amended accordingly to reflect the merger.
It, however, rejected the recommendation of the Steve Oronsaye committee that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other offences Commission, ICPC, the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct be merged. These were the highlights of the report of the white paper drafting committee on the recommendations of Oronsaye committee which was made available to State House correspondents. The government also rejected the privatisation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian, FAAN, in view of the security situation in the country.
It rejected the recommendation that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC, and the regulatory functions of Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, be brought together under a unified management structure to be known as the Communications Regulatory Authority of Nigeria.
The recommendation that the Nigerian Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and Voice of Nigeria be merged into one body, to be known as Federal Corporation Broadcasting of Nigeria, FCBN, was also rejected.
It was, however, approved that the Nigerian Television Authority be fully commercialised by 2015. Other recommendations rejected by the government were the re-introduction of tuition fees in its universities; the abolition of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NEDRC, and the merger of the National Directorate of Employment and Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, to form a single agency for wealth creation. The recommendation that the Ministry of Police Affairs be scrapped was rejected, while the recommendation that the National Programme for for the Eradication of Poverty be sustained was accepted by the government.
Other statutory agencies approved to be scrapped by the Federal Government were Public Complaints Commission, PCC, and Fiscal Responsibility Comacthe Act of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board be repealed and the Boards activities returned to WAEC; the recommendation that the Raw Materials Research and Development Council be scrapped; the scrapping of Energy Commission of Nigeria and the recommendation that the National Sports Commission revert to the proposed Ministry of Youth and Sports Development as an agency was also rejected. Recommendations accepted by the federal government include the scrapping of the National Poverty Eradication Programme NAPEP, the abolition of the Utilities Charges Commission and the full commercialisation of National Agricultural Insurance Corporation.