House of Representatives, yesterday, resolved to set up an ad-hoc Committee to investigate duplication of alleged overlapping functions in government agencies, departments, boards, parastatals and corporations in the country.
The mandate of the ad-hoc committee also includes finding the root causes of regular bickering among the MDAs.
The committee will also establish areas of mergers, synergies and justification of the existence of some established agencies which are no longer useful.
The resolutions followed the consideration of a motion sponsored by the Chief Whip of the House, Tahir Monguno at the plenary.
Presenting the motion, Monguno noted that section 153(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) established certain Federal Executive Bodies and Section 4(2) of the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Assembly to repeal obsolete laws and enact new ones for the good governance of the Federation.
He said: “Nigeria has been gaining on the world index of Ease of Doing Business, EDB, rising from the 145th position in 2019 to 131st in 2020, hence there is a need to consolidate on this improvement.
“With the existence of about 1,484 Agencies, Departments, Boards, Parastatals and Corporations in the country with the attendant duplication of functions and clash of interests, there is a likelihood of the latest World Bank annual ratings to slide considerably.
“There’s need for stock-taking and review the functions of all government agencies.
“Adopting the motion, the House gave the ad-hoc yet to be constituted six weeks within which to execute the assignment and report back to it for further legislative action.
Similarly, the House also resolved to constitute another ad-hoc committee to liaise with relevant stakeholders to ascertain the current status of stolen Nigerian Artefacts from foreign countries.
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The resolution came on the heels of a motion entitled, ‘Call for Investigation to Ascertain the Status of Returned Artifacts in Nigeria,’ moved by Ibrahim Isiaka at the plenary.
Presenting the motion, Isiaka noted that after several years, most countries were gradually returning artifacts and artworks looted from Nigeria during the colonial era, which have been on display in museums across the world.
He said “The role of the National Assembly through a motion on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 calling for an investigation of Nigeria’s lost artifacts for which an Ad-hoc Committee was constituted to ensure the return of those artifacts.
The committee was asked to do the investigation within 12 weeks and report back to the House for further legislative action
