The undue proliferation of MDAs
The revelation by former President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dele Oye, that Nigeria now has over 900 Ministries, Departments and Agencies costing the nation more than N862 billion annually is most distressing. It is yet another reminder that government has become too large, too expensive and increasingly unsustainable.
No country battling fiscal distress can afford the luxury of a bureaucracy that grows faster than its economy. What was originally conceived as machinery for effective public administration has gradually morphed into a sprawling network of overlapping entities that now consume enormous public resources while delivering diminishing value to citizens.
This unchecked proliferation of government agencies has created a regulatory maze that discourages investment, undermines ease of doing business and weakens economic growth.
Oye is right in drawing attention to the enormous cost of maintaining these agencies and the urgent need to implement the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.
We share his concern. The consequences of maintaining hundreds of overlapping agencies go beyond bloated recurrent expenditure. They encourage corruption, duplication of responsibilities, bureaucratic delays and institutional inefficiency.
Every new agency created requires office accommodation, governing boards, chief executives, directors, staff, official vehicles, overheads and other recurring costs. These expenditures continue to rise even as government struggles to finance critical sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure.