LCCI Urges FG To Streamline Ministries, Agencies

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to streamline the ministries and parastatal agencies to reduce duplication of functions.

Chief Femi Deru, LCCI President, made the plea at the chambers’ quarterly press briefing in Lagos, saying that government should also review the structure of governance to be more effective.

“There is need to review the structure of governance at the federal level to make the presidency to exercise effective oversight over the ministries, departments and parastatal agencies.

“The presidency should not be bugged down with direct execution of projects or implementation of government programmes,” he said.

Deru said that presidency should not be a platform for the creation of parallel authorities that would duplicate functions of ministries and agencies.

He said that the chambers also decried the appointment of special assistants and special advisers to be managing projects that would run into billions of naira.

“It will encourage high level of corruption in the system,” Deru said.

Commenting on the creation of Ministry of Trade and Investment, he said, “there is nothing much in a name”.

“What is important is the extent to which the ministry is able to improve the environment and the private sector performance,’’ he said.

Deru said that the fundamental issues like high cost of energy, poor road network, rails, refineries, smuggling, corruption, policy summersault, among others, had to change.

He said that the overhauling of ministries and parastatal agencies should be carried out due to the inability of the government to inject technocrats into the cabinet.