By; KELVIN OKPARA, Enugu
Prominent Igbo leaders have warned against any move to implement anything outside recommendations of the Stephen Oraonsaye report on Restructuring and rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies submitted to the federal government.
Investigation revealed that there are alleged moves by some top federal government functionaries to doctor the said report presented to the federal government for implementation.
The Igbo leaders who spoke to our correspondent on the allegation, reminded the implementation committee that they were only given mandate to implement the white paper and not to add or subtract, warning that any attempt to doctor the report especially recommendations as it affects agencies in the Federal Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology may not achieve the desired objective.
It would be recalled that ex President Goodluck Jonathan had set up a committee to advise government on restructuring and rationalization of Federal Government Parastatsls, Commission and agencies with the objective of determining areas of overlap and duplication of functions, among others.
In the committee’s recommendation, some agencies under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology were recommended to be merged but the Projects Development Institute (PRODA) was recommended to stand alone.
However, investigations have revealed that there are moves by some top government officials who may have personal interest, to doctor the document to merge PRODA with other agencies contrary to the committee’s recommendation.
Reacting to the alleged move to doctor the recommendation of the committee on PRODA, a former presidential candidate of United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP), and prominent Igbo leader, Chief Chekwas Okorie warned that such action will be counter productive, saying though he is yet to go through the white paper, the right thing should be done.
He insisted that the recommendation should be implemented to the latter, adding that since inception PRODA has not been given the desired attention.
Chief Okorie therefore posited that if given the necessary support, PRODA will be in the interest of the country, as it will take the nation’s technological advancement to the next level.
He however, advised the implementing committee not to bow to any pressure to doctor the document, pointing out that PRODA is an agency that deserves adequate attention.
Reacting also to the alleged plan, a former spokesman of Apex Igbo Social Cultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chuks Ibegbu said although, the implementation was overdue, nobody should politicize it by merging PRODA with any other agency, saying the agency should be left alone as recommended by the committee.
In his reaction, the Founder of Voice from the East, a social cultural organisation, Comrade Kindness Jonah warned against the merging of PRODA with another agency, stressing that the recommendation of the committee was that PRODA should be on its own.
He said though PRODA has not been given the attention it deserves, it remains the pride of the IGBOs as it was set up immediately after the war to preserve some of the scientific innovations of the IGBOs during the Biafra War.
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