Former National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dele Oye, has urged the Federal Government to immediately implement the Oronsaye Report, warning that the proliferation of more than 900 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) is placing a heavy financial burden on Nigeria’s economy.
Oye, who also chairs the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE), said the increasing number of government agencies has resulted in overlapping responsibilities, duplicated regulatory functions and rising compliance costs for businesses.
In a statement, he recalled that the Steve Oronsaye Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, inaugurated in 2012, recommended the merger, abolition and restructuring of several agencies, with projected savings of about N862 billion between 2012 and 2015.
According to him, although parts of the report received federal approval in 2023, implementation has largely stalled while the number of MDAs has continued to grow beyond 900, worsening the country’s business environment and discouraging investment.
Oye argued that businesses now face unnecessary regulatory burdens due to multiple agencies exercising similar powers. He cited the recent sealing of three milk factories in Awada, Onitsha, by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) as an example of regulatory overlap.
He noted that manufacturers are often required to meet separate compliance requirements from the FCCPC, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), environmental agencies, local governments and other regulatory bodies.
According to him, the duplication of oversight has created excessive bureaucracy, increased operating costs and forced many small businesses into the informal economy.
“The ancient wisdom captured in the proverb ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ has never been more apt. When three different federal agencies have the statutory power to seal a single factory, we are no longer talking about regulation. We are talking about an administrative circus where the performer is the private sector,” he said.
Oye also accused many government agencies of shifting from regulation to aggressive revenue generation.
He cited figures indicating that government agencies deducted N658 billion as the cost of revenue collection in the first half of 2025, noting that deductions by agencies including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) now exceed the total allocations received by several states.
“This is not regulation. This is legalised extortion. We are so focused on extracting revenue from the private sector that we are destroying the very engine that generates that revenue,” he stated.
The former Chairman of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) maintained that Nigeria cannot attract significant private sector investment while maintaining an expansive regulatory framework characterised by overlapping jurisdictions, multiple levies and excessive bureaucracy.
He noted that the National Development Plan 2021–2025 recognises that more than 85 per cent of the country’s investment needs must come from the private sector, warning that the current regulatory environment is undermining that objective.
Oye further warned that excessive regulation is encouraging businesses to remain in the informal sector, weakening government oversight and reducing tax compliance.
He called on the Federal Government to fully implement the Oronsaye Report, describing it as a credible roadmap for reducing the cost of governance and creating a more efficient regulatory system.
“The question is not whether reform is possible. The question is whether Nigeria’s leaders have the courage to pursue it,” he said.
He added that the continued expansion of government agencies, rising fees and regulatory complexity were hurting businesses and driving investors away.
“The private sector is bleeding. Investors are fleeing. Informal economic activity is exploding. And yet, we continue to add more agencies, more fees, more complexity. This is not governance. This is slow-motion economic suicide,” Oye said.
