Time for President Tinubu to have his own DOGE!

March 11, 2025 | By Umar Yakubu

A feasible starting point for governmental reform lies in workforce optimisation.

...simplifying bureaucratic procedures, and boosting operational efficiency could make a Nigerian adaptation of DOGE highly impactful. Such an approach could revolutionise security, bolster the economy, and improve governance. The model would need to be tailored to reflect Nigeria’s unique circumstances before implementation… In the long run, this strategy promises to cultivate a more competitive business landscape, attract investments, and foster sustainable economic growth.

You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing. – Thomas Sowell

The United States recently introduced the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative aimed at cutting wasteful spending, streamlining bureaucracy, and saving taxpayers billions of dollars. According to the driver of the programme, Elon Musk, the goal is to save as much as $2 trillion for the US government. Aside the politics and controversies around it, DOGE has the potential to significantly reduce federal spending and enhance the overall efficiency of government operations.

If the world’s largest economy sees a need for such reforms, Nigeria must consider adopting a similar model. Forget the Oronsanye report; it is stale. Since the report was submitted in 2012, tens of agencies, including the recently ill-thought out development commissions, have sprung up. Successive administrations — spanning from that of Jonathan to Buhari, and now Tinubu — have yet to demonstrate the political resolve required for the implementation of a leaner and more efficient federal government. Meanwhile, recurrent expenditures, largely comprising salaries and nonessential spending, have increased, exacerbated by inflation and rising energy costs.

Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have not taken significant steps to reduce excessive travels, reduce their vehicular fleet sizes, or curb frivolous expenses, often prioritising their welfare other officials over the health of the State’s finances. Basically, the political elite and MDAs have taken care of themselves, with regard to the present hardship, through increased recurrent expenditures, while dubious spendings are imbedded in virtually all MDAs.

In February 2024, the president constituted a committee to implement the mergers, scrapping and relocations of MDAs within 12 weeks and gave the task to the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Ms Hadiza Usman. We are now in March 2025 and no action has been taken so far. To serve as a reminder, the 800-page Oronsaye report recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies should be reduced to 161; 38 agencies should be scrapped; 52 merged; and 14 be reverted to being departments in various ministries.

By May, it will be two years with no action nor movement on government efficiency. But it’s always better late than never.

A lot of things need to be done with the 63 government owned enterprises referred to in the articles in order to improve revenue generation with minimal workforces. Some may argue that relieving redundant staff will lead to more unemployment. This is true. But in 2025, the thinking must change, because the global competition for scarce resources is real and the driver of any country’s development is the civil service. These agencies cannot continue with their wasteful spendings, amid low results and impact.

A feasible starting point for governmental reform lies in workforce optimisation. Nigerian-owned enterprises, many of which operate below potential, while consuming substantial resources, must undergo restructuring. Waziri Adio has written extensively on “How Super agencies are Funded” and “Still on the Funding of Super Agencies.” A lot of things need to be done with the 63 government owned enterprises referred to in the articles in order to improve revenue generation with minimal workforces. Some may argue that relieving redundant staff will lead to more unemployment. This is true. But in 2025, the thinking must change, because the global competition for scarce resources is real and the driver of any country’s development is the civil service. These agencies cannot continue with their wasteful spendings, amid low results and impact.

With the introduction of technology into processes, while sticking to mandates and streamlining operations, when properly scrutinised and analysed, the likes of Central Banks of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) can do with 30 per cent of their current staff members and achieve better results. Their redundancies are well documented and how they are over-staffed with unproductive workers.

The likes of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), can do with 20 per cent of their present staff numbers, as their mandates do not require that many people. The huge numbers are basically as a result of patronage employments, which deepen inefficiency, incompetence and enable corruption.

…with less than N200 million, trillions of naira will be saved for the country, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will devolve more energy on supervision, while the EFCC and ICPC will have less work to do. Utilising technology and advanced software to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide systems and promoting interoperability between agency networks and systems, will turn the present docile civil service, at the federal, state and local government levels, into powerhouses for public service delivery.

Several agencies like NASENI and the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) should be government departments. The sections of the law that allow regulatory agencies to turn into revenue generating agencies must be addressed for efficiency purposes, as law enforcement agencies are now allowed to keep certain percentages of the recoveries they make. Our major national security challenges stem from weak border control, but that is to be expected when you allow the primary agency for border security, the Nigerian Customs Service, to pay more attention to revenue generation. You then use the amounts generated on security, for we have the highest number of small and light weapons in the whole of West Africa.

Drawing inferences from DOGE, we need to maximise the use of technology in improving efficiency in procurement. The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Management says 30 per cent of funds expended on procurement are lost to fraud. However, the Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative (PRADIN) claims that this is 70 per cent, while the EFCC suggests that it could actually be as high as 90 per cent. Meanwhile, there are dozens of off-the-shelf software applications that cost less than $100,000 to acquire. Although, we can use local software developers to make one for less than N50 million, through which our entire procurement processes, from end to end, can be carried out online.

Artificial intelligence tools can easily sieve out all fraudulent procurements. So, with less than N200 million, trillions of naira will be saved for the country, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will devolve more energy on supervision, while the EFCC and ICPC will have less work to do. Utilising technology and advanced software to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide systems and promoting interoperability between agency networks and systems, will turn the present docile civil service, at the federal, state and local government levels, into powerhouses for public service delivery.

While this piece cannot capture all the initiatives that could be implemented, concentrating on cutting unnecessary expenses, simplifying bureaucratic procedures, and boosting operational efficiency could make a Nigerian adaptation of DOGE highly impactful. Such an approach could revolutionise security, bolster the economy, and improve governance. The model would need to be tailored to reflect Nigeria’s unique circumstances before implementation. Substantial compensation must also be provided to those who lose their jobs, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the private sector. In the long run, this strategy promises to cultivate a more competitive business landscape, attract investments, and foster sustainable economic growth.

Umar Yakubu writes from Abuja.