FG approves scrapping of NECO, UTME & NAPEP

The Federal Government has apparently resolved to scrap some of its agencies in line with the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies following its completion of study of its White Paper Committee.

The committee had recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, the merger of 52 and the reversion of 14 to departments in the ministries from which they were carved out, a move the committee argued would save more than N862 billion between 2012 and 2015 if the government carried out what the panel has proposed.

Among those scrapped are Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE), National Examination Council (NECO), Public Complaints Commission, National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the Fiscal Mobilization and Allocation Commission among others.

The sources revealed that with the scrapping of the UTME, individual universities in the country would conduct their own admission examinations and admit students while the Joint Admission and Matriculation and Board will set and ensure compliance to standards as it acts as the clearing house.

This is to be modeled along the line of Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), the central organization through which applications are processed for entry into higher education in the United Kingdom.

The president has also approved that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is now expected to take over the functions and vast infrastructure of NECO which now ceases to exist.

The sources confirmed that WAEC would now conduct two external examinations in a year with one done in January while the second would be conducted in November of every year.

The Public Complaints Commission is to be merged with the Human Rights Commission just as NAPEP will also be scrapped to be replaced with National Agency for Job Creation and Empowerment.