- Signs performance bond with ministers; reactivates Project Delivery Tracker
President Bola Tinubu has charged his ministers and other presidential aides to set aside their individual aspirations and prioritize the administration’s target of delivering quality governance to Nigerians.
President Tinubu made the call yesterday while closing the 2023 Cabinet Retreat for ministers, special advisers and other top government functionaries, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President urged the executives to concentrate on repositioning Nigeria’s economy, prioritise education and ensure quality healthcare delivery for Nigerians.
The Nigerian leader also obtained the pledge of the executives to work for Nigeria towards realising the common goals of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He also tasked the public office holders to work together to ensure Nigeria fully recovers from the challenges it is currently facing.
He told the participants that they have the responsibility to change the narrative about the country, noting that if they have any problem about Nigeria, they should have a conversation about it.
The President stressed the need for the officials to bond together and ensure that the country recovers from “elephantiasis.”
He reminded them that none of them, including himself as the President, can make any excuses to Nigerians.
“We’ have gathered here to shape the future, no threat about it. The responsibility we bear are not just titles, they are hope and aspiration of millions of Nigerians.
“You might be ready to forget about the rest of the world, but as a Nigerian, let’s go out there, let’s bond together and make sure our country is fully recovered from elephantiasis.
“Let me remind you that you are not here to make excuses, neither am I. I’m your friend, your brother, a father and grandfather.
“You must put outside personal ambition and focus on the progress of our nation. It is through this that we can be truly proud.
“I am proud standing before you. I’m very proud of every one of you and I am proud of myself too. I went for election and won with your support, they took me to court and I won,” he said.
While extracting the commitment of the ministers and other government officials to work together as a team and achieve the goals of the administration, President Tinubu said: “We are about to close this three-day cabinet retreat. Are we proud that we are Nigerian? Are we sure that we’ve done this?
“Is the responsibility of the permanent secretary clear, in partnership with the Minister, is it clear? Are we one family?
“Since we are one family and one nation and we are in this vehicle together to change the narrative and bring about economic prosperity of our country. Are we ready?”
He further stated: “We have a responsibility to our country to make sure we change completely, the narrative about Nigeria.
“If we have problems, let’s talk to one another, let’s have conversations, gentle conversations about our country.
“It’s not about ‘just leave me alone, I’m going home’, you may not have a home.
“There’s nothing you can do successfully without good healthcare, reduction poverty. Like I said before, poverty is not a shameful thing but is not acceptable. Are we going to dig our people out of it?
“If you look at your background no matter where you are today, there’s a trace of poverty beneath. So it’s left for you and I to navigate this ship out of poverty.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us. I am confident now with the attendance, concentration, you’ve seen the quality and the character of ministers, you’ve seen it.”
Tinubu noted that his administration has tinkered with its focus areas, saying: “Area one, reform the economy to deliver sustain inclusive growth;
“Two, strengthen national security for peace and prosperity; boost agriculture to achieve food security; unlock energy and natural resources for sustainable development; enhanced infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth; focus on education, health and social investment as essential pillars of development; and accelerate diversification through industrialisation, digitization and creative industry, manufacturing and innovative technology,” the President said.
Giving a synthesis of the key recommendations from the technical sessions of the retreat, the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, announced that the retreat had raised the approval threshold for public procurement and encouraged open bidding for transparency.
It recommended formulation of a standardized checklist detailing appointment criteria for Ministers and Heads of Agencies and also, improved alignment of the budget for the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to the president’s vision, strategic goals and relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Other key recommendations are to evaluate the efficiency of previous federal government intervention programmmes and conduct of proper pre-and post-project assessments to determine the efficacy of the programmes.
Improve judicial process by allowing promoted judges to complete pending cases in their new positions.
Revive the executive-legislature conference/tripartite meetings to discuss pre-budget issues ahead of time and to define consequences and accelerate prosecution of individuals, including lawmakers, who do not complete contracts awarded to them.
On policies and priorities for the Renewed Hope Agenda, the retreat recommended reforming the economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth; reforming tariff structure to enable trade, while still supporting domestic production.
Other recommendations are: Incorporate more equity financing, rather than debt financing for fiscal operations and to ensure the annual budget is aligned with strategic priorities, among others.
Meanwhile, participants at the retreat have signed a performance bond with President Tinubu to enhance achievements in each sector of the economy.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, signed the bond symbolically, while all other ministers and top aides present at the retreat signed theirs before the end of the event.
Coordinator of the Result Delivery Unit (RDU) and Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, said that the performance bond will be reviewed every six -month with ministers presenting score cards.
The retreat ended with recommendations such as the need to reform Nigeria’s economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth and intensify efforts to block revenue leakages.
