About 140 officials have been assembled to track and assess the performance of federal ministries, departments, and agencies ahead of the first assessment exercise at the end of this month.
The assessment team, selected from 35 government entities, is coordinated by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit under the leadership of Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination.
“It will involve a permanent secretary and directors of planning and other officials, four each from 35 ministries. They are considering the modalities of the assessment, the key performance indicators and the reporting mechanisms and all of those,” an official who did not want to be mentioned said.
Officials on Wednesday gathered in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, for the third technical retreat, focusing on the implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables for delivery desk officers from federal ministries.
During the retreat, Bala-Usman reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s message to participants, cautioning that ministers who neglect their duties might face dismissal. She said Tinubu is committed to fulfilling his pledge of improving the quality of life for Nigerians.
Calling for the total commitment of delivery officers and directors of planning in ministries, Bala-Usman said, “We must understand that the President is very serious about his promises and that ministers will be assessed, and ministers will be dropped if they don’t perform.
“You must understand that as ministerial delivery desk officers, you are the engine room that will provide that feedback, constantly track ministerial progress, and report challenges and bottlenecks to the central coordinating and delivery unit.”
The presidential aide, who dove into the specifics, explained, “In the Ministry of Aviation, we will be assessing FAAN on customer experience at the airports; are the escalators, lifts, and conveyor belts functional?
“What are the consequences of delayed time of departure for airlines? These are things that everybody can feel and see.
“When talking about agriculture, we want to see our index of fertiliser use per hectare grow because of the attendant investment that has been made in fertiliser interventions.”
On October 17, 2023, Bala-Usman said her office would begin a quarterly assessment of the performance of the 48 ministers (now 47) appointed by the President by January 2024.
She said January would be the best period to begin the exercise as all the ministries would have received their budgets for the 2024 fiscal year.
“We’re looking to commence an assessment of the respective ministries in January 2024. We’re going to have a quarterly assessment of performance, which will culminate into an annual scorecard,” the former boss of the Nigerian Ports Authority said in an interview on TVC.
