As preparation for 2023 general election heightens political tempo, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday warned ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies not to abandon the business of governance for electioneering, saying ”any infraction will be viewed seriously.”
The president issued the directive at the closing of the 2022 Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, preceded by the signing of Executive Order 012 on Improving Performance Management, Coordination and Implementation of Presidential Priorities.
Although Buhari is not seeking re-election, as he is serving out his second tenure on May 29, 2023, he had nonetheless stated that the current administration will support and campaign for the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates.
But making his closing remarks at the just concluded ministerial retreat, the president told participants that with the commencement of campaigns, the business of governance must continue to receive the needed attention during this period.
”Consequently, all ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of agencies must remain focused on the discharge of their duties, as any infraction will be viewed seriously.
”Our collective goal is to map out a transition plan for the incoming administration to ensure proper documentation of all the policies, programmes and projects of the government with up-to-date status of implementation,” he said.
Buhari noted that the lessons learned in the last three years of implementing the administration’s policies, programmes and projects would serve as the needed tool to propel every ministry to remain committed, towards the achievement of developmental objectives.
He, therefore, charged all ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies to double their efforts and work in synergy toward total delivery of the administration’s set targets.
On Executive Order 12, the president explained that it would institutionalise a culture of accountability and transparency in the pursuit of good governance.
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Buhari also directed the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) to continue with the quarterly review process and assessment of ministries for the third and fourth quarters of 2022, saying the reports will form part of transition documents of his administration to the incoming government.
To achieve this objective, the president ordered all ministers to ensure that the performance reports of their ministries are submitted on a quarterly basis to the office of the SGF for review by the central delivery coordination unit.
”The outcome of these reviews would be made available for my consideration,” the president said.
The president also declared that following discussion and recommendations, the ministry of agriculture and rural development has been directed to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure the completion of all large-scale integrated rice processing mills before the end of this administration.
”This will help our country to maintain sufficiency in the local production of rice as the ban on the importation of foreign rice will be sustained, ” he said.
On electricity, the president directed that all hands must be on deck to ensure timely realisation of the increase in electricity generation to 25,000 megawatts in six years.
He recounted that the plan on electricity generation, through the partnership between Nigeria and German Siemens AG, is on course as the first batch of the transformers has arrived Nigeria already.
Considering the huge investment made in the rail sector, the president directed the ministry of transportation and relevant security agencies to ensure the provision of maximum security along the railway corridors.
”We must ensure the safety of our rail users and strive to achieve the intended economic goals. We must at the same time ensure realisable schedules and first-class maintenance.
”Following the milestones recorded in the road sector, coupled with the innovative ways of funding road infrastructure, the ministry of works and housing has been directed to compile a list of all completed roads, bridges and other infrastructure for commissioning before the end of this administration, ” he said.
The president further directed that the Federal Government’s investment in the reconstruction of 21 selected on-going federal roads totaling 1,804.6km, under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Policy be closely monitored and tracked to ensure the roads are completed on schedule.
”In line with the outcome of the panel session on Priority 4 (Improve Transportation and Other Infrastructure), the ministry of aviation is hereby directed to conclude and ensure the take-off of the national carrier project before the end of the year.’’
In order to expand the fiscal space and improve the nation’s revenue generation efforts, Buhari also directed the ministry of finance, budget and national planning to ensure effective implementation of the strategic revenue and growth initiative.
”In the same vein, we must also build synergy between the fiscal and monetary authorities in order to avoid unnecessary drawbacks in our economic planning and performance, ” he said.
On the implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, the president directed that a monitoring and evaluation framework be put in place by the ministry of health in collaboration with relevant agencies and partners to track the disbursement and utilisation of the fund.
To complement the current efforts in the oil and gas sector, the president announced that the ministry of petroleum resources has been mandated to ensure the completion of the reorganisation of the new agencies unbundled from the defunct Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in line with their mandates.
”This should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023, ” he said.
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