The Federal Government’s inability to effectively monitor policies, projects and programmes approved by the Federal Executive Council has been blamed on COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC), the highest policy-making body of the Nigerian government, meets weekly to approve policies, contracts and initiate direction for implementation by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, speaking at a retreat organised for ministers on Monday, said government has been unable to effectively track and monitor FEC-approved policies, projects and programmes as required due to the lockdown arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
He, however, assured that the process will be accelerated by the “Delivery Unit in the coming months”.
The retreat is expected to provide opportunity for the government to review the First-Year report of the Ministerial Mandates with respect to the commitment to deliver on the nine priority areas of the administration.
It is also designed to allow for transparency on the status of implementation of policies, programmes and projects of the government and the roadmap towards the delivery of the president’s nine-priority agenda.
It will also weigh the performance of each minister in delivering the priority projects assigned to him/her since appointment in 2019, identify key impediments to implementation, and re-strategize on how to deliver on the priority areas moving forward, taking into cognizance the key underlying factors that have affected performance and delivery.
The two-day retreat is structured into three sessions with first session looking at ministerial performance to identify improvement opportunities.
“It is our duty to join the president in providing the leadership required to develop Nigeria and lift the bulk of its people out of poverty,” Mustapha said.
He reiterated that the task of governance requires dedication and total commitment to the social contract entered into with the Nigerian people.
“As part of the efforts towards ensuring effective implementation of government’s priorities, Ministerial Mandates were developed and signed by all Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries, using a uniform reporting template developed by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF),” Mustapha said.
“It is reassuring to note that the Ministers cascaded the Mandates to their respective CEOs of Parastatals under their Ministry. This was followed by presentations on the performance of key activities and deliverables of all Ministries, along the Nine Priority Areas as specified in the Ministerial Mandates.
“My Office has received and scheduled most of your memoranda (inclusive of policies, project contracts and presentation of Ministerial Performance review reports) for the consideration of Council.
“As at September 2, 2020, the number of Memoranda, Briefs and Notes processed by the Cabinet Affairs Office stood at 282, while Council had considered/approved 191 Memorandum, Briefs/Notes.
“The meeting has 191 Memorandum, briefs and notes, 50 are policy related with 128 as project contracts and 13 Council notes and briefs,” he said.
The outcome of the retreat is expected to pave way to accelerating the delivery of government policies, projects and programmes in the coming years.
