President Bola Tinubu has directed the reactivation of the Presidential Delivery Tracker to empower Nigerians to track the implementation of projects across the country in real time.
This is just as he urged Ministers to put their personal ambitions aside and focus on Nigeria’s progress.
The President while speaking at the closing session of the three-day Cabinet Retreat, on Friday in Abuja, said his determination to ensure the active and direct participation of citizens in governance is unwavering, noting that all Nigerians must be given the opportunity to track and report on the implementation of projects across the country.
President Tinubu said he has asked his Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, to immediately reactivate the tracking system in a way that maximally leverages on cutting-edge digital innovation to provide real time oversight capability for the benefit of all Nigerians.
President Tinubu also redefined the priority areas of his administration to include reform in the economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth, strengthen national security for peace and prosperity and boost agriculture to achieve food security.
Others include unlock energy and natural resources for sustainable development, enhance infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth, focus on education, health, and social investment as essential pillars of development, accelerate diversification through industrialization, digitization, creative arts, manufacturing and innovation, as well as improve governance for effective service delivery.
Urged Ministers to suspend personal ambition
The President further implored all members of his cabinet to work very hard to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
“I want to reiterate that the Renewed Hope Agenda is about more than just economic growth. It is also about building a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians. It is about creating jobs, improving education and healthcare, and reducing poverty. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians have the opportunity to succeed.
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“I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident we can achieve our goals. We have a strong team in place, and we are committed to working together to build a better future for Nigeria.
“Let me remind you that our people are not interested in excuses, political games, or procrastination. Neither am I. They are interested in tangible results. They seek solutions to the problems that have long plagued our great nation. The challenge before us demands that we must put aside personal ambitions and focus on adhering to the performance bond we have all signed up to on this day. These performance bonds represent a contract we must uphold,” the President said.
The President also emphasized the importance of data in governance, saying: “Data is the lifeblood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind.”
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The climax of the retreat was the signing of performance bonds by ministers and permanent secretaries alongside President Tinubu, who charged all implementing authorities to unfailingly demonstrate diligence, innovative thinking, commitment, and an unrelenting focus on results.
The President stated that renewed hope agenda, is more than growing the economy, but an indication that the government has a responsibility to all Nigerians.
“There is nothing you can do successfully without health care and a good economy.
The President while noting that Nigeria has a lot of work ahead, added that responsibilities they have are not just titles, but aimed at bringing hope to Nigerians.
He reiterated that no excuses will be tolerated, urging the Ministers to put personal ambitions aside.
The President who stated that he is proud of himself, added that “I ran for election I won, they took me to court and I also won”.
“I want to obtain a promise that we are going to work as a team, we are going to work for Nigerians.
Hadiza Usman, Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, gave an overview of the details of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
The system also put in place, a Presidential delivery tracker that will ensure that all deliverables are easily identified.
At the 3 day retreat, participants recommended increase in thresholds for key operators, including the Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other statutory authorities, others include early submission of memos to the cabinet office, a timeline of Wednesdays was set for memo submission, ahead of Monday meetings of the Federal Executive Council,
It was also agreed that Permanent Secretaries will henceforth accompany their Ministers at FEC meetings for easy flow of information, especially during memo defense.
The communique read by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, also recommended the restoration of the FCT master plan.
Under the Marine Economy sub unit, the retreat called for reduction of operators at the port from 11 institutions to 4, under the trade and investment sector, government is to focus on solid minerals development to strengthen new revenue sources.
It also recommended training for technical support system including welders, technicians, amongst others.
As Ministers sign performance bond
The retreat also called for prioritisation of artificial intelligence, while it recommended that performance bond will be developed for civil servants, rewarding good behaviours and punishing deviants.
Others include raising the approval threshold for public procurement and encourage open bidding for transparency, submit memos to the cabinet office ahead of time (e.g., by EOD Wednesday) for analysis with Permanent Secretaries before FEC, mprove alignment of the budget for the MDAs to the president’s vision, strategic goals and relevant KPIs, formulate a standardised checklist detailing appointment criteria for Ministers and Heads of Agencies.
They also resolves to allow Ministers presenting memoranda at FEC to be accompanied by their permanent secretaries, to hasten information flow, evaluate the efficiency of previous FG Intervention Programs and conduct proper pre- and post-project assessments to determine the efficacy of the programs, as well as improve judicial process by allowing promoted judges to complete pending cases in their new positions.
The communique also revealed plans to revive the executive-legislature conference/ tripartite meetings to discuss pre-budget issues ahead of time and define consequences and accelerate prosecution of individuals, including lawmakers, who do not complete contracts awarded to them.
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The retreat also agreed to reform the economy to deliver Sustained inclusive growth, reform tariff structure to enable trade, while still supporting domestic production, incorporate more equity financing, rather than debt financing for fiscal operations, as well as ensure annual budget is aligned with strategic priorities.
They also resolves to review the implication of forward contracts on the economy. o Set-up a steering committee to review the issues around the National Single Window, Strengthen National Security for Peace and Prosperity, as well as intensify efforts to block revenue leakages in the police force. o Engage with governors to strengthen security at local government levels while addressing issues of autonomy and governance.
Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, signed the Performance Bond on behalf of his colleagues.
