PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is ready to fire underperforming ministers who fail to deliver on targets set for them, the Presidency has said.
The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga told this newspaper, said though the President was yet to decide on the ministers’ performances, he had told them to deliver on his administration’s eight-point agenda. He added that those found wanting would be asked to leave the cabinet.
Onanuga also rated the performance of the administration high as it approaches its first year in office, giving it a score of 70 per cent.
He said when President Tinubu took over, Nigeria was using 97 per cent of its revenue to service debt, and was borrowing for recurrent expenditure, which include the payment of salaries, adding that the administration brought the nation back from the brink of economic collapse with the implementation of bold policies, such as the removal of fuel subsidy, and the unification of the exchange rate.
President Bola Tinubu, had while inaugurating his 48 ministers, advisers, and other aides, urged them to put aside their personal interests and focus on his government’s immediate concern of pulling Nigeria out of poverty.
The President gave the advice at the close of a three-day retreat for ministers, permanent secretaries, presidential aides, and other top government officials at the State House, Abuja, last year after they were appointed.
He told the participants that they had the responsibility of changing the narrative about the country, noting that if they had any problem with Nigeria, they should have a conversation about it.
President Tinubu stressed the need for the officials to bond and ensure that the country recovered from ‘elephantiasis’.
He said, “We have gathered here to shape the future, no threat about it. The responsibilities we bear are not just titles; they are the hopes and aspirations 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.
“We have a responsibility to our country to make sure we completely change the narrative about Nigeria.
“If we have problems, let’s talk to one another. Let’s have gentle conversations about our country. It is 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 and poverty reduction. Like I said before, poverty is not a shameful thing, but it is not acceptable. Are we going to dig our people out of it?”
There has, however, been some disquiet around the country as Tinubu counts days to his first anniversary.
From rising inflation to insecurity and a shaky exchange rate, the country, according to analysts, still has a long way to go.
Although the President inherited a struggling economy, he promised to get it running in no time.
Tinubu, in his 80-page policy document, highlighted an eight-point agenda, with national security and economy topping the list.
Others include agriculture, power, oil and gas, transportation, and education.
In his manifesto, Tinubu said his objective was to foster a new society based on shared prosperity, tolerance, compassion, and the unwavering commitment to treating each citizen with equal respect and due regard.
He promised to build a Nigeria, especially for the youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.
In commemoration of his first anniversary in office, Tinubu directed his ministers to present their performance reports to Nigerians.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while announcing this at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, said the low-key first-anniversary celebration would be marked with sectoral media briefings by the 47 federal ministers.
Idris was joined at the press conference by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu.
On January 24, 2024, the agency in charge of the assessment, the Central Delivery Coordination Unit, trained at least 140 officials to track and assess the performance of federal ministries, departments and agencies ahead of the assessment.
Speaking on Arise TV’s News Night programme in April, the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman, who also heads the CDCU, affirmed that the unit had received performance reports from at least 20 ministries.
She explained that the assessment report would be the joint effort of the ministers, citizens and industry experts.
Meanwhile, in April, the Presidency unveiled a citizens’ feedback platform in a bid to get a ‘strong feedback loop between citizens and government’ on the eight priority areas of the current administration.
Bala-Usman, who disclosed this at the Go-Live event of the CDT held in Abuja that month, said the creation of the application was informed by President Tinubu’s decision to assess his ministers and heads of agencies based on key performance indicators.
Bala-Usman added that the eight priority areas for the assessment of the ministers’ performances in the App included reforming the economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth, strengthening national security for peace and prosperity, boosting agriculture to achieve food security, and unlocking energy and natural resources for sustainable development.