Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has set performance targets for his cabinet ministers and warned that those who fail to meet expectations will be removed.
Tinubu made the announcement at the 2023 Cabinet Retreat for Ministers, Presidential Aides, Permanent Secretaries and Top Government Functionaries, which was held in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said that the performance of ministers would be evaluated periodically and that those who failed to meet their targets would be asked to leave.
“If you are performing, nothing to fear, if you miss the objective we review, if you don’t perform, you leave us,” Tinubu said.
“Don’t be a clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s progress.”
Tinubu said that his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Usman, would spearhead the Result Delivery Unit, which would closely monitor the performances of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the eight priority areas of his administration.
These priority areas are:
- Food Security
- Ending Poverty
- Economic Growth and Job Creation
- Access to Capital
- Inclusivity: Drawing on all Skills bass
- Security
- Fairness and rule of law
- Anti-Corruption Stance
Tinubu also made it clear that performances would be evaluated and accountability upheld.
“At the end of this retreat, you will sign a performance bond with me,” he said.
“You are here to help me succeed and succeed I must…I have appointed a dynamic young lady Hadiza Bala Usman as my SA on Policy Coordination. If you have a problem with her, come to me. If you don’t, stay where you are and work.”
Tinubu stressed the importance of collaborative efforts to propel the country forward and reaffirmed his confidence in the democratic process.
He declared that he had accepted the assets and liabilities of his predecessor and that although chaos existed around them, they must be focused like someone driving in a tunnel to deliver the goods.
“You don’t look at the skies or sideways, face your front and focus on your lane,” he advised.
Tinubu said that his administration had spent the last six months “reviewing ourselves” and stressed the importance of good healthcare and quality education, which he said is the best weapon against poverty.
The president assured foreign investors that they would be able to bring in their capital, invest and repatriate their gains without hiccups.
He declared the country open for business while promising to remove obstacles to economic growth.
