By Lateef Adegbite
Barely three months after President Bola Tinubu, who incidental was a former Lagos state governor, had a retreat for ministers and other appointed political Aides including Permanent Secretaries at the Federal Level, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, where he had told them that those not performing will leave the Cabinet , fear has gripped the political appointees and top Civil servants in the Federal ministries.
The Nigerian President knew that Hajia Bala Usman, a former Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, and now Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Head , Central Delivery and Coordination Unit, CDCU, would be their nemesis that he advised them that anyone who have complaints against her ‘’ should see him’’. Tinubu , who was said to have the ministers and the other Presidential Aides including the Permanent Secretaries to understand that the Administration which has no reason to fail has’’ focused on evaluation’’ through the delivery unit , stressing that that they should be ready to work with the Kastina state born Aide or be ready to go.
The former Lagos state may have set example with the suspension of Eetta Edu, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation over alleged illegal transfer of N585 million marked for the implementation of grants aimed at supporting ulnerable groups in in Akwa Ibom, Cross river, Lagos and Ogun state of the Federation to a private account belonging to one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
Hajia Usman, the Presidential Aide on Policy Evaluation and Coordination may have used the suspended minister to set example that ministers, Political Aides and top government official who make decisions that will drag the image of the Tinubu’s government to the mud will relieved of his or her appointment.
Given that the top government functionaries may not have understood the import of the Policy and Delivery Coordination unit of the Tinubu’s Administration may have informed why the Presidential Aide had taken advantage of the recent technical retreat for delivery desk officers and Directors of pPlanning in the ministries orgnised by the Unit in Uyo, Capital of Akwa Ibom, home state of Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President to drop the bombshell that the President who in serious about fulfilling his electioneering Campaign promises to Nigeria ‘’ will drop the non- performing ministers’’.
The Presidential Aide who was said to have sought the total commitment of the delivery officers and Directors in the ministries both at the state and Federal levels that the essence of the retreat is to get them to be more serious with heir jobs and expose the political appointees and top government officials that are not performing as engine rooms of the government.
She may have embolden the delivery desk officers, described as the government engine room that will provide the feedback and constantly track ministerial progress and report challenges and bottle to the CDCU . She further stated that the essence of the retreat was to introduce the ministries delivery officers to the framework of the government delivery chain for progress tracking and build the officers capacity on ‘’monitoring of delivery plan’’.
She may have given an instance with the ministry of Aviation which has Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, as the minister, where the officers will be assessing the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, which Headquarters and some Departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, under the close watch of Olayemi Michael Cardoso, will be moving to Lagos for operational efficiency. Hajia Usman, the Presidential Aide on Policy and Delivery Coordination unit, may have hit the nail on the head on why the FAAN Headquarters has been relocated from Abuja to Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center for proper assessing of the various airports across the country and to ensure that the escalators, lifts and Conveyor belts are functional .
The assessment of the airports, by the delivery officers, which will give an insight to them to know more about the security clearance for both passengers and vehicles accessing the airport and the consequences of delayed time of departure of airlines?
She had said that the ministry of Agriculture are also currently being assessed by the delivery officers to see the country index of fertilizer use per hectare of land to grow rice, wheat and maize including yam in view of the attendant investment that has been made in fertilizer interventions over the last eight months.
The former NPA, Managing Director, was said to have further said the ministry of Finance, under the supervision of Wale Edun, as the minister and Coordinating minister of the Economy, the delivery officers, have been mandated to assess the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, which has Bashir Wale Adeniyi, MFR, as the Comptroller General, on the timeliness inspection and Clearance of import and export cargoes to ensure that N5.079 revenue target set for the service this 2024 is achieved.
Hajia Usman, who could not hide her feelings had said that the delivery officers have also been mandated to assess the ministry on the timelines of resources availability to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, described as core to the delivery of any mandate.
Although, FCT, where Nyensom Wike , a former governor of Rivers state calls the shot as the minister may not be on the list of the ministries and MDAs being assessed by the Policy and Delivery Coordination unit offers, but there had been pressure on the President to sack the former Rivers state governor because of the repeated kidnap cases in the FCT in the recent time because of his fiddling with the Rivers ate polities to force out his godson Simalayi Fubara ,the state governor for not doing his biddings. This may have informed why he has paid less attention to the administration of the FCT.
Hajia Usman and her delivery officers may have embarked on the assessment of the ministers and the MDAs, under the ministries because the President had described the ministers, particular, as ‘’the best brains’’ and expected them to deliver on their mandate without excuses.
The former Rivers state governor and the Opposition People’s Democratic Chieftain serving in Tinubu’s Administration who will not take from his critics has blamed politicians for creating tension and propaganda to gaslight kidnap cases in the FCT, insisting that the politicians are bent on making sure that Tinubu’s Administration does not survive.
Many believe that Hajia Usman, the Presidential Aide may have been encouraged to organize the retreat for delivery officers and Directors of Planning in MDAs, because President Tinubu is no longer finding it funny about’’ the state of the nation’s infrastructure and economy’’ which is biting.
Dave Umahi, a former governor of the south easter state of Eboyi, may have shocked Nigerians when he disclosed at Aba, the Commercial town of Abia state, where he had visited to inspect Federal government projects that the Nigerian President is having sleepless nights to solve the inherited bad economy from former President Muhammadu Buhari.
This may have informed why he has travelled to Paris, Capital of France on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, on a private visit to Paris and will return to the country in the first week of February, 2024, according to Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.
