'Perform or get sacked' - President warns ministers

Members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) got a marching order yesterday from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: perform or be fired.

The President spoke at the opening of a three-day retreat organised for ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies and parastatals at the Conference Centre of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The 2023 Cabinet Retreat is tagged: “Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The President said his administration was racing against time to rejig the economy and upgrade Nigerians’ living standards within a set time frame.

He told the ministers that he would not spare any resources in his bid to change the narrative about Nigeria.

Ordering the FEC members to take governance with seriousness, he reminded them that the government has at its disposal everything needed to lift the country to loftier heights.

According to him, a Result Delivery Unit (RDU) has been established to periodically appraise the performance of the ministers and chief executive officers of relevant government agencies.

The RDU is headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Ms. Hadiza Bala-Usman.

The unit has the mandate to measure the performance of ministers and other top government officials serving in the Tinubu administration.

The President assured the FEC that he would grant members a significant level of autonomy, provided that they demonstrate intellectual curiosity by asking questions about the reasons, methods and timing of the tasks assigned to them.

He said: “At the end of this retreat, you’re going to sign a bond of understanding between you, the ministers, the permanent secretaries, and myself.

“If you are performing, nothing to fear; if you miss the objective, we’ll review; if there is no performance, you leave us. No one is an island, and the buck stops on my desk.

“I assure you, you have a free hand. You must be intellectually inquisitive to ask how, why, when, and why it must be immediate. You have the responsibility to serve the people.

“I’ve taken a young lady, very dynamic, Hadiza Balla Usman, to head that delivery unit. If you have any complaints about her, see me.

“If you’re ready to work with her, stay there. Delivery, yes, we must achieve it for the sake of millions of our people.

“It’s our country; we have no other one. Let’s be proud that we’re Nigerians and we can do it. You can show leadership. We can fight to make democracy a lasting reference for the rest of Africa.

“Don’t be afraid to make decisions, but don’t be antagonistic to your supervisor. If they are wrong, debate it.

“I stand before you and I have claimed several occasions and I’m saying today again, as the President I can make mistakes. Point it to me, I will resolve the conflict, that error. Perfection is only that of God Almighty.

“But you are there to help me succeed. Success, I must achieve, by all means necessary. We have great minds, great intellects and all that we need.”