President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, challenged his 48 ministers to deliver on their responsibilities or get sacked.
Tinubu said he is determined to succeed in discharging his duties as President and charged his cabinet members to ensure they don’t become clogs in the wheel of Nigeria’s progress.
The President gave this charge while declaring open, a three-day Cabinet Retreat at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
The retreat themed, ‘Delivering On The Renewed Hope Agenda’ had ministers, permanent secretaries, presidential aides and top government officials in attendance.
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.”
In his almost 20-minute remarks, the President said he would not complain about the heavy task of piloting the country through economic and social recovery, stating that he had accepted to inherit all the assets and liabilities of his predecessors.
