FG signs one-year performance contracts with paramilitary agencies, sets 100% reform target

The Federal Government has signed one-year performance contracts with agencies under the Ministry of Interior, mandating them to achieve full implementation of ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening service delivery and institutional efficiency.

The signing, which followed a three-day retreat at Zuma Rock Resort in Suleja, Niger State, on Saturday, involved the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Fire Service (FFS), and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Key reforms being pursued include the overhaul of Nigeria’s passport and visa systems, prison decongestion, global-standard inmate rehabilitation, protection of critical national infrastructure, improved fire and emergency response services, and the establishment of a fraud-proof national identity system.

Those who signed the contracts were Abubakar Audi, Commandant General of the NSCDC; Mr. Sylvester Nwakuche, Controller General of Corrections; and Mr. Samuel Adeyemi, Commandant General of the FFS. The Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mrs. Kemi Nanna Nandap, was absent as she was out of the country, while NIMC was represented by Abisoye Coker-Odusote, its Director-General.

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, who supervised the exercise, declared that the era of half-measures was over, stressing that the government expected a 100 percent performance rate across the agencies.

“Last year, we were at 62 percent. A year later, the Presidential Performance Assessment Initiative moved us to 85 percent. Now, our target is 100 percent. That is why I told the Permanent Secretary to give me one reason why I need to change a winning team,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He underscored the importance of capacity building for officers across the services, insisting that a skilled and motivated workforce was central to delivering on President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

For the NIMC, the Minister tasked Coker-Odusote to deepen reforms to provide Nigerians with a reliable and fraud-proof foundational identity system.

He also called on the Nigerian Correctional Service to transform correctional centres into true facilities for rehabilitation and reformation rather than places of condemnation.

Speaking on the FFS, Tunji-Ojo outlined ambitious reforms for the agency, including broadening its scope to cover emergency medical services, encouraging private sector participation, and establishing a regulatory framework that would prioritize assets saved during operations.

“I want to see a fire service that is liberalized, a service that regulates and enumerates the sector, and one that is judged not by the number of fires fought, but by the number of assets saved,” he stated.

The Minister urged all agencies to uphold their mandates not only to meet the expectations of President Tinubu but also to build institutions that will endure beyond the tenure of current leaders.

Source: Businessday.ng | Read the Full Story…