A report on the performance status of the Federal Government’s ministries, departments, and agencies for the first quarter of 2024 is anticipated to be sent to President Bola Tinubu.

Sources within the Presidency who are aware of the events stated that the President’s evaluation of his ministers will be based on the report.

“What I know is that an interim report on the performance of the ministers has been submitted to the President and the report for the first quarter is being prepared,” stated an unnamed source who wished to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to discuss the subject.

Rumors that certain ministers were targeted for termination were refuted by a second source who wished to remain anonymous, characterizing them as mere “rumors.”

“People are carrying those rumours all over the place. May 29 is just weeks away, if the President is shaking up his cabinet, we would know by now,” the senior official who is privy to happenings in the cabinet stated.

The Central Delivery Coordination Unit’s (CDRCU) leader, Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, confirmed on April 8, 2024, that the CDCU had received reports from at least 20 of the 35 ministries.

She clarified that a collaborative effort involving ministries, residents, and industry experts would result in the Q1 evaluation report.

Bala-Usman, who spoke on Arise TV’s News Night, clarified, “Our submission is for the first quarter. So, the first quarter has just ended, and we have initiated the assessment process. The ministers have all been asked to submit their performance based on the deliverables.”

She asserted ministers will be assessed “based on what is out there in the public space. They would write to say, ‘Based on every deliverable you have given me, this is what I’ve done within the first quarter of the year.’

“Through the Citizens Delivery Tracker app, Nigerians will also say, ‘this is what we’ve seen the minister do’ and they would aggregate it,” said the presidential aide.

She also revealed, “The ministers have all been asked to submit what they’ve done in the first quarter. We have received submissions from about 20 ministries. We’re expecting the remaining and then we’re going to conclude the assessment and make a submission to the President.”

The exact time that the CDCU would provide the President the Q1 report, however, could not be determined because attempts to get in touch with them were unsuccessful. Bala-Usman did not answer her mobile phone or reply to texts as of Sunday night.

She had said on October 17, 2023, that January 2024 would be the best month to start the exercise as all ministries would have received their budgets for the fiscal year 2024.

“We’re looking to commence an assessment of the respective ministries in January 2024. We’re going to have a quarterly assessment of performance, which would culminate into an annual scorecard,” the former Chief of the Nigerian Ports Authority explained in an interview on TVC.

President Tinubu announced that Ministers in his Cabinet will only be allowed to hold their positions based on performance, which will be evaluated on a quarterly basis, at the start of the three-day Cabinet Retreat for Ministers, Presidential Aides, Permanent Secretaries, and top government workers on November 1, 2023.

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

At least 140 officials received training from the CDCU on January 24, 2024, to monitor and evaluate the performance of federal ministries, departments, and agencies in advance of the review.

Our correspondent was informed by a top source who works closely with the CDCU that the officers were selected from 35 federal MDAs.

They comprise “A permanent secretary and directors of planning and other officials, four each from 35 ministries.”

“They are considering the modalities of the assessment, deliverables, the key performance indicators and the reporting mechanisms,” the official who preferred to remain anonymous revealed.

The Citizens’ Delivery Tracker was introduced by the President at the beginning of April. It listed 204 deliverables and 888 indicators for assessing government MDAs.

The deliverables included a range of government initiatives, projects, and programs that were meant to be finished in 2024–2027.

The CDT will provide a “strong feedback loop between citizens and the government,” according to Bala-Usman, whose office organized the launch. It will also hold ministers and heads of government agencies responsible for these deliverables and KPIs that represent the eight priority areas of the Tinubu administration.

The CDT identified key areas, which included social welfare, education, and infrastructure as well as economic stability. It mapped MDAs with particular deliverables and KPIs for the short term of 2024 and the long term of 2027.

The ministries of finance, budget, and national planning, the Presidential Committee on Consumer Credit, and the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee have been assigned tasks to complete 28 deliverables and 53 indicators under the priority area titled Reforming the Economy to Deliver Sustained and Inclusive Growth.

Among them are raising Internally Generated Revenue to N27.17 trillion and raising Nigeria’s Tax-to-GDP ratio to 15%.

At least 88,000 prisoners would need to have their National Identity Numbers registered. Six deliverables and 65 KPIs would be used to evaluate the ministries of interior, police affairs, and defense.

Unlocking energy and natural resources for sustainable development along 27 deliverables and 130 indicators has been assigned to ministries of power, petroleum resources, solid minerals, and steel development, among others.

One objective is to generate 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day or more.

Increasing food security through agriculture (17 and 84 deliverables and KPIs, respectively), bolstering national security for peace and prosperity (9 and 65 deliverables and KPIs), and improving infrastructure and transportation as growth enablers (36 deliverables and 237 KPIs) are other priority areas and their corresponding deliverables.

Along with these, the administration listed 25 deliverables and 66 KPIs for “Accelerating diversification through industrialization, digitisation, and creative arts”; 37 deliverables and 169 KPIs for “Focusing on education, health, and social investment as essential pillars of development”; and 25 deliverables and 84 KPIs for “Improving governance.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been entrusted with securing BRICS and G-20 memberships by the end of 2024 and ensuring the election or appointment of 538 Nigerians into the leadership of significant international bodies during the same year, with the goal of presenting Nigeria as a global leader in development and peace.

Bala-Usman stated that the CDCU met with ministers, permanent secretaries, and their separate technical teams on multiple occasions over the course of six weeks in order to determine the deliverables and KPIs.

She explained, “The bilateral sessions looked at the mandate of the respective ministries in line with the Presidential Priority Areas and arrived at the final deliverable and KPIs.

“For each of these priority areas, we agreed on specific deliverables and developed KPIs, which formed the basis for the Performance Bond, which all Ministers and Permanent Secretaries signed with the President in November 2023.

“These parameters will guide the Quarterly Assessments and Annual Scorecards, which the CDCU is mandated to present to the President.”