PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has warned ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies to refrain from abandoning their primary assignments for political campaigns ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Buhari, who gave the directive at the end of the two-day 2022 Ministerial Performance Review Retreat in Abuja on Tuesday, warned that any infraction of the order would attract sanctions.
He stressed that despite the commencement of campaigns towards the 2023 general election, the business of governance must continue to receive the needed attention.
“Consequently, all ministers, permanent secretaries, and heads of agencies must remain focused in the discharge of their duties, as any infraction will be viewed seriously,” he said.
The President’s directive was preceded by his signing of Executive Order 012 on Improving Performance Management, Coordination, and Implementation of Presidential Priorities.
He directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha to continue with the quarterly review process and assessment of ministries for the third and fourth quarters of 2022, saying the reports would form part of the transition documents of his administration to the incoming government.
To achieve that objective, Buhari ordered all ministers and permanent secretaries to ensure that the performance reports of their ministries were submitted quarterly to the SGF for review by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.
“The outcome of these reviews would be made available for my consideration,” the President said.
“Our collective goal is to map out a transition plan for the incoming administration to ensure proper documentation of all the policies, programmes and projects of government with up-to-date status of implementation.”