President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday charged ministers designate to ensure that they run a lean government at all levels, to avoid wastage of public funds.
The President also charged them to key into the change agenda of government, as they are the vehicle that will administer the change to Nigerians. The administration, he said, will be rated based on the number of Nigerians it is able to lift out of poverty.
He gave the charge when he flagged off a two-day presidential retreat for the yet to be sworn-in 36 ministers at the old banquet hall of the presidential villa. Abuja.
The presidential retreat which is being organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has the theme, “Delivering change from precepts to practice”. It was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with all ministers-designate and other presidential aides as well as other top government officials. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also participated as a facilitator.
Speaking at the opening ceremony before the retreat went into closed session President Buhari told the ministers-designates that they have no option but to be the drivers of the change that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised Nigerians.
“You are coming on board the ship of governance at an interesting time. So much has been said about the state of our economy. It is expected that we make the running of Government at all levels as lean as possible,avoid waste and conserve resources. As Ministers, you must be the vehicle that will administer the change.
“Our main task is to turn our manifesto promises to practice and results. Over the next two days I expect you to have a better understanding of the context in which we have taken the challenge of serving our country, as well as the strategies we have adopted to tackle them. I would also expect you to be even more determined to work as a team, and to live up to the high standards of probity and integrity which Nigerians expect of us” he said.
He said the major focus of his administration will be diversification from oil.
“We will intervene in mining and agriculture and upgrade the country’s physical and social infrastructure, which will broaden our revenue base and significantly improve the level of employment, especially among the youth. Our economic focus will be policies that will ensure inclusive growth and we will count our achievements based on the number of Nigerians we move out of poverty”.
Noting that the expectations of Nigerians from his administration were high, the President noted that government officials’ resolve to succeed must equal the nation’s challenges.
The Retreat, he said, marks their first official contact with the machinery of Government, of which they will soon be an integral part of. “It is important that you are fully acquainted with the direction and priorities of this Government so that we can all move together as a team”.
He urged the ministers-designate to establish clear and effective communication with their colleagues for a more efficient conduct of government adding that “all communication and appointments from you to the Presidency should be routed through the Office of the Chief of Staff as is normal in this Presidential System”.
