FG to establish unit to coordinate, monitor FEC approved policies, projects

The Federal Government says it is establishing a “Delivery Unit” to coordinate the tracking and monitoring of Federal Executive Council approved policies, programmes and projects in line with the priority areas of Government.
Babatunde Lawal, the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, disclosed this on Saturday in Lagos State.
Lawal was quoted in a statement issued by the acting Director-General of the Centre for Management Development, Bitrus Chinoko, as saying the unit will be domiciled in the CAO.
Lawal spoke at a specialised training programme on policy management processes and cabinet documentation for directorate and senior level officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, organised by COA.
He recalled that at the onset of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term, a retreat was organised for new Ministers, Federal Permanent Secretaries and other top government functionaries to intimate them on the new vision of the administration.
He said: “One of the major outcomes of the retreat was that Ministerial mandates should be developed in line with the vision of the President to build a prosperous economy, eradicate corruption and provide security for all Nigerians.
“A Delivery Unit is also being established in the OSGF/CAO to coordinate the tracking and monitoring of Federal Executive Council approved policies, programmes and projects, in line with the priority areas of Government.
“The team is expected to work closely with the Directors and Relationship Officers of MDAs to drive implementation of government policies, programmes and projects.”
Reiterating the commitment of Buhari’s administration to fulfilling its promises to Nigerians, Lawal said government had identified nine priority areas of focus for the next four years.
These areas, according to him, are stabilise the macro economy; improve transportation and other infrastructure; enhance social inclusion and reduce poverty; and achieve agriculture and food security.
Others are to drive industrialization; fight corruption and improve governance; ensure energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products; improve health, education and productivity of Nigerians; as well as improve security for all.
Lawal advised participants to make use of the opportunity in assisting MDAs to propose initiatives to the leadership of their Ministry for Council’s consideration, especially policy memoranda.
He said: “It is envisaged that after this training, there would be: Improved quality of Council memoranda and related documents from Ministries, and reduced rate of iteration;
“Reduction in processing time of memoranda received from MDAs; Improved quality of Council decisions and approvals;
“Improved understanding of the entire policy management value chain (Policy development, implementation, tracking and reporting) by the Relationship team of the CAO and Directors/relevant officials at the MDAs and;
“Ultimately, the accelerated translation of all the initiatives into tangible public goods and services that meet citizens’ needs.”
In his address, Chinoko described the business of governance as a huge task.
The acting D-G of CMD said every decision to take one line of action or another must benefit from robust decision making processes.
He said the three days training would provide for participants from various MDAs opportunity to strengthen their skills and update their knowledge that would influence their contribution to the nation.
He said such skill would help them in development of Council Documents, especially Memoranda for the Ministers to be presented at the FEC.
In her remarks, Folashade Jaji, the Secretary to the Lagos State Government, said the training came at a crucial time when improvement in polities, projects and programme implementations must be seen and felt by every citizen and visitor in Nigeria.
She said: “I urge you to make the best of this training knowing that the benefits that come with it are not for the government but first and foremost for yourself and for Nigerians.
“The ripple effects it would have on your lives, even after leaving the service cannot be quantified judging from my personal experience.”
The training, with the theme: “Capacity Building on Policy Management Processes and Cabinet Documentation for Enhanced Service Delivery,” was held at at the CMD, Shangisha, Lagos State.