Buhari to Swear in Ministers, Wednesday, as Presidential Retreat Ends

The two-day retreat hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari came to an end on Tuesday, with a charge from the President to the Ministers-designate to rise to the challenging responsibilities of Ministerial office.

The retreat followed the screening and confirmation of the Ministers-designate by the National Assembly, and held ahead of their swearing-in by the President on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, at the State House.

A statement by the Special The second and final day kicked off with a presentation on Cabinet Processes and Procedures, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha. This was followed by a presentation by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on aligning government policies with the ideology, manifesto and campaign promises of the ruling party.

Subsequent presentations touched on Budgeting, Civil Service Reforms, Public Procurement, the Relationships between Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, and Effective Partnerships between Executive, Legislature and State Governments.

The SGF, in his remarks, announced the introduction of a new Cabinet Memorandum Review and Approval Process, aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of government decision-making and policy implementation, and increasing coordination and coherence within the Government.

President Buhari, in his closing remarks, reminded participants that the challenges ahead of the Administration remain significant, and urged them to work collaboratively and purposefully, and give their best to the task of delivering a more prosperous country for all Nigerians.

The Ministers-designate will be sworn in on Wednesday, August 21, at the State House, after which they will be allocated portfolios by the President.

Following the swearing-in, each Minister will be given a Mandate, based on the assigned Ministry, and which will spell out priorities, deliverables and timelines.  In addition, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place to track the implementation of all policies and programmes over the next four years.

In the first technical presentation of the retreat, on Day One on Monday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo delivered an overview of the work of the Policies, Programmes and Projects Audit Committee (PPPAC), established by President Buhari in March 2019 and chaired by the Vice President, with a mandate to review the performance in the first term and outline a Roadmap for the new Administration.

This was followed by presentations on National Security, Economic Development and Anti-Corruption Agenda, after which participants engaged in eleven Breakout sessions to deliberate on issues across the priority policy areas of the Administration.

These sessions covered Security; Macroeconomic Stability; Agriculture and Food Security; Energy Security in petroleum products and electricity; Transportation and Critical Infrastructure; Industrialisation and SME Development; Human Capital Development; Social Inclusion; Anti-Corruption; and Housing Financing and Consumer Credit.

Declaring the Retreat open, President Buhari charged the incoming Ministers to ensure that all hands were on deck to realise the Administration’s vision of laying the grounds for the lifting of 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.

The President also asked them to take seriously their responsibility to develop and implement policies, programmes and projects, and harped on the importance of working as a team and communicating amongst themselves and with the Nigerian people.

In the first technical presentation of the retreat, on Monday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo delivered an overview of the work of the Policies, Programmes and Projects Audit Committee (PPPAC), established by President Buhari in March 2019 and chaired by the Vice President, with a mandate to review the performance in the first term and outline a Roadmap for the new Administration.

This was followed by presentations on National Security, Economic Development and Anti-Corruption Agenda, after which participants engaged in eleven Breakout sessions to deliberate on issues across the priority policy areas of the Administration.

These sessions covered Security; Macroeconomic Stability; Agriculture and Food Security; Energy Security in petroleum products and electricity; Transportation and Critical Infrastructure; Industrialisation and SME Development; Human Capital Development; Social Inclusion; Anti-Corruption; and Housing Financing and Consumer Credit.

Declaring the Retreat open, President Buhari charged the incoming Ministers to ensure that all hands were on deck to realise the Administration’s vision of laying the grounds for the lifting of 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.