By Abbanobi -Eku Onyeka
Abuja
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has signed performance bonds with the heads of agencies under his ministry, marking a significant step towards enhancing institutional performance and delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians. The signing ceremony was held at the end of a 3-Day mid-term tenure/2025 Sectoral Performance retreat of the Ministry and the agencies, themed “From Plans to Results: Strengthening Institutional Performance in the Ministry of Interior.”
The Minister expressed his determination to see the Ministry and its agencies achieve a 100% rating, stressing that the current 85% rating is not acceptable. He emphasized that the present reforms are aimed at building institutions that will endure and outlive his tenure.
“Can we see the difference in the Ministry of Interior and the agencies in the last one year? Yes, when we did the last retreat, we were 62%. We moved to 85%. And what we want to do is to cascade such that what you see in the ministry in terms of excellence is what you will see in Civil Defense, it’s what you will see at the level of Immigration Service, it’s what you will see at the level of Correctional Service or fire service.
“My dream is to be able to build a Ministry to the glory of God that will be able to do well even without me, and that is what we call institution, build institutions. We don’t want a ministry that will be built around a strong person,” Tunji -Ojo asked and responded.
The Minister had specific expectations for each agency, by urging the:
NSCDC to do better in protecting critical national assets and create a niche for itself as an elite security agency; Nigeria Correctional Service to become a truly correctional center, focusing on rehabilitation and reformation; Federal Fire Service to be prepared for reforms and expansion of services, including emergency medical services and private sector participation and; NIMC to continue delivering improvements in security architecture and systems, with a focus on verification and registration.
The agency heads welcomed the performance bonds and expressed their commitment to delivering on their mandates. The CG NSCDC emphasized the need to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians, while the CG of the Nigeria Correctional Service stressed the importance of upping their game and signing a bond to let the Nigerian public know that it’s not business as usual. The CG Federal Fire Service noted that the retreat was an eye-opener and that he is committed to delivering positive impact.
Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji -Ojo (middle), the Permanent Secretary Ajani (right) and another at the conclusion of the retreat on Saturday
