The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), has cautioned cabinet ministers, Permanent Secretaries, and Heads of government-run institutions against putting their responsibilities on hold for politics as political parties ramp up their campaigns for the elections scheduled for next year.
At the conclusion of the third ministerial performance review retreat on Tuesday at the presidential villa in Abuja, where he also signed Executive Order 012 on Improving Performance Management, Coordination, and Implementation of Presidential Priorities, the President issued the warning.
He said, “All Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies must remain focused in the discharge of their duties, as any infraction will be viewed seriously.
“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 the government with up-to-date status of implementation.”
In the meantime, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, stated in his earlier speech that the Boko Haram insurgency claimed 100,000 lives, forced over two million people to flee their homes, and caused $9 billion (N3.24 trillion) in damages over the course of the previous 13 years.
Irabor added that the Nigerian Armed Forces have gotten N2.5 trillion in budgetary support over the past seven years, enabling them to "tremendously" expand internal security activities.
The CDS bemoaned the fact that the amount received so far only makes up 35% of the AFN's needs and represents less than 0.5% of Nigeria's GDP.
Regarding military operations in the Niger Delta, he claimed that insurgency had transformed into crude oil theft, which was fueled by flaws in the system of national security.
He asserted that by coordinating military activities, political leadership, and local attitudes, these gaps could be filled.