President Bola Tinubu has restated his commitment to leading Nigeria to a brighter future.
President Tinubu, who made the declaration at the opening ceremony of his administration’s first Cabinet Retreat at the new Conference Centre of the Presidential Villa, Abuja made it clear that he would spare no resource to redeem the country from its current state.
The 2023 Cabinet Retreat, themed ‘Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda, is organised for ministers, presidential aides, permanent secretaries and other top government functions.
He said “It’s our country, we have no other one, let’s be proud that we’re Nigerians and we can do it, you can show leadership. We can fight to make democracy a lasting reference for the rest of Africa.
“Don’t be afraid to take decisions, but don’t be antagonistic of your supervisor. If they are wrong, debate it. I stand before you and I have claimed several occasions and I’m saying today again, as the President I can make mistakes, point it to me, I will resolve that conflict, that error. Perfection is only that of God Almighty.
“But you are there to help me succeed. Success, I must achieve, by all means necessary. We have great minds, great intellects, and all that we need”, he said.
The President also said he would not complain about the heavy task of piloting the country through economic and social recovery, stating that he had accepted to inherit all the assets and liabilities of his predecessors.
“I accept the assets and liabilities of my predecessor, it is part of my professional background. You are in this ship, don’t wreck it. See the minister as part of a team that will navigate and take it out of troubled waters.
“Healthcare is priority, education is a must. No other weapon against poverty than education. You have the opportunity to change things.
“One of the key complains of the German chancellor and his delegation was… those obstacles are gone, never to come back again, we are open for business. This is why we have set up results”, the President said.
He also told the gathering that there would be periodic assessments of government functionaries and those who fail to measure up to the target of delivering the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration would be shown the doors.
“You will sign a bond of (performance) with me, you If you are performing, nothing to fear, if you miss the objective we review, if you don’t perform, you leave us”, he said.
He further tasked the functionaries, saying “We must take 50 million out of poverty. Look around, don’t be wicked. We can only spend the money, we cannot spend the people”.
All participants at the three-day retreat will, among other things, sign the Ministerial Performance Bond, which will periodically be reviewed.