Nigerians have rated the Ministries of Power and Agriculture and Food Security low on the Presidency’s Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit tracker, Sunday PUNCH reports.
Data obtained by our correspondent from the tracker also revealed that the Ministry of Interior topped the chart, buoyed by multiple five-star reviews applauding improvements in passport and visa issuance.
On April 8, 2024, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and head of the CDCU, Hadiza Bala-Usma, inaugurated the Citizens’ Delivery Tracker.
Bala-Usman said the tracker would provide a “strong feedback loop” between citizens and the government and hold ministers and heads of government agencies accountable based on key deliverables.
“The Citizens Delivery Tracker App…will be constantly modified to enhance ease of use and maintain a strong feedback loop between citizens and their government,” she explained at the Go-Live event of the CDT in Abuja.
According to the latest CDCU data covering the last six months, citizens submitted 217 ratings overall, with an average of 3.1 out of 5 stars across agencies.
“The Ministry of Interior led with an average of 4.3, while the lowest-rated agency, the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, recorded 1.7,” the report read.
Tinubu’s eight priority areas
The deliverables border on the eight priority areas of the Bola Tinubu administration.
The CDT outlined 204 deliverables and 888 indicators to assess government ministries, departments and agencies. The deliverables comprised various government policies, projects and programmes scheduled for completion between 2024 and 2027.
In arriving at the deliverables and key performance indicators, Bala-Usman said the CDCU, supported by development partners and consultants, held numerous bilateral meetings with all the ministers, permanent secretaries, and their respective technical teams for six weeks.
The tracker came months after President Bola Tinubu announced plans for ministerial assessment at the cabinet retreat in November 2023.
At the cabinet retreat for ministers, presidential aides, permanent secretaries and top government functionaries, Tinubu said the CDCU would be strengthened to make citizens an integral part of his government’s monitoring and performance management process.
Direct citizens’ feedback
A summarised breakdown of the feedback availed to Sunday PUNCH indicated that fertiliser and other inputs did not get to real farmers because of the absence of a proper database.
“I suggest there should be agric extension workers across the 774 LGAs to collate the data and support; that way, genuine farmers will be reached, not paper ones,” Damilola Ogidan, who rated the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security 2 out of 5, said.
Another respondent, Aimufua Emmanuel, in his rating of the Federal Ministry of Power, wrote, “Your excellency, I don’t know what we have done to God to give us a man like the power minister to take charge of the power sector. He’s by far the least performing minister in your cabinet. Ever since the beginning of this administration, our case has been from frying pan to fire. I live in Sangotedo, and since May last year, we have never had four hours of light in a day. At times we go one week without light blinking for a second, it is very obvious the power minister knows nothing about the power sector, listen to him and you’ll be quick to tell he knows nothing about generation, transmission and distribution of power. This man is clueless.’ He rated the Ministry of Power 1 out of 5.”
However, another Nigerian, Nasir Abubakar, rated the Power Ministry 4 out of 5.
He advised that there should be legislation that would compel power distribution companies to supply electricity to consumers and they should be responsible for the repairs and maintenance of their equipment.
The report continued: “One user, Lukman Kazeem, rated CrediCorp one star, commenting, ‘No indication that this agency is performing. No projects in the project list.’ The Delivery Manager for CrediCorp responded to clarify the agency’s status and ongoing initiatives.
“Oluwafemi Olanrewaju gave the Ministry of Interior five stars, commending ‘the improved processing time for visa issuance,” a key deliverable tied to the ministry’s priority.
“Feedback on the Federal Inland Revenue Service ranged from top marks to mid-level scores. Suleiman Umar rated the FIRS five out of five, stating, ‘I support Zach on his revenue reform…all MDA’s generating revenue should use FIRS account such that they don’t touch the revenue. Let’s have a centralised system of revenue collection.’”
“Segun Owolabi rated the FIRS three out of five, citing issues with taxpayer data: ‘The stats of captured taxpayers across Nigeria has not been consistently updated… many low-income earners are being taxed by their employer even when the law stipulates taxable and nontaxable income.”
CrediCorp recorded the lowest rating, averaging only 1.7 stars.
In the same timeframe, Priority 6—covering Health, Education, and Social Investment—achieved the best performance (74 per cent), while Priority 4—concerning Energy and Natural Resources—posted a comparatively lower figure (53 per cent).
During this period, delivery managers maintained an average response time of 3.2 days, with 30 actively engaging citizen feedback and resolving about 76 per cent of submitted issues.
The CDCU noted that the tracker’s 1 to 5 stars rating system was linked to verified performance indicators for each deliverable.
It encouraged citizens to rate and leave contextual feedback, which ministry representatives would address. (Punch)
