By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, Abuja
Dr Olubunmi Tunji -Ojo, the Minister of Interior, has signed performance bonds with the heads of agencies under his ministry, marking a significant step towards enhancing institutional performance. The signing ceremony was the climax of a 3-Day mid-term tenure/2025 Sectoral Performance retreat held at the Zuma Rock Resort, Suleja, Niger State.
The retreat, themed: “From Plans to Results; Strengthening Institutional Performance in the Ministry of Interior,” aimed to strengthen the ministry’s performance and deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians. The minister urged the agency heads to up their games and strive for excellence, emphasizing that the current 85% rating is not acceptable and that the ministry should target a 100% rating.
The performance bonds were signed with the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche; the Commandant – General (CG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi; the Comptroller General of the Federal Fire Service, Olumode Samuel Adeyemi; and the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bisoye Coker-Odusote. The bond with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) will be signed at a later date.
Dr. Tunji-Ojo emphasized that the present reforms are aimed at building institutions that will endure and outlive his tenure. He stressed that the ministry’s goal is to create a culture of excellence that will be reflected in all its agencies. “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,” he said.
The minister had specific expectations for each agency. For the NSCDC, he commended their efforts in protecting critical national assets and urged them to do better. For the Nigeria Correctional Service, he noted that the ongoing reforms are transforming the agency into a truly correctional center. For the Federal Fire Service, he charged the new CG to be prepared for a lot of work ahead, including reforms and expansion of services. For NIMC, he commended the DG for the improvements made in the last year and urged her to continue delivering.
The agency heads welcomed the performance bonds and expressed their commitment to delivering on their mandates. The CG NSCDC said: “I think what we’re going to concentrate is on how to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians in terms of mandates.” The CG of the Nigeria Correctional Service emphasized that the bond signing is about performance and upping their game. The CG Federal Fire Service noted that the retreat was an eye-opener and that he is committed to delivering positive impact.
