August 13, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has signed a performance bond with heads of agencies and parastatals under his ministry.
Signing the bond at a one-day retreat for Directors of the Ministry and heads of its agencies and parastatals, Idris directed them to work towards communicating the successes of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Those who signed the performance bond are the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe; Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Ali Muhammed Ali; Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr. Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; and Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Muhammed Bulama.
Others are Director-General, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr. Lekan Fadolapo; Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Charles Ebuebu; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council (NPC), Mr. Dili Ezughah; and Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu, who was represented by a director in the agency.
Speaking at the event, the Minister said the retreat was organised to enable participants to understand their roles towards achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
“Since the advent of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there has been a structured agenda to achieve a Renewed Hope Initiative with all MDAs involved, and with a tracking system to ensure compliance. This tracking system is managed by the Central Results Delivery and Coordinating Unit (CRDCU) in the office of the SGF.
“All of you here are responsible for delivering our results to this office as heads or Delivery Officers. This retreat is organised to ensure that we understand this responsibility.
“You may recall that the Permanent Secretary and I signed a performance bond with the President to guarantee that we would fulfil the Ministry’s mandate. I have been told that the Permanent Secretary has involved directors to also commit to the process. During this retreat, I plan to get the heads of parastatals to sign the performance bond as well,” he said.
The Minister said the heads of the public information organs and information departments in the ministry need to have an in-depth understanding of the efforts that the government is putting into renewing hope as it has promised, in the area of improved minimum wage, student loans, consumer credit, loans to big and small businesses as well as different support grants to communicate to the public effectively.
“The government is also not resting on its oars regarding infrastructure and social projects around the country. We must understand these efforts before we can communicate them successfully,” he said.
Idris said the ministry’s remit also includes regulatory responsibilities and the partnerships being offered to other government organisations to communicate their respective mandates.
He, therefore, urged the participants to have open discussions regarding grey areas so that they do not just deliver on their mandate but are also seen to deliver well.
Idris thanked the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, for the passion and visibility she has brought to the assignment, while also acknowledging the good work being done by her team at the Central Results Delivery and Coordinating Unit (CRDCU).
