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The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Saturday signed performance bonds with agencies under his ministry.
The performance bond signing was the climax of a 3-Day mid-term tenure / 2025 Sectoral Performance retreat of the Ministry and its agencies, held at the Zuma Rock Resort, Suleja Niger State.
It was themed “From Plans to Results: Strengthening Institutional Performance in the Ministry of Interior,”
Speaking after signing the performance bond with the Chief Executives of the agencies, the Minister urged them to up their games in order to achieve higher performances.
The performance bonds were signed with the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, the Comptroller General 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 when the Comptroller General is available.
Noting that the Ministry moved last year from 62% rating to the current 85%, Dr. Tunji-Ojo said that the current rating is not acceptable as the Ministry and the agencies should target 100% rating for the Ministry.
According to him, the present reforms are aimed at building institutions that will endure and outlive his tenure.
He said "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.
"Everywhere you will see the same level of excellence, like I said two days ago, honestly speaking, it is not my dream to build a Ministry of Interior that will only do well under my leadership.
"My dream is to be able to build a Ministry to the glory of God that will be able to do well even without me, and that is what we call institution, build institutions. We don't want a ministry that will be built around a strong person."
He added "So by the next time we'll be holding this, I want to see our results. As I said to you, we are agents of perfection and let us deliver. Let Nigerians feel our impact. Let's continue to make people smile. Let's continue to be a reason why husbands will look at their wives and smile."
Speaking specifically to NSCDC, Dr. Tunji-Ojo noted that the agency is doing well concerning its responsibility of protecting critical National assets.
"Can you do better? Yes, please charge your team. You know, I believe that you can create a niche for yourself and be an elite Security Agency for this country. So civil Defense, well done. Bravo. But that contract that you have signed deliver on it."
On the Nigeria Correctional Service, the Minister pointed out that the ongoing reforms in the agency is truly making it a correctional centre.
"Correctional Service is becoming transformational, it's becoming rehabilitatory, and, of course, it's becoming reformatory, and that's what I want to see.
"I don't want our correctional centers to be places of condemnation. And you are the chief correctional officer of the country. I think from where you picked up to where you are, within this short time, you've done a lot, but please, as I always say, when you need to concentrate the most is when you are doing well.
"That's the truth, because a single second of loss of concentration can take you off the track. Sylvester, you are doing well, but please concentrate more and work well.
"The contract has been signed. I have no doubt that you will deliver, but please deliver well and let Mr. President be proud of that appointment he has given to you. Make him proud. Don't make me proud. Let's make Mr. President proud." he stated
To the new CG of the Federal Fire Service, the Minister charged him to be prepared as there's a lot of work to be done in terms of orientation and in terms of scope of service.
By next year, he said, he hoped to see a fire service that will be custodian of emergency medical service, that will be liberalized, that will allow for private sector participation, that will be judged by the number of assets saved, and will be more vibrant.
"So there's a lot of reforms that you need to do. We need emergency medical service in Nigeria. We need rescue service in Nigeria, and we need to open the space so that Nigeria can be able to compete with other countries, developed countries in the world."
Stressing that the law was a problem under the immediate past CG, the Minister assured that it is already receiving attention of the National Assembly.
"We're working on the law with the National Assembly, and I know by the time the law is passed and assented to by Mr. President, responsibilities will be on your shoulders. Please do not disappoint me. Do not disappoint the President, and let's build a Nigeria that our children will be proud to call home. I trust you will believe in that and deliver that."
Dr. Tunji-Ojo also commended the performance of NIMC under the DG, Coker-Odusote, in the last one year.
"Since she came on board, I know we've had tremendous improvements in terms of our security architecture, the security of our systems. There's a lot that has been done, I know that having come from an IT background. But of course, there's room for improvement, especially with regards to verification and registration, and I know Rome wasn't built in a day, so I'm trusting NIMC to be able to deliver."
The Minister also commended the board, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, and the directors for their support.
He had kind words for the Immigration Officer, MT Umar who just retired from service after 35 years, having had great impact on the Nigerian passport issuance process.
According to him, the fact that he was having his last day in service on Saturday, closing day of the retreat does not mean his brain is going on retirement.
He said the government will not hesitate to reach out to him when his experience is needed.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the retreat, 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. So I think going forward, I want to read out details, strategies and then, of course, chart, a very formidable method."
On whether the 2025 contract performance bond is not coming too late in the year, he said that it is not late.
The CG of the Nigeria Correctional Service said "It's all about performance. It's all about us upping our game. It's all about signing a bond to let the Nigerian public know that is not business as usual.
"We have to go back and sit down and see how we can strengthen mechanisms that will make us begin to perform and give value to our jobs." he stated
On his part, the CG Federal Fire Service said "You know the Minister refers to me as the baby of the house. I came in barely two weeks ago. Well, it's a new chapter, and then definitely we must deliver. This retreat is an eye opener.
"So definitely, so by the next retreat, definitely, there will be positive impact, and Nigerians will know that there is a new fire service in place."