Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga
By Yemi Akinsuyi
Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, has signed a Performance Contract with Directors, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of agencies and parastatals under his ministry, with a directive that they should meet the deadlines contained in their respective Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Abuja, at the weekend, Aganga said the objective of the performance contract was to ensure that those entrusted with leadership positions delivered on their respective mandates to the people.
Aganga stated: “Recall that recently, President Goodluck Jonathan signed a performance contract with all the ministers. It was the first time in the history of Nigeria where ministers were asked to sign performance contract with the President.
This clearly demonstrates that the ministers will be held accountable in terms of delivering on their mandates. On the other hand, ministers are also expected to sign performance contracts with the Permanent Secretaries, Directors-General of all their parastatals and Directors in their ministries.
“The objective of signing the performance contract is very clear: we want everybody to be performance -focused. By doing this, we will be focused on how we deploy our human and financial resources to improve the lives and welfare of the Nigerian people. When you present a budget for a project, you must be able to justify why that amount should be allocated to you and what the country will get in return.”
He added: “If we all adopt this style, it will be good not only for the President, all the ministers but also for the entire country because we have all been elected or appointed to serve the Nigerian people. And the only way to serve is to deliver on what the people have elected us to do. So, I am delighted that we have signed the performance contract, first with the Permanent Secretary, Directors of each of the departments and Directors-General of agencies and parastatals under the ministry.”