From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Following a directive by President Bola Tinubu to cascade the performance bond he signed with the ministers to Directors-Generals (DG) and directors, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has told the DGs of his agencies that whatever punishment or commendation he receives from the presidency will trickle down to them.
Adelabu stated this when he signed a performance bond with the DGs of the agencies under his ministry and directors in the ministry. He stated that although the sanctions are not specified, whatever the president hands down to the ministry will affect every stakeholder.
“In terms of sanctions, let me tell you that I will not sit here today and start reeling out sanctions that will be meted out to non-performance, because I am confident that we are all going to deliver.
“Just like the performance delivery is top-down, reward will also be top-down. Then, sanctions too, will be top-down, depending on the sanctions that Mr. President is going to mete out to a non-performing minister and a non-performing director. We will determine the sanctions that will be meted out to everybody involved here.
“So there’s no express or specific sanction. They will just be that we do our best and put in our best to make sure we achieve our targets,” he said.
“We signed that high-level performance contract. Now, we have cascaded that performance agreement down to the various relevant ministerial departments and agencies that will contribute to the overall achievement of what we signed with the president. As you know that it’s a top-down approach while it’s also a bottom-up approach.
“Every department in the ministry and every agency that we have, has one or two roles to play in the achievement of the overall targets. So, that’s what we are signing today with the president, who represents the ministry, with CEOs of agencies who represent each of the agencies.
And we believe that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. We must be focused.
“When it comes to energy generation, we have the energy resources in the ministry. We have the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) at the agency level. When we talk about transmission, we have the transmission management department at the ministry level.
And we have the Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN), that has targets for transmission. When it comes to regulation, we have Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). When it comes to renewable energy and energy transition, we have the Renewable and Rural Access Department at the ministry.
‘We have the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) at the agency level. And they have targets to achieve, which is why I said, all the ministry departments, all the agencies, are contributory to the overall targets of the Ministry of Power.
“We have the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA). That is the chief electrical inspector of the country, in terms of safety and standards, quality compliance. So, there’s nobody that is left out, which is why we are signing this performance bond today.
And I’m happy at the enthusiasm, at the response of everybody involved here today, which gives me some level of assurance and confidence that our overall targets will be achieved. That is what we are signing today” he said.
The minister, however, assured that his ministry will achieve its targets and may escape punishment from the president.
“I’m telling you that we are going to deliver some key mandates of the ministry. So, we know that there are specific responsibilities that are expected of each Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an agency.
“And I trust that we are certainly going to deliver on this. As I’m signing with Perm secretary, I’m sure that Perm Sec will not stop there.
“He’s going to be signing with all the directors to deliver for him. And I’m sure that the CEOs of various institute will go back to their domain and sign with the heads of key departments. But that’s how performance management is also done.
It is top-down. It is also bottom-up.
Those who signed the performance bond include, Perm Sec, chairman of NERC; DGs of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Traders (NBET), NEMSA, TCN, REA, NDPHC etc as well as various directors of the ministry.