President Muhammadu Buhari closing the retreat.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the incoming ministers should forward all requests for meetings with him through the office office of Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
He added that all Federal Executive Council matters be channel through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha.
President Buhari gave the directive at the end of the Presidential Retreat for ministers-designate, presidential aides and other top government functionaries at the State House in Abuja.
“In terms of coordination, kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be channelled through the Chief of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters be coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),” he was quoted as saying in the speech published by his media adviser, Mr. Femi Adesina.
The President reminded the appointees of the task ahead of them and urged the new ministers to engage and benefit from the experience of their colleagues who serve in his cabinet during his first tenure.
According to him, the service to the nation is not easy work and can be unappreciated at times.
President Muhammadu Buhari task all the incoming members of his cabinet to see the opportunity to serve as an honour and give their best to deliver on the mandate.
He also stressed the need for working collaboratively and purposefully to achieve quicker results, adding that four years should not be seen as a very long time.
In a separate statement, Adesina noted that the two-day retreat came to an end with a charge from the President to the ministers-designate to rise to the challenging responsibilities of the office.
The final day, according to him, kicked off with a presentation on Cabinet Processes and Procedures, by the SGF, Boss Mustapha.
This was followed by a presentation by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on aligning government policies with the ideology, manifesto and campaign promises of the ruling party.
Subsequent presentations touched on budgeting, civil service reforms, public procurement, the relationships between ministers and permanent secretaries, and effective partnerships between executive, legislature and state governments.
In his remarks, Mustapha announced the introduction of a new Cabinet Memorandum Review and Approval Process.
According to him, this is aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of government decision-making and policy implementation, as well as increasing coordination and coherence within the government.
Thereafter the Ministers were allocated Portfolios popularly among them are Rauf Aregbesola for interior Ministry, Godswill Akpabio and Festus Keyamo as Minister and Junior Minister for Niger Delta respectively, others will be published later.
Parrot Reporters
