Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, says the Federal Government is particular about diversifying the economy through massive investments in agriculture.
Gbajabiamila said this during an interactive session with Cornelius Adebayo, Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Agriculture and Land Development Agency (NALDA), on Wednesday.
The Chief of Staff to the President visited NALDA as part of a tour of agencies under the supervision of the State House on Wednesday. He said the government was focusing on agriculture and food security and hoped that NALDA would continue to be innovative in its operations, including developing greenhouses and supporting the cultivation of more arable land across the country.
At BPP, while responding to a presentation by the acting Director-General, Olusegun Omotola, Gbajabiamila commended the agency for saving the Federal Government ₦1.7 trillion from 2009 to 2022 by blocking loopholes that would have been exploited during procurement.
“The Act establishing the Bureau is going through a review process that will make it meet international best practices, and reduce corruption, red tape and bureaucracy.
“We will also look at the staff renumeration, especially when compared with sister agencies like Debt Management Office whose renumeration and salary structure has been reviewed a couple of times over the years,” said Gbajabiamila.
Gbajabiamila hinted that President Bola Tinubu intended to inaugurate the National Council on Procurement (NCP), which is an establishment of the law. The Council had never been inaugurated since the creation of the Bureau, saying that the President is conscious of the need for the proposed amendments to the BPP Act.
Gbajabiamila commended the Bureau of Public Enterprises for remitting over ₦1 trillion proceeds to the Federal Government since 1999 and emphasised the need for improvement.
“We are ready to work with you to make you achieve your mandate optimally,” he assured.
BPE’s Director-General, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, disclosed that the agency had received ₦93.4bn from privatisation projects in the first and second quarters of 2024. He, however, said this fell short of the revised expected revenue of ₦259.7 billion.
At the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), the Chief of Staff to the President reaffirmed the government’s commitment to developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including electricity generation in the country. Gbajabiamila said the government recognised the importance of incorporating nuclear technology into Nigeria’s energy mix to meet the nation’s growing energy needs.
Gbajabiamila underscored the importance of these agencies in driving the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the economic and development sectors. He reiterated the administration’s resolve to strengthen these institutions. He noted that the visit, the first of its kind under this administration, was a follow-up to the recent one-day retreat for the Heads of State House Agencies.
The retreat was convened to reinforce the administration’s commitment to strengthening institutions, ensuring they are well-equipped to fulfil their mandates and reducing the cost of governance. He reassured the agencies that their concerns on staff remuneration, inadequate office accommodation and other legitimate challenges would be addressed.
He also said measures would be put in place to create a more conducive work environment. Gbajabiamila was accompanied by Sen. Ibrahim Hadeija, Deputy Chief of Staff, Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, Permanent Secretary, State House, and Oyinade Nathan-Marsh, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff).
Gbajabiamila visited NALDA, BPP, BPE, NAEC, and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).