October 18, 2022

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the present administration has done well with regard to using planning as a form of promoting coherence in policy-making and implementation.

The Vice President in a statement on Buhari’s administration’s game-changing achievements on Monday by Laolu Akande his spokesperson added, “a valuable lesson that we must draw from our efforts over the life of this administration is that coherence and coordination are essential for effective policy implementation”.

According to him, it is important for government policies to be coherent otherwise different parts of the government could end up adopting diametrically opposed policies.

“I think that one of the very important steps that Mr. President has taken is the establishment of the Delivery Unit in the Presidency and this is reflected by the adoption of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the Economic Sustainability Plan in response to COVID-19, the National Development Plan 2021-2025, and ongoing work on Nigeria Agenda 2050.

He noted that the broad consultative processes involved in drawing up these plan documents help improve understanding of government intentions and direction even by public servants but certainly also by the private sector and the general populace. Planning also means that there is a process by which incompatible policies are re-aligned and re-positioned.

“Closely related to coherence is coordination. It is important to coordinate the implementation of government policy very closely. Apart from the benefits of several viewpoints being taken into account, the coordination of economic activity enables key economic managers to know how to help their colleagues achieve common objectives.

“The truth is that working in silos or doing it alone can have deleterious effects on policy implementation. Very closely tied to coordination is strong public sector capacity and it is pleasing to note that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has been proceeding apace with the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan.

“I think that one of the important steps that Mr. President took in 2016, and I believe I won’t be accused of being self-serving here, is constituting the Economic Management Team under the Office of the Vice President.

“I think that was an administratively sound and wise decision indeed because constitutionally, the VP’s Office is Chair of the National Economic Council, Chair of the National Planning Commission, and Chair of the National Council on Privatization which is the Bureau of Public Enterprises.

“Because of the strong economic position that the Office of the Vice President has been placed in constitutionally, it makes perfect sense for the office to be the inter-ministerial coordinator of the Economic Management Team. I believe Your Excellency acted very wisely and rightly indeed. I commend this to future administrations and to the incoming President and Vice President”, Osinbajo added.