FG strengthens accountability in MDAs as Tinubu frowns at non-performance

By Ochiaka Ugwu

The Federal Government is intensifying its drive for greater accountability, efficiency and measurable performance across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), reinforcing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s position that non-performance will no longer be tolerated across government institutions.

This renewed focus on institutional accountability took centre stage at the MDA High-Level Strategic Engagement and Press Briefing, hosted by the Federal Ministry of Finance under the leadership of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, with the theme “MDA Data Collection & Harmonisation.”

The Director General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, joined key government stakeholders at the engagement, where she presented findings from the Business Environment Enhancement Programme Accelerator (BEEPA), highlighting progress recorded across federal MDAs, persistent performance gaps and the need to institutionalise accountability.

The assessment revealed encouraging improvements, with 16 MDAs achieving full implementation of assessed reforms. However, recent mystery shopping findings also exposed a decline in responsiveness level following the conclusion of active monitoring, demonstrating the need to move beyond periodic compliance to sustained institutional performance.

Addressing heads of MDAs, the PEBEC Director General reminded them of the ongoing mystery shopping exercises, the live performance tracker and the upcoming end-of-year Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Compliance Ranking. She emphasized that these mechanisms are designed to provide continuous visibility into institutional performance, identify service delivery gaps and ensure that MDAs remain accountable for their reform commitments throughout the year.

The message was clear: performance monitoring is continuous, compliance is measurable, and MDAs must be prepared to account for their results.

The engagement also reinforced the Federal Ministry of Finance’s increasing emphasis on institutional performance, with the Ministry expected to consider the performance, responsiveness and reform compliance of government agencies in its engagements and dealings with them.

This approach aligns with Mr. President’s zero-tolerance stance on non-performance and the Federal Government’s determination to ensure that public institutions deliver measurable results and improved services to citizens and businesses.

For PEBEC, the priority remains translating reform commitments into tangible and sustainable outcomes. Through continuous mystery shopping, real-time digital tracking, BFA compliance assessments and data-driven performance monitoring, PEBEC will continue to strengthen transparency, identify implementation gaps and support MDAs in improving service delivery.