The Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, has identified inconsistencies in policy structures, overlaps, limited coordination, and challenges in implementation and monitoring as key factors undermining Nigeria’s development efforts over the years.
Usman, who also serves as the Head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, made this assertion on Tuesday in Abuja during the stakeholders’ validation session of the Draft National Policy Development and Management Framework.
According to her, a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s policy landscape exposed significant gaps, including the absence of unified standards across government institutions, inadequate clarity in formulation and implementation processes, and poor monitoring mechanisms.
These challenges, she noted, have consistently weakened the effectiveness of otherwise well-intentioned policies and hindered the achievement of national development goals.
Speaking on the significance of the new framework, Usman emphasized that the policy initiative is a strategic response to these challenges, designed to clarify roles, streamline processes, and establish a more coherent and effective approach to policymaking in Nigeria.
“This framework is our collective response to the longstanding issues within Nigeria’s policy ecosystem. It serves as a tool to address these gaps, ensuring a more coordinated and standardized approach to policymaking and implementation,” she stated.
She reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to strengthening institutional frameworks and positioning public policy as a driving force for national development.
The Tinubu administration, she said, is actively addressing the inefficiencies within the policy management system, recognizing that sound policymaking is central to achieving good governance.
The Special Adviser further described the Draft National Policy Development and Management Framework as a significant milestone in the federal government’s efforts to institutionalize effective governance processes.
“It provides much-needed clarity, structure, and coherence, enabling policies to be developed with intent, implemented with discipline, and evaluated for real impact,” she added.
She underscored that the validation session was a crucial step in institutionalizing a governance culture that is adaptive, coordinated, and ultimately transformative.
This, she maintained, aligns with the administration’s vision that sustainable national development requires not only bold ideas but also effective frameworks to translate those ideas into tangible action.
Echoing Usman’s concerns, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, acknowledged that policy fragmentation, duplication, and misalignment have been persistent challenges in Nigeria’s governance structure.
“For years, the lack of coherence and consistency across ministries, departments, and agencies has resulted in inefficiencies that slow down the implementation of critical interventions. This Draft National Policy Development and Management Framework is a bold step towards addressing these challenges,” Akume stated.
He further noted that the framework offers a systematic approach to policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation, drawing from international best practices while remaining deeply rooted in the Nigerian context.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, who were represented at the event, affirmed that the policy framework aligns with President Tinubu’s eight-point agenda. They emphasized that sound policy formulation and implementation are the hallmarks of every responsible government.
Also speaking at the validation session, the Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Prof. Ayo Omotayo, highlighted the stakeholders’ commitment to eliminating policy overlaps and ensuring that government policies do not contradict one another.
The validation session, which attracted top government officials, development partners, civil society organizations, and the media, marks a critical phase in the 16-month-long process of drafting and refining the new policy framework.
With this initiative, the federal government aims to establish a governance system that prioritizes policy coherence, coordination, and impact-driven implementation, ultimately fostering sustainable national development.
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