Illoh raises committee on performance monitoring

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, has inaugurated a committee on monitoring and evaluation to track performance management, transparency, increased productivity as well as service delivery in the ministry.

While raising the committee, Illoh argued that the step was aimed at achieving the objective of job creation for the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths.

He added: “What cannot be monitored or measured is not worthwhile, therefore the need to build a system of monitoring in other to track along the level of performance as well as challenges and solution became very compelling and that is why the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Committee is being inaugurated.”

Speaking further, the Permanent Secretary revealed that monitoring and evaluation committees in ministries are expected to provide information for accountability and monitoring framework to track the programmes and projects of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“The purpose of monitoring and evaluation frame work in conducting government business today is to improve the availability, quality and dissemination of governance performance information for accountability and policy improvement, the M&E is a strategy developed to establish a system for tracking the progress and performance of MDA’s programmes and projects,” he explained.

Illoh added that the essence of monitoring and evaluation is not intended to punish workers, but to make sure that projects and programmes work out according to plan.

The permanent secretary urged members of the committee to see their appointment as an opportunity to contribute to national development.

In his remarks, the Director (M&E) National Planning Commission, Dr. Lawal Zakari, lauded the management of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity for their commitment to effective monitoring and evaluation framework, which is aimed at supporting the implementation of the transformation agenda of government and achieving the objective of job creation.

He stated: “You need a very strong political will in any organisation for M&E to succeed, and I am very glad that such type of leadership exist in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, otherwise what we are witnessing today would not have happened, thanks to the permanent secretary for his able leadership to ensure that we have effective monitoring and evaluation framework to support the implementation of the transformation agenda of the present administration and achieving the objective of job creation which is dear to Mr. President.”

The 17-man committee, which has the responsibility of tracking performance management in the ministry, has its members drawn from within the ministry and its agencies with Mr. Zacchaeus Atte, Director Planning Analysis Research and Statistic in the Ministry of Labour as chairman.