The Central Delivery Coordinating Unit (CDCU) was set up as the ‘no snooze’ factor, serving as a guidance and monitoring unit, to drive the delivery of Federal Government’s priorities. It focuses on tracking the progress of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government, while accelerating outcomes aligned to national strategic objectives. It also regularly consults and collaborates with the MDAs to identify challenges and bottlenecks in implementation, thereafter facilitating the resolution of all impediments. The unit also evaluates project outcomes to ensure value and impact to the last mile. The goal is to ensure that citizens feel the impact of governance in all ramifications.
The President has set the priorities of his government to include; reforming the economy, strengthen national security, boost agriculture, unlock energy and natural resources, enhance infrastructure and transportation, and generally improve on governance. While being committed to ensuring transparency and accountability, The President wants to see to it that the projects and activities of all government ministries and agencies are aligned towards achieving the government’s clearly defined priorities and deliverables, within a stipulated time frame. On a quarterly basis, the CDCU would evaluate the performances of each ministry and government agency, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. The agencies and ministries are also expected to provide quarterly reports of their projects and activities.
To further improve on these checks and balances mechanism, The CDCU has revitalised and upgraded its Citizens Delivery Tracker App. It is readily accessible at app.cdcu.gov.ng. It is also scheduled to be on playstore soon. The app brings governance to the fingertips of Nigerians, as through the app, they have visuals of all the deliverables of Mr. President’s ministers. The app provides Nigerians with information on the projects, priorities, policies and programmes of the government, as well as giving them the opportunity to give real-time feedback on their assessments of the said projects. This in a way integrates citizens as stakeholders of governance, and even allows them to participate real-time, giving them a sense of shared responsibility. They can give feedback through the app, impressing on their assessments and observations, facilitating timely responsiveness from the CDCU. It also gives the President direct oversight, as it will give him access to Nigerians’ feedback on ministerial deliverables through a dedicated dashboard in his office.
In an interview on AriseTv on the 9th of April, 2024, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, and Head of the CDCU, Hadiza Bala Usman, shed more light on the workings of the app. She relayed that the app was another module which was going to be used in the assessment of ministries and agencies on a quarterly basis. She gave examples of how citizens can participate in giving feedback on how government agencies are performing in their day to day duties. Citizens can give feedback on the delays and cancellations of flights, and they can give feedback on waiting hours for consultation in government owned hospitals across the country. Nigerians can give updates on the accessibility of grants and loans provided by various agencies under different government empowerment programmes for youths and other citizens.
With the citizens tracker app, the CDCU is incorporating Nigerians into the front seat of the rigours of governance. It is bringing an end to the lackadaisical attitude of government officials when it comes to project delivery. It is decimating the practice of different government appointees operating on different bearings, or opposite directions. The CDCU is ensuring that ministers do not work at cross purposes with the programmes and policies of other ministries. It is policing governance on an aligned table, where everyone on board is chasing the same aspirations and priorities, delivering them within a stipulated period of time. The Special Adviser is driving this citizen-centric style of governance as another priority in itself of Mr. President. This will certainly make public servants the servants of their people, and not the skewed way round. They will all be on their toes now, knowing fully well that Nigerians are observing them with their very own marking scheme, which the President is privy to. Just recently, a physically challenged citizen was subjected to very discriminatory and unruly behavior by an outlet at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos and within no time, the issue was escalated to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, as well as FAAN. Both agencies were proactive and the situation was immediately remedied. That kind of responsiveness is what the Special Adviser and Head of the CDCU envisages that the Citizens Tracker App will institutionalise in governance.
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