Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development signed a Performance Management System (PMS) with directors to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians.

Speaking at the signing ceremony,  Ogunbiyi,  said that institutionalising the PMS in the ministry, is in line with the presidential mandate and directive from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government had in 2023, introduced a new evaluation system called PMS, replacing Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER), to assess civil servants’ performances.

“The signing of the PMS is in alignment with the national priorities and presidential deliverables.

“It is also to ensure that this Ministry remains among the leading Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the implementation of the ongoing reforms in the Service.

“We have a mandate is to deliver affordable housing and of course, it is not the Permanent Secretary that is going to build the houses, it is not my staff that will build the houses.

“The houses are going to be built collectively and that is where PMS has come in.

“We have to award the contracts, supervise the contractor in the field and all these will be done by the staff of the ministry, so PMS is to bring out the best in them.

“There is a reform we are currently running that has innovation a s Pillar ,so every staff will work towards having innovative idea that will help the system and we also reward innovation.”

Ogunbiyi said that under the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,the Ministry has been given a mandate to drive Pillar five of the Presidential Priorities focusing .

He said that these focused on transportation and Infrastructure as enablers of growth.

“This is one of the three components that formed the framework for the development of the Ministerial Performance Management System Plan (MPMS) through which the departmental Performance Contracts were developed.

“So, we are not just building houses; we are laying the foundations for sustainable communities, fostering social cohesion, and stimulating economic activity,” he said.

Ogunbiyi said the initiatives were not mere constructions from bricks and mortar, but they represent a commitment to improving the quality of life for every Nigerian, ensuring access to affordable housing and essential amenities.

He said that the ministry’s projects developed into key performance indicators and targets would now form the basis of worker’s appraisal.

“This is because your presence in the ministry is to help the ministry to deliver on its mandates in order to solve problems in the housing sector in Nigeria.

” Your performance translates into the ministry’s performance. If you perform well, the ministry will perform well.

“You and your departments should not be the reason why the ministry will score low and fail to deliver on critical projects meant to address critical issues that can enable growth of other sectors of the economy. ”

Ogunbiyi called on the directors to play a pivotal role in driving forward the reform agenda of the Federal Civil Service and priorities of government.(NAN)