SGF Champions Effective Policy Execution to Drive Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” Agenda

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to dismantling systemic barriers that hinder the effective delivery of public services to Nigerians.

Delivering a lecture on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at the National Defence College (NDC) Nigeria, Senator Akume addressed participants of Course 34 on the Policy Formulation Analysis and Implementation Capstone Course. He emphasized that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the administration is prioritizing “impact over paperwork.”

Transitioning from Policy to Performance

Speaking on the theme, “Policy Implementation and Change Management,” the SGF noted that the true measure of a government’s success is not the brilliance of its written policies, but the efficiency of their execution. “Our objective is simple: to build a seamless government machinery where every component works cohesively to advance the President’s priorities,” Akume stated. He described the lecture as a platform for reflection and a call to action to eliminate the “silos” that often paralyze government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Leveraging Digital Governance

To bridge the gap between planning and results, the SGF highlighted several technological frameworks introduced by the current administration:

• e-Government Platforms: To streamline service delivery and reduce bureaucracy.
• Data Integration Frameworks: Ensuring policy planning is backed by empirical evidence.
• Digital Dashboards: Providing real-time monitoring of national priorities and performance indicators.

“Government efficiency is not just about reducing costs,” Akume explained. “It is about optimizing public resources to achieve the greatest possible impact on the lives of our citizens.”

Overcoming Systemic Barriers

The SGF was candid about the challenges currently facing the civil service. He identified weak coordination, overlapping mandates, and a lack of inter-agency collaboration as the primary “pancakes” (remedies) needed to fix the machinery of state.

He urged the participants – who are senior officials and strategists – to develop actionable steps to:

• Strengthen Inter-ministerial Collaboration: Eliminating the duplication of efforts across MDAs.
• Institutionalize Performance Management: Moving toward a culture of accountability and measurable outcomes.
• Enhance Transparency: Utilizing data-driven decision-making to foster public trust.

“Let us strive to make government work better, faster, and smarter for the Nigerian people,” Akume emphasized.

The Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, in his remarks expressed gratitude to the SGF for his presence despite a demanding schedule. He described the lecture as an “eye-opener” that equipped participants with the critical skills necessary for navigating the complexities of modern governance and change management.

The event concluded with a commitment from the participants to translate the “Renewed Hope” vision into tangible results that foster sustainable development across the federation.