Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that institutional reforms are critical to resolving the majority of Nigeria’s public policy and bureaucratic challenges.
He stated that such reforms could address as much as 80 per cent of the issues plaguing the nation’s governance systems.
Speaking on Monday at the official presentation of the draft National Public Policy Development and Management Framework, Shettima described the new initiative as a “long-overdue” move to overhaul Nigeria’s approach to public policy.
“If we get our institutional frameworks right, we will solve 80% of our public policy challenges,” the Vice President said.
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He called for a national reset in the conception, communication, and implementation of government policies.
“The mitochondria of every government is a workable national public policy.”
The draft framework was presented by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Results Delivery and Coordination Unit (CDCU), Hajiya Bala Usman.
Shettima praised President Bola Tinubu for championing far-reaching reforms, citing his deep understanding of economic governance and willingness to make bold decisions.
“For the first time, we have a leader who understands the dynamics and speaks the language of economics,” he said. “We cannot but commend President Tinubu for his very promising reforms across all sectors of the national economy.”
He also emphasised the need for policy clarity and consistency, urging that reforms must be easily understood by the public and uniformly applied across all levels of government.
Highlighting the role of e-governance and digital systems, Shettima called for data-driven execution and real-time policy monitoring, with clear consequences for non-performance.
“There must be targets and deliverables. If people fail to perform, they should be made to pay the price. Implementation without accountability is another word for lunacy,” he said.
Quoting former U.S. President Barack Obama, Shettima said: “What nations need is not strong characters or leaders, but strong institutions —institutions guided by strong, fair, and acceptable laws.”
Meanwhile, Hajiya Bala Usman noted that the draft framework was developed in response to a major gap: the absence of a unifying document guiding policy conceptualisation at the federal level.
“It was baffling to realise that the federal government had no document to specify how policies should be developed,” she said.
“MDAs have been operating in silos, often duplicating efforts and producing inconsistent or outdated policies.”
She explained that this fragmentation had weakened public trust, discouraged investment, and undermined government effectiveness.
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However, she expressed optimism that the new framework—a product of collaboration among the Office of the Vice President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, NIPSS, FCDO UK, and the NESG, would restore coherence and provide clear guidance for future policy development.
The framework, she added, would promote transparency, improve coordination among MDAs, and strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s governance processes.
