DSS, NDLEA, CBN, PENCOM, Emerge Top Performing MDAs

The Department of State Services DSS, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA, Central Bank of Nigeria CBN and National Pension Commission PENCOM have been identified as top performing Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria by the Conference of Civil Society of Nigeria. This was made known in a letter by the organization to President Muhammadu Buhari dated 19th December 2022,

 

Signed by the Chairperson Comrade Adams Otakwu, along side two other members, John Ogar and Acheme Arumona, the letter reads in part

 

 

“Civil society organizations, the world over, are considered as the

conscience of the society as they call to account diverse agencies

of government in the fulfilment of their core mandates and the

overall quality of service delivery. The passionately patriotic

Nigerian Civil Society has equally stood up to be counted,

consistently hailing or railing the various public institutions as the

situations warranted. There are, of course, bad eggs in every

human organization and the Nigerian CSO fraternity is not an

exception, which explains the infiltration of the ranks of

conscientious NGOs by fifth columnists whose stock in trade is

mudslinging, blackmail and extortion. “By their fruits you shall

know them”, rings true of the two divides of the NGOs, the good,

 

by their public-spirited initiatives and the bad, by their

merchandize in filth and horrendous fallacies.”

 

“Mr. President, as your tenure draws to its terminus, we make

bold to present an assessment of your policies and initiatives,

especially in the areas of economic development and national

security. It is therefore pertinent to note the determination, sense

of purpose and professionalism of some Ministries, Departments

and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria in this regard.

Chief amongst these outstanding MDAs that have written your

legacies in gold are the Department of State Services (DSS)

the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Pension

Commission (PENCOM).

The above-mentioned agencies have stood out in their invaluable

contributions to the advancement of our great nation since 2019,

especially in the most critical parameters of revamping internal

security and economic well-being. Worthy of mention are the key

points of the attainments of these institutions.”

 

 

The Department of State Security (DSS) has been in the

forefront of intelligence gathering and dissemination, not only to

sister security agencies, but the general public. This has gone a

long way in averting several security breaches and the resultant

disasters of monumental proportions. The emphasis on human

 

intelligence by the DSS profoundly resonates with our Civil-

Military Cooperation (CIMICO) initiative which seeks to

 

interface the Civil Society with security and law enforcement

agencies in the areas of homeland security.

There is no gainsaying the fact that security challenges and

instability are major disincentives to the investing public. The

adverse impacts of such on the economic wellbeing of the citizenry

will eventually snowball into the diverse socio-political ills that have

gained currency across the length and breadth of the country. The

point bears repetition that the indefatigable efforts and

unassuming exploits of the current DSS in the discharge of its

statutory mandates have gone a long way in ameliorating the

plethora of societal upheavals which would have been orchestrated

by economic sabotage both at home and abroad. Very recently, the

DSS read a riot act to oil players, which saw to a ‘magical’

disappearance of unwarranted queues in fuel stations across the

country. Nigerians from all walks of life, indeed owe the DSS a debt

of gratitude for this, as well as for averting so many security

breaches and the attendant loss of livelihood, lives and limbs.

Mr. President, the last couple of years have been like no other,

not only in the annals of security and law enforcement, but

particularly with respect to the all-out war against drugs. The whole

gamut of the anti-drugs crusade spanning prevention,

apprehension, prosecution, enlightenment and rehabilitation have

all taken a new dimension in the current dispensation and the very

positive results speak for themselves. It is certainly not out of place

to pay glowing tributes to Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, judging

from the unprecedented number of hard-nosed drug barons that

 

have now been stymied and the humongous amounts of blood

monies lost on account of seizures of their evil merchandize.

The symbiotic relationship between the abuse of hard drugs and

the criminality that is currently ravaging the nation in the guise of

militancy, insurgency, banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and armed

robbery, is well established. To further worsen an already parlous

situation, these criminal enterprises have thrown millions of our

compatriots into poverty, thus creating a huge pool of recruits into

the ranks of the outlaws and misanthropes. The National Drug

Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA’s) service to our fatherland

in its unrelenting war against drug trafficking and abuse can hardly

be quantified particularly in the area of preserving national security

and economic advancement.

Mr. President, we are further pleased to note that the Central

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has formulated several policies,

prominent amongst which is the Anchor Borrowers’ Program that

has revamped the agricultural sector and national economy as a

whole. The recent redesign of some of the nation’s currency, is by

far the most strategic game changer, which shall rein in the

activities of corrupt and criminal elements in our midst. This policy

has the desired effect of bringing into the bank vaults the trillions

of Naira that have been out of the banking system for decades. The

positive effects of this innovation on both the economy and national

security are obvious and shall be felt by all and sundry in next to

no time.

 

Finally, Mr. President, the National Pension Commission

(PENCOM) has become synonymous with positive, transparent

and goal-oriented pension administration in Nigeria. Needless to

say, this is a welcome departure from the humongous corruption

and inhumane treatment of our pensioners, that was the stock in

trade prior to the current dispensation. The Commission since 2019

has recorded phenomenal reforms of global reference. These

include the extraordinary rise of pension assets and Retirement

Savings Account, enhanced contributory registration system,

payment of outstanding pension liabilities, recovery of outstanding

pension contributions, Increase in Minimum Share Capital for

Pension Fund Administrators, and effective implementation of the

Micro-Pension Plan, which coopted the Civil Society into the

pension scheme and has greatly enhanced our productivity and

well-bring. It is worthy of note that the Micro-Pension Plan of

PENCOM currently stands out as one of the most ambitious

financial inclusion programs targeted at the Civil Society and the

informal sector of any developing economy in the world.

 

We therefore crave the indulgences of Mr. President to take

judicious note of the giant strides recorded by the aforementioned public institutions with a view to according them the much-

deserved recognition, which shall, doubtlessly spur many others to equal or even surpass their milestones.

As the voice and venue of the Nigerian masses, we salute the

leadership and management of these organizations for their

performances