The agencies under the ministry are the National Human Rights Commission; the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency; the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Study; the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria; the Nigeria Law Reform Commission and the Nigeria Copyright Commission.
Others are the Council for Legal Education; the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and the Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration among others.
Ministers, presidential aides, and permanent secretaries had in November 2023 signed a performance bond with the president which is expected to serve as a scorecard for implementing the Ministerial Deliverables and other Government Programmes and Policies.
They were, however, asked to cascade the gestures down to Agencies/Parastatals under their supervision.
Speaking at the event, on Wednesday, Fagbemi said the bond would serve as a metric for evaluating their performance.
The AGF noted that he expects a high level of performance among all agency heads, in line with their stated commitments.
Fagbemi said, “I must state that I will hold every Head of Agency to the highest standard of performance in line with the declarations you have made today. It is therefore imperative that you cascade the contents of your presentation to all levels of leadership in your agencies to ensure performance on the job and a clear understanding of your mandates under the performance bond.”
Fagbemi noted that the Justice Sector Plan contains 15 Ministerial Deliverables; 49 Key Performance Indicators; BBaselinesand Targets.
He noted that he had assigned roles to heads of agencies in that regard.
“You may therefore recall that at the retreat in January 2024, I had directed that Heads of Agencies set up internal Committees to carry out the following responsibilities: Peruse the Ministerial deliverables to discover your role in ensuring optimal performance of the Presidential priorities (Sector Plan 2023-2027). Draw up the 2024 work plan from the initiatives captured in your Strategic Plan, ” he added.
He, however, urged the heads of the agencies to embark on initiatives that would improve public service delivery strategies in the justice sector.
Fagbemi said, “It is undoubted that the justice sector is key towards ensuring socio-economic development of the nation, through improved access to justice. Access to justice in this regard calls for synergy between MDAs in ensuring legal protection, legal awareness, legal aid and counsel, adjudication, enforcement, and supporting sustainable peace and security through effective alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.”
The Permanent Secretary and the Solicitor General of the Federation, Beatrice Jedy-Agba assured the agencies that the ministry would provide the needed support to surmount their threats and weaknesses.
Jedy-Agba said, ” I would like to assure you that the Honourable Minister and I will critically study your presentations to address your Weaknesses and Threats and provide the necessary support for harnessing your Strengths and Opportunities to enhance your abilities to deliver on your various mandates.
