As President Bola Tinubu approaches his second year in office on May 29, the Central Results Delivery and Coordination Unit is racing against time to compile a fresh set of ministerial scorecards.

According to multiple presidency sources, the scorecards will evaluate the performance of various ministries during the first quarter of 2025, marking the administration’s mid-term milestone.

The confidential assessment, which covers the first quarter of 2025, is expected “any time from now,” one aide said, adding that under-performing ministries are already feeling the heat of renewed scrutiny.

An official revealed that the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), the agency under the Presidency tasked with quarterly assessments of ministers' performance, is currently reviewing and scoring reports submitted by various government ministries.

According to sources familiar with the process, each ministry uploaded documentation of its projects and policy achievements to a secure CDCU portal last month. Since then, a verification team, led by CDCU head Hadiza Bala-Usman, has been rigorously evaluating the submissions. The assessments are being measured against the performance bonds signed by ministers during the cabinet retreat in October 2023.

The officials, who chose to speak on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk about the matter, disclosed that Bala-Usman is working to transmit the reports to the President’s desk as soon as possible.

Asked about the assessment of some prominent cabinet members, an insider described the performance of many ministers as average, noting that only a few of them scored above average.

“The one minister who has done fairly well is the minister of works and a few others. When you look at the assessment of several others, they performed poorly in several critical metrics,” the official stated.

Even though the President is not expected to take any immediate action on the performance of any minister or ministry, the report is expected to provide Tinubu with the most up-to-date information on the performances of his cabinet members.

The information, sources said, will also help the President to engage some of his cabinet members or ministers on areas of improvement when necessary.

A top Presidency source close to the development said, “Officials of the various ministries have uploaded the reports of their activities and projects on the portal provided by the CDCU. These are based on deliverables that the ministries themselves have set.

“Officials of CDCU have done their detailed verifications and assessments of the uploaded projects. Scores have been assigned based on their findings. The final report for all the ministries is meant for the President.”

During the opening of the three-day Cabinet Retreat for Ministers, Presidential Aides, Permanent Secretaries, and senior government officials on November 1, 2023, President Bola Tinubu emphasized that ministers in his administration would be assessed quarterly and would only remain in office based on their performance.

“If you are performing, nothing to fear. If you miss the objective, we’ll review it. If no performance, you leave us. No one is an island, and the buck stops on my desk,” said the President.

In October 2024, President Bola Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet, resulting in the dismissal of two underperforming ministers and the reassignment of several others to new portfolios. The Central Results Delivery and Coordination Unit (CDCU) was credited with playing a key role in the changes, providing a performance dossier that informed the shake-up just 16 months into the administration.

Established in June 2023, the CDCU came into being following Tinubu’s appointment of Hadiza Bala Usman—former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority—as Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination. The unit is modelled after delivery units in the United Kingdom and Rwanda, with a core mandate to monitor key performance indicators, produce quarterly performance dashboards, and identify stalled or red-flagged projects requiring presidential attention.

On October 17, 2023, Bala Usman announced that the CDCU would begin submitting quarterly reports to the President starting January 2024, noting that all ministries had by then received their 2024 budget allocations.

“We’re looking to commence an assessment of the respective ministries in January 2024. We’re going to have a quarterly assessment of performance, which would culminate in an annual scorecard,” the ex NPA Chief explained.

In that same month, the CDCU conducted training for at least 140 officials tasked with monitoring and evaluating the performance of federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

These officials—drawn from 35 MDAs—included one permanent secretary and three directors or planning officers from each ministry, according to sources familiar with the exercise.

Hadiza Bala-Usman has consistently emphasized that the ministerial scorecards are not merely procedural or academic, but a critical tool for accountability that directly influences policy direction and personnel decisions within the administration.

At a media briefing in February 2025, she reminded ministers that “quarterly assessments will feed directly into presidential decisions,” noting that the Unit’s last report had already triggered “targeted conversations” and mid-term adjustments in at least three ministries.

“If your deliverables are slipping, the data will show it,” she said then.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Labour Party have criticised the President and his ministers over allegations of poor governance.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described Tinubu and his cabinet as a “monumental failure.”

The NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, called for a cabinet reshuffle.

At the same time, the LP Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, urged the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to do more in addressing the issue of insecurity and economic hardship.

Reacting to the cost-of-living crisis resulting from Tinubu’s sharp economic reforms, the PDP says the performance of the ministers reflects President Tinubu’s leadership.

“You can’t give what you don’t have,” Ologunagba emphasised, arguing that the government has failed in every aspect.

“This government is a monumental failure; we can’t just talk about the ministers. They have failed in all aspects. The primary responsibility of every government is the security and welfare of the people, and with the killings and hardship, it is obvious that this government has failed.

“That’s why you see them now going into more of a panic mode of constantly governing by propaganda and lies. The one that is more pervasive is the issue of insecurity. There is no part of this country that’s immune to this cancer of insecurity.

“You recall President Tinubu saying that he was going to continue from where former President Muhammadu Buhari stopped. He has surpassed it in bringing more misery and death. He has brought sorrow to Nigerians. He has desecrated democracy as we knew it under the PDP.

“He has destroyed the economy. He has destroyed the livelihood of people. The health sector is in shambles. And so, in every aspect, this government has failed in providing the basic purpose of government. Which is security and the welfare of the people,” he stated.

When asked if the President should reshuffle his cabinet, Ologunagba described the APC-led government as unresponsive.

“When the government has demonstrated that it is deaf and impoverished in advice. Several people, particularly members of our party, the PDP, have made many suggestions, but this government does not listen.

“The government is deaf to Nigerians. And if it’s deaf to their feelings, it is insensitive to their sufferings.

“Also, the cabinet is a reflection of the leadership because the President is the one who appoints people into positions, right? So, if the government fails to provide security and welfare for the people, it means the President lacks the required leadership,” he said.

NNPP Publicity Secretary, Johnson, stated that it is time for President Tinubu to restructure his cabinet.

He expressed concern that Nigeria cannot continue operating at its present pace.

“It is time for President Tinubu to rejig his cabinet. It is time for him to do so. He really has to take stock and see whether he genuinely feels that we are moving in the right direction and at a reasonable pace, even if we are headed the right way.

“So, he probably needs a few new dynamic hands that can think outside the box to get some things done. We cannot continue at this level and pace and hope that things will be different. But, by May 29, our party, the NNPP, will come up with a comprehensive mid-term assessment of this administration.”

The LP scribe also urged the President to remove ministers who are not performing in their positions.

Ifon stated, “The President should deal with those who are not performing. If he finds that some are not living up to expectations, then of course, he should relieve such persons of their appointments. So, the buck stops on the President’s desk.

“We want a government that will focus more on security, economic development, and the overall well-being of Nigerians.”

The Chairman of the Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, highlighted lapses in the ministries of education, health and security, noting that all social sectors of the economy were not “doing well.”

He argued, “When you look at education, education is rotting. Therefore, the Minister of Education should be held accountable, as not all our educational institutions are being well-managed, especially public institutions.

“The implementation of their curriculum has been watered down to the extent that an average graduate cannot defend the degree that they brandish around. And nothing is being done to improve the condition of students and teachers at all levels of education, from Primary to University levels.

“In most institutions, everything is inadequate: facilities, equipment, materials, and motivation from the teachers and lecturers to teach them.”

Adeniran decried blame-shifting in the administration, saying, “Now, I do not know which ministry is even responsible for our security. Because when you talk about the Chief of Air Staff or the Chief of Defence Staff, they push it to the Minister of Defence, the Minister pushes it to the President. But what affects us is that there is no security of life and property, meaning that the purpose of government has been defeated.”

“Then, healthcare delivery, with all the secondary and tertiary health institutions, is no longer worth its name.

“The primary healthcare institutions, and all those working there, are not well-motivated.

“The healthcare delivery is also in shambles. Not all social sectors can be said to be doing well,” he added.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, stated that while some ministers were determined to fulfil their assigned tasks, others appeared to be focused on ensuring the President’s re-election in 2027, and some were largely invisible in the government.

“I would say that some of the ministers appear to be determined to meet up with their assignments, their responsibilities, whereas the majority of the ministers are just sitting there because the mood of the nation, of recent, is not about governance, it is about the election.

“Therefore, many ministers are just working hard to impress and show the President that they are working for his second term, not necessarily as ministers,” said Rafsanjani.

He called for the public dissemination of the CDCU’s report, saying, “Mr President has someone who is supposed to be evaluating the ministers in person of Hadiza Bala-Usman. The public did not hear or receive any report from her concerning the evaluation of ministers’ performance.

“Therefore, there is no willingness by the government to demonstrate how well some ministers are performing and meeting their responsibilities.

“In terms of real work that you can see a minister working, there are very few of them that you can pass that remark on.”

He continued, “The second issue is that some of the ministers, even before this campaign mood, appear to be on a low profile, Nigerians are not hearing much of them, or much about what they are doing.

“This is simply because some of the ministers were brought in to fulfil the political obligation of Mr President to put his guys there, and then be able to meet up with the constitutional provision of every state having one minister.”

Although insiders say Tinubu is unlikely to announce sackings before the May 29 commemorations, the upcoming report will guide one-on-one reviews with ministers and shape the next cabinet reshuffle.