Assess political office holders for better performance

IF we want the best from our political office holders, particularly the ministers and commissioners, then there should be a form of assessment of their performance.

Most of our political office holders just occupy positions without contributing positively in governance, but if we develop a way through which we can assess them annually, then most of them will give their best, while we will also be able to identify those who are assets for this country.

In the last political dispensation, I can say that the immediate past Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, did extremely well. He was able to eradicate corruption in the distribution of fertilisers to farmers, while the former Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, also turned things around in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

However, today’s ministers still have a long way to go if we are to rate them with their current performances.

I hope the National Assembly will come up with ways through which we can rate our political office holders.

It was the good performances of Dr Adesina and Mr Fashola that earned them the current assignments they have now.

Today, Dr Adesina is the president of African Development Bank (ADB), while Mr Fashola is the Minister of Works, Power and Housing.

Public office should not be about the power being wielded alone, but about service, and assessing our politicians will go a long way in making them give their best to the service of the country.

Therefore, if we truly want to get the best from our public office holders, then assessing them will be the best way to do that.

• Nelson Ekwale,

Benin,

Edo State.