Lydia Jafiya assumes office as Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary

The new Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, officially took over at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

The Minister of Finance and Co-Ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, while welcoming the new Permanent Secretary of Finance, said, “The ceremony is a family event, one family and one ministry,” and assured of working as a team.

Stephen Kilebi D (Press &PR) said in a statement that the Minister further advised that work in the Ministry should continue in the spirit of fellowship, common purpose, brotherly love, sisterly love, and most importantly, communal efforts, adding that “when we work and continue along those principles, we will achieve much.”

Edun said, “There are lots of expectations bestowed on us, and it is up to us to live up to those expectations.”

The new Permanent Secretary Finance, Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, said in her remarks, “The pleasure is mine to be welcomed to the Federal Ministry of Finance as the Permanent Secretary Finance, disclosing that her deployment by the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Ministry of Finance is to join the Minister of Finance and Co-Ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to execute the Ministerial Performance Bond of the Presidential Priorities and deliverables signed with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the Presidential Retreat.”

She stated that the Federal Ministry of Finance has a rich history of high performance in the management of the national economy, and with the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, who is also saddled with the role of coordinating the nation’s economy, we need to do more.

She added, “We shall all work together to align the activities of this ministry with the Six Pillars of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plans 2021–2025 (FCSSIP25) for high-impact performance.”

That, according to Jafiya, will entail a strong commitment to the full actualization of the digitization policy of the Federal Government: Enterprise Content Management System, Human Resource Management component of the IPPIS, Capacity Building/Talent Management, Performance Management System (to replace the old Aper form assessment method), Innovation, and Staff Welfare, where reward and recognition will be given attention.

Jafiya further promised: “For me as your Permanent Secretary Finance, I will welcome suggestions and advice on how to move the Ministry forward as we constructively engage with other strategic partners and critical stakeholders locally and internationally towards fulfilling the mandate of the Renewed Hope agenda.”

While thanking the Permanent Secretary Special Duties Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Okokon Udo, who has been holding forth since the retirement of her predecessor, Aliyu Ahmed, she emphasised, “We have to work together as a team and in strict adherence with the code of ethics and existing rules and regulations in the conduct of government business.”

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of Special Duties, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Okokon Udo, said in his welcome address that Tuesday’s handing over was just a formality and that the Permanent Secretary of Finance had already resumed duty since, but the office chose to do the official handing over ceremony.

Mr Udo, while assuring the new Permanent Secretary of Finance of his support and cooperation, said she needed not to be worried about the ministry because it was a familiar terrain.

He also thanked the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, for the fatherly role he has been playing, for being so inspirational in taking decisions to ensure things are on the right path and for always squeezing time out of his busy schedules to show that he is always there for everyone, no matter what.

It could be recalled that Mrs.Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the new Permanent Secretary of Finance, had earlier resumed duty at the Federal Ministry of Finance, but the official handing and taking over ceremonies were done on Tuesday.

Mrs Omobola Olushola-Dada, the Director of Human Resource Development in the Federal Ministry of Finance, pledged the allegiance of the staff to do their best in order to achieve the mandate of the Ministry and wished the new Permanent Secretary of Finance well.