The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, has urged the heads of agencies under his ministry to work towards improving public service delivery strategies in the justice sector.

Mr Fagbemi made this call during the Performance Contract Signing Ceremony with Heads of Agencies on Wednesday in Abuja.

He noted 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.

“It is our collective responsibility to lead the charge for improved governance and effective service delivery in our respective MDAs, with the overall aim of improved socio-economic development of our society.

“Some of the ways which we can achieve this onerous responsibility within our respective MDAs include setting clear and measurable goals, establishing a system for monitoring and evaluating performance.

“Others include providing training and development opportunities for employees, encouraging active participation and engagement from citizens and stakeholders, and providing incentives and recognition for accountability.”

He said the Justice Sector Plan contains 15 Ministerial Deliverables, 49 Key Performance Indicators Baselines and Targets.

“You may, therefore, recall that at the retreat in January, I had directed that Heads of Agencies to set up internal committees to carry out the certain responsibilities.

“These include perusing the ministerial deliverables to discover your role in ensuring optimal performance of the presidential priorities (Sector Plan 2023-2027).

“Others include encapsulating the ministerial deliverables into your agencies’ strategic plan and drawing up the 2024 workplan from the initiatives captured in your strategic plan.”

He assured the MDAs that their presentations would be critically appraised with a view to providing necessary support for the operationalisation of their mandates and the 2024 work plan.

“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 in order to ensure performance on the job and a clear understanding of your mandates under the performance bond.”

He, thereafter, expressed his gratitude for the dedication to service delivery and coordination of human and material resources by the heads of agencies to meet their respective mandates.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all the heads of all the agencies under the purview of the ministry were present at the signing of the bond.