On Tuesday, the five governors in the South East region of Nigeria from three different political parties have shown they want transparent and accountable governance as they have all come together to start the implementation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) reform programme in order to have a government that is more accountable, inclusive and responsive to its people.
The governors of the states involved are Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia (PDP); Willie Obiano of Anambra (APGA); David Umahi of Ebonyi (PDP); Lawrence Ugwanyi of Enugu (PDP); and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State (APC).
The director general of the South East Governor’s Forum, Professor Simon Ortuanya expressed delight that states in the zone promptly embraced the programme, which would be implemented in partnership with the renowned Department for International Development, DFID, and the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, PERL at a two-day capacity building workshop for the desk officers under the programme in Awka, the Anambra state capital.
According to him, the promptness with which the South East governments embraced the initiative underscored the importance and value the governors attached to issues of transparent and accountable governance.
Ortuanya said: “Over the past eight months, the South East Governors Forum has been providing peer-learning support and guidance to enable states in the region understand and effectively navigate the OGP process.
“It is therefore gratifying for me to see that states have recorded significant milestones in their OGP journeys. We are happy that the states have developed action plans and set up steering committees that are fully compliant with the co-creation principle of the OGP initiative.
“We are now at a point where we need to start implementing the commitments contained in our various action plans and as desk officers in your various ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, you have to drive the programme.
The director general further explained that the training was organized to deepen the desk officers’ understanding of the OGP initiative, provide an overview of their responsibilities and to help them identify specific activities needed to ensure that MDAs implemented successfully relevant commitments in their states’ action plan.
In her address, the reform manager of DFID/ PERL for the South East Governors’ Forum, Mrs. Ucheoma Egwuatu explained that the programme was already operational in Kano and Jigawa states and commended the South East geopolitical zone for embracing it.
She also lauded the South East governors for facilitating the training programme within short period of their existence, assuring that the envisaged reforms would definitely yield better results with a view to ensuring good governance.
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