By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
KOGI State Steering Committee on Open Government Partnership (OGP) has reviewed validated and adopted an Action plan consisting four thematic areas and five commitments for implementation in the next two years.
The 22-member OGP State Steering Committee comprising 11 state and non-state actors each, adopted the document on Thursday in Lokoja to reinforce the state’s commitment to issues of Transparency, Accountability and Citizen Participation in governance.
The adoption was at the end of a two-day review meeting of the committee supervised by the OGP Secretariat, Abuja, and supported by African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), and MacArthur Foundation.
Uchenna Arisukwu, CSO Advisor, OGP Secretariat, Abuja who superintended the review, validation and adoption through voice votes in its favour, said the action plan was developed in 2022 but it was not implemented.
“So, stakeholders thought it wise to review the existing document and tailor it towards the current administration’s agenda. So we reviewed that action plan for implementation.
He said that the final clean copy of the Kogi State’s OGP Action Plan would be transmitted to His Excellency the Governor for approval and after the Governor’s assent, implementation of the Action Plan would commence.
“We have adopted four thematic areas including Fiscal transparency, Access To Information, Service Delivery, and Extractive Transparency with five commitments across these four thematic areas.
“Now, that has been finalized. So we look forward to effective implementation of that document to serve the purpose. So we’re looking to seeing that in two years from now, there will be improved service delivery as a result of the implementation of this action plan.
“OGPs are bringing reforms into the governance process to make citizens a part of that process, and that’s why we have this commitment and thematic areas to make that happen”, he said.
Amb. Idris Ozevehe Muraina, Non-State Co-chair of the Kogi OGP Steering Committee said the review and adoption of the Action Plan was milestone achievement adding, “we’ve been working on this document for a very long time”
“It is also good that we recall that Kogi State signed up to this co-creation platform far back in 2022. And April 2024, it was officially inaugurated and we started reviewing the commitments.
Amb. Idris Muraina said implementation of the plan would commence in earnest once the Executive Governor assents to it and every other aspect of it which has to do with sensitization, will equally commence.
Muraina however cautioned that implementation of the OGP Action Plan was all about “Praise or Shame” and be weary of Independent Report Mechanism (IRM) because they allow you to make the commitment yourself, nobody imposes it on you, so you will be held responsible for not implementing it.”
Also speaking on the adopted OGP Action Plan, Mr Lawal Amodu, Programme Coordinator, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Lawal Amodu described OGP as a global platform where citizens and government meet to discuss development issues.
He said that the Centre had been in Lokoja for the fourth time on the issue of the OGP first with the advocacy and then, to develop the state action plan and building the capacity of state and Non-State actors.
Amodu underscored the need for citizens participation in governance saying, “There is need to carry them along through the processes from preparation stages, planning stages, until it comes into fruition.”
Sani Haruna Mohammed, Director of Planning, in charge of Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning affirmed that Kogi State is firmly committed to realizing the full goals and objectives of OGP.
He said that the Action Plan Steering Committee comprising the Civil Society side and the Government had been inaugurated adding that there are budgetary provisions for OGP in Kogi State and “To that extent, Kogi State is truly committed.” (Ends)