By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
KOGI State Government has inaugurated a 22-member Open Government Partnership (OGP) State Steering Committee comprising state and non-state actors to reinforce its commitment to issues of Transparency, Accountability and Citizen Participation.
Dr (Mrs) Folashade Arike Ayoade, Secretary to the Government of Kogi State (SSG) who inaugurated the Committee on Tuesday in Lokoja, said the programme would place Kogi on the global map in the areas of Transparency, Accountability and Citizen Participation.
She described OGP as a multilateral initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from national and Sub-national Governments to promote Open Government.
The Partnership, she added, is also geared towards empowering the citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
The three terms and longest serving SSG in the state said that the OGP was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic Reformers ready to make their government Open, Accountable and Responsive to citizens.
“As we all know, the present administration under the dynamic Leadership of His Excellency Alhaji Usman Ododo has been in the forefront in practicing and implementing the principles of Open Government.
“The involvement of citizens in governance has assumed a whole new dimension with the appointment of men and women in all levels Government”, she said.
Asiwaju Ashiru Idris (Mukadam), the State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning who is also a Co-Chairman of the Committee said the state had recorded lot achievements both locally and internationally in Transparency and Accountability.
He said that with the inauguration of OGP, the state would continue to wax stronger and stronger adding that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had directed that all monies accruing to the state be published quarterly to buttress his commitment to accountability.
The Commissioner said that the Committee would further help to roll out more strategies to enhance the implementation of the state Action Plan and enable coverage of the lost grounds.
In his Vote of Thanks, the second Co-Chairman of the OGP, Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina described the inauguration as a significant milestone in the collective journey towards transparency, accountability, and citizens engagement in governance.
Muraina who is also Chairman Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET), said the official inauguration of the OGP in Kogi marks “a new chapter in our efforts to foster greater transparency, enhance public participation and combat corruption.
He noted that committee had crucial role to play in holding the government accountable saying, “I believe that by working together, we can bring about positive changes and make a real difference in the lives of the people of Kogi State.
“Let us seize this opportunity to collaborate, innovate, and drive forward our shared vision of a more open and inclusive government that puts the interests of the people first.”
Muraina explained that the OGP was a global concept that each sub-national entity voluntarily signed to and made Open Government Declaration of adopting the principle of co-creation, transparency, inclusive participation and accountability.
