A former secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has challenged sub-national governments in Nigeria to set the right template and structure to deliver good governance to their constituencies.
Anyaoku, who spoke in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, commended Governor Umo Eno for his administration’s strides in consolidating on the achievements of successive governments.
He said visiting Akwa Ibom for the first time has presented him with the right ambience to measure the level of commitment to good governance in the state.
He said, “This state has showcased good governance from past leaders to the present.” He urged other sub – nationals to take a cue from Akwa Ibom, that has shown more than a passing interest in health, education, agricultural and infrastructural developments in sustenance of democratic ideals over the years.
Eno, who was the special guest at the lecture, the 12th in the series titled: “Imperative of Good Governance in Nigeria,” stressed the need for accountability as the major fulcrum of governance, which his administration has adopted as the driving force in the delivery of the dividends of democracy to the people.
To promote transparency, the governor stated that he had since mandated commissioners and heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to periodically brief the public on the activities of their offices to keep the 7.9 million residents of the state abreast with activities of their offices.
He said, “We don’t just want to keep paying money and pay bills. I really want to see where these funds are going, what it seeks to achieve. I told them and said you know what, everyday I wake up, I know that I am accountable to the people, and I told them and said, I want my commissioners to begin to step out and say the things they are doing in their ministries. Let the people hear. Let them talk about the ministry that they are in charge of.
“These are ways to try to be accountable, to let the people know that we are not in office for ourselves. We have about 7.9 million people in this state, and it is a sacred responsibility. We need to show to the people that we are here to serve them.”
He, therefore, described the ‘ARISE Agenda’ as the compass to navigate the programmes of his administration and announced plans to flag-off the one-per- local government project, as a development catalyst in the grassroots, assuring that the programme would make available signature projects across the 31 local government areas.
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