Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Elrufai on Tuesday signed and launch open government policy in he state.
The open government policy is aimed at ensuring transparency, accountability and citizens participation in all of its activities of the state government.
Inaugurating the implementation committee, el-Rufai explained that the state opted to be the first to key into the initiative to address negative citizens’ perception about government activities and governance in the state.
The inauguration of the committee in Kaduna followed a two-day workshop for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and relevant stakeholders with the sole aim of developing the state OGP Action Plan.
The governor recalled that a citizen perception survey which was carried out in 2015 with support from UKAID shortly after he took over the affairs of the state as elected governor showed that most people had lost confidence and trust in governance and in government activities and the need to rebuild such confidence became imperative.
According to the governor, the survey “ was to correct the anomalies in governance and ensure that the people who are the ultimate key stakeholders in determining how their resources should be utilized, hence the state government indicated interest to join OGP.
“Today I am happy that Kaduna State has now fully joined the OGP and the first to do so.
“This partnership will further entrench the commitment of Kaduna state government in area of fiscal responsibility, access to information and citizens’ engagement.”
According to him, the State Development Plan 2016-2020 was developed after due consultations with the citizens and private sector, while CSOs were also involved in the preparations and implementation of the state budget.
The governor further disclosed that the administration under his leadership has also developed a Citizens Feedback App for project monitoring and citizens participation.
El-Rufa’i urged civil society organisations participating in the workshop to develop a comprehensive implementable plan that would benefit the people.
In his remarks earlier, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, appreciated the Kaduna state government for being the first to sign into the OGP at the sub-national level.
“I also commend the state government for setting the pace and initializing several reforms in the area of good governance that have enhanced service delivery and infrastructural development in the state,” Malami said.
