- Governor Bello demands issue-based campaigns
Kogi State has again won the 2022 Fiscal Transparency and Accountability award in a survey conducted across the states in North Central Nigeria.
The first position award was presented to the state on Tuesday in Lokoja during the launch of the 2022 North Central State Budget Transparency Survey Report carried out by the Social Economic Research and Development Centre.
The National Coordinator, State and National Budget Transparency Survey for the agency, Tijani Abdulkareem, who presented the report and the award, said the objective of the budget Transparency and Accountability Programme was to promote focus and attention of Nigerian states towards the improvement of their budget performance in providing good governance to the people.
“Good governance starts from budgeting. This report and award are aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency to help build trust in government, facilitate accountability in public resource management and ensure sustainability in the participating states,” he said.
He added, “It is evident from the 2022 SNBTS on the public availability of budget documents and transparency that there are positive changes. Most of the North Central states now publish their budget documents in 2022 compared to 2020.
“Nevertheless, in terms of state by state performance, none of the states provided extensive budget information to the public in 2022. Only Kogi State can be said to be significantly transparent and provide adequate amount of budget information to the public, as they score more than 60 per cent.”
Tijani explained that the reports were collated across the six states of the North Central zone between 2021 and 2022, adding that the states were judged based on parameters such as Public participation, availability of budget, oversight functions of the state legislators and level of transparency of the procurement process.
He noted, “The survey was set up as a model to improve budget transparency amongst North Central states towards a better fiscal outcome.
“As in previous surveys, the SNBTS 2022 survey report employed a questionnaire approach like the International Budget Partnership, and Open Budget Survey questionnaires, which evaluate the availability of budget information (Transparency); Civic engagement opportunities in the budget process and methods; the strength of the legislature as well as the level of transparency of the North Central states’ procurement process.”
The report, however, said the states’ legislators failed in their oversight functions.
“On Civic participation in the budget process, the 2022 survey reveals clear evidence of a poor level of engagement or interaction between the Legislature and the public in terms of the depth of scope of the public hearings,” the report said.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Asiru Idris, said the award underscored the premium the state governor, Yahaya Bello, placed on providing good governance.
Asiru said, “The success of the state in the areas of fiscal transparency and accountability can be linked to self-discipline, as well as the institution of a transparent and accountable governance system by Governor Yahaya Bello from the inception of his administration.
“Kogi State is blessed with a Governor who provides leadership from all fronts, a professional to the core that has surrounded himself only with persons that have the capacity to deliver.
“The governor believes that governance is about the people and whatever you do must be open and transparent to the people.
“The philosophy of the Governor of the state is making every single kobo available work for the entity of the state, hence he has instituted self-discipline, as well as a transparent and accountable governance system from day one of his administration.”
According to the report, this is the second time in a row that Kogi State will top the chart in fiscal transparency and accountability in the North Central, having won the award in 2021.
Meanwhile, Governor Yahaya Bello has charged members of the All Progressives Congress’ governorship campaign council to base their campaign on issues and performance of the current administration.
The Director General of the campaign council and Minister of Steel Development, Shaibu Abubakar Audu, also charged Igala people to shun ethnic agenda that would not bring about development in the state.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Kogi State APC governorship campaign council on Tuesday at the Government House in Lokoja, Governor Bello called on the campaign council not to preach ethnicity or religion but base their campaign on what the government had achieved in the last eight years and the ability of the governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, to build effectively on the current administration’s successes.
He urged members and supporters of the party not to join issues with others who do not have anything to offer in terms of adding value to the state and its inhabitants.
“Forget about liars, whose stock in trade is thuggery with nothing to offer. Go out there and preach what we have on ground in terms of infrastructure, not about ethnicity. Kogi State belongs to all of us. I have always said that Kogi State has the potential to be great if only we stop playing politics of ethnicity.
“I want all of you to go and work for the success of the party and you will be adequately rewarded,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director General of the campaign council said his late father and former governor of the state had never believed in ethnic agenda, but had a vision for the growth and development of the state.
He noted that in the last eight years, Governor Yahaya Bello had demonstrated his father’s vision for the state through appointments, distribution and execution of projects across the three senatorial districts of the state without any iota of bias or sentiment.
“My father had a pan-Kogi vision and was never a leader that focused on Kogi East.
“Any agenda that focuses on a particular senatorial district instead of Kogi State would not bring about justice, equity and development. We know that Igala people are agitating for return of power to the East but it must be discussed and resolved because power can never be taken with force,” the Minister said.
