Lere agog over unprecedented people-oriented projects

Council Chairman(middle), flanked by dignitaries at the event

No fewer than 108 projects and programs in the Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna state are currently at 98% completion stages, a development citizens of the area attribute to the Council Chairman's determination and desire to put the people first, no matter whose ox is gored.

Chairman of the council, Alhaji Abubakar Buba, who dropped the hint at the 2019 Quarterly Budget Performance Review town hall meeting with stakeholders in Saminaka, Kaduna state, commended the Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai for aggressively creating the desired environment for societal growth - by initiating strategic and people-focused governance reforms at both state and local government levels.

"Upon my assumption of office one year ago, we immediately keyed into the governance reform initiatives of the state government which were all geared towards putting the people first. We met on ground various far reaching ongoing reforms that were designed to strengthen proper planning, budgeting, transparency, accountability, citizens' engagement and quality service delivery, particularly taking governance closer to the people", the chairman explained, pointing out that leveraging on the state's dynamic reforms, it was easy to establish a working relationship with civil society groups in the local government.

"Together we pioneered the institutionalization of the principles of Open Government Partnership(OGP) as Local Government Council in the state. We were the first to inaugurate the Technical Working Group(TWG), made up of equal number of government and civil society partners, establishing desk offices all communities under our jurisdiction", Buba revealed.

While tracing the progress made so far to the coming of the Local Government Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability(LFTAS) initiative, the chairman called on the civil society to continue to support the programs of his council in meeting all the indicators of LFTAS for greater good of the good people of Lere.

Surprisingly enough, a leading member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and an indigene of the Local Government Area, Hon Munirat Suleiman Tanimu graced the occasion and threw her weight behind the chairman for what she called a new trend in Lere Local Government Council under Hon Abubakar Buba. Tanimu, a former House Representatives aspirant, called on the people of Lere to put party differences aside and support the people-oriented developmental programs of the chairman.

On his part, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, erstwhile Director-General media to a former governor of Kaduna state, who also graced the quarterly review, expressed his delight this way: "citizens' engagement at the local government level is redefining governance" . He commended Lere LG, for blazing the trail in engaging citizens in budget review.

Highlight of the event was the interactive feedback from stakeholders and citizens which scored the council high on transparency and accountability.

Comments

Climate Action: Hope rises for Kaduna!

A multi-stakeholder project to plant 10 million economic trees in Kaduna state in the next six years is in the works towards enhancing the state's vegetal cover, in accordance with the renewed global campaign against climate change. Head, Social and Enterprise Development of the Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development (CALPED), Dangwa Abbas Danjuma who dropped the hint during the week in Kaduna while on a courtesy visit to the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, explained: "The Coalition is interested in driving a multi-stakeholder project to plant 10 million economic trees in Kaduna State on or before the end of the year 2025, this is towards re-greening Kaduna. We desire to do so across local governments in the state to empower citizens to take action against deforestation through community based groups with a sustainability plan to develop a robust value chain to improve livelihoods." While apprec...

Kaduna IDPs cry out over Deplorable Conditions

By DANGWA DANJUMA L ack of basic education, sanitation, healthcare facilities and access to portable water supply have hit Gwagwada, a host community camping over 300 households displaced from fifteen villages in Chikun Local Council of the state. Speaking at the flag off of relief materials distribution for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Village Head of Gadani, Mr Bitrus Tsauri disclosed: “Since they arrived, the wells which have been the sure source of water for several households in the community have dried up; the solar powered borehole is only providing drips of water necessitating most residents to seek drinking water from streams. Our two public primary schools and healthcare facility are currently inadequate and may be unsafe, especially with the coronavirus pandemic that Kaduna state is still counting cases”. He confirmed that those who can farm, have been provided land to start over again; there is still the worry however, for those who are unable to farm due t...

Kaduna COVID-19 Lockdown, People Living with Disabilities and Inclusion

Chairman JONAPWD, Abdulaziz Suleiman , (Right) and a colleague (Middle) in a chat with CALPED's Yusuf Goje By SMITH WAYA Before the index case of Corona virus (Covid-19) in Nigeria, the Kaduna state government held a public hearing on the proposed Kaduna state social protection policy, in line with the administration's slogan of putting the people first. The Joint National Associations of Person with Disability(JONAPWD), Kaduna chapter, as the umbrella body for people living disabilities in the State, were invited to present a position paper on their expectations of the new policy. The Disability Community took advantage of the town-hall meeting to appeal to the state government to work assiduously towards reducing poverty and hunger in their household. The Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, assured them of the state government's commitment in ensuring that no one is left behind especially people living with disabilities. Incidently, as the State governm...

Reflecting on Kaduna State's Commitment to Open Budget

By YUSUF GOJE T he present administration of Governor Nasir Ahmed El-rufai, since coming into office in 2015, has initiated a number of reforms. These reforms are aimed at strengthening the State’s public finance management system and improving public service delivery to the residents. The reforms are rooted in key laws such as the Fiscal Responsibility Law, Public Procurement Law, Tax Codification & Consolidation Law, Public Finances Law all in 2016, and Planning & Budget Commission Law in 2017. They provide the mechanism for achieving the developmental and socio-economic aspiration in the State Development Plan (SDP, 2016-2020) through the Sectors Implementation Plan (SIP, 2016-2019) and annual budgets. The high point of these reform initiatives came in 2017 when the State government signed into the Open Government Partnership (OGP). In fact, making it the first subnational in Nigeria to do so and was later elevated as a member of OGP global in 2018. This was follo...

SEMA engages Zaria communities on disaster risk reduction strategies

Executive Secretary, Abubakar Hassan (center) and his team at Zaria By EDDY OCHIGBO V ulnerable communities and wards in and around Zaria and its environs have been sensitized and strengthened to tackle possible disasters, ranging from gully erosion, insecurity, fire and rape vis-a-vis the ongoing environmental hazards awareness campaign across Kaduna state. Keen watchers believe that the move - which is aimed at system strengthening on emergency coordination and response strategy - in collaboration with the United State Agency for International Development's Nigeria Early Recovery Initiative (NERI) would drastically reduce peoples' vulnerability and possible disasters in the state. "To prevent disasters, we must get the people equipped and prepared to understand what constitutes hazards, risks etc., as well as what they should do to identify early warning signs and signals. The exercise is taking place in all the wards and communities in Tudun Wada, Sabon Gari, Zaria Ci...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog