Isiyaku Ahmed
Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong has inaugurated the steering committee for the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
This follows the admission of the State last year into the global organisation that promotes good governance working with reformers inside and outside of government to transform how government serves its citizens.
The Director of Press & Public Affairs to the Governor, Dr. Makut Simon Macham in a signed statement, said Lalong who was represented at the inauguration by Secretary to the Government of Plateau State Prof. Danladi Abok Atu explained that the State was delighted to join the OGP.
He said his Government continues to embrace all initiatives to promote prudence, transparency, accountability and people driven-resource management in order to give value to the lives of its citizens.
According to the statement, apart from implementing the Treasury Single Account, the Government has ensured that government resources are saved through the Efficiency Unit.
Others are the Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit (PMRDU), Bureau for Public Procurement, and compliance with State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS).
He said some of these qualities facilitated the admittance of Plateau State among the only two jurisdictions to be selected to join OGP in 2020.
Governor Lalong also reiterated his personal commitment to the rules and values of transparency, accountability and collaboration, conscious of the fact that the government is a product of collective citizens’ action.
“We hinged our participation in the OGP Local Programme on Five Thematic Areas that align with our Development Strategy, as follows: Citizens Engagement, Fiscal Transparency, Peace and Security, Gender and Open Contracting. We believe that our membership of the OGP will further enhance transparency in governance while facilitating constructive citizens’ engagement that will in turn transform our public service and accelerate economic development” he said.
Commissioner for Special Duties, Inter-Governmental Affairs & NGOs Hon. Irimiya Jerry Werr said having received this OGP membership, it is now time for Plateau State to justify the trust of the international community and match words with action.
The Steering Committee which is a Multi Stakeholder Forum, is made up of fourteen persons, comprising seven government officials and six members of the Plateau State Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum, with the Focal Person serving as the Secretary.
The Committee is co-chaired by Dr. John Jinung Co-Leader, Plateau State Civil Societies Forum while each of the five thematic areas has a Technical Working Group (TWG) co-chaired by the remaining members.
The membership of the Plateau State OGP Steering Committee is as follows:
Government and Non-Governmental Partners
- Steering Committee Co-Chairs Hon. Irimiya Jerry Werr, Commissioner for Special Duties, Inter-Governmental Affairs & NGOs and Dr. John Jinung, Co-Leader, Plateau State Civil Societies Forum
- Fiscal Transparency Working Group Co-Chairs, Hon. Sylvester Wallangko, Commissioner for Budget & Economic Planning and Ms. Yop Rwang Pam, Reboot Design (Development Partners)
- Gender Working Group Co-Chairs, Mr. Haggai Gutap, Director-General, Plateau State Micro-Finance Dev Agency and Mrs. Jessica Bankat, Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN)
- Peace and Security Working Group Co-Chairs, Mr. Joseph Lengman, Director-General, Plateau State Peace Building Agency and Mr. Mugu Zaka Bako, Plateau Peace Practitioners Network
- Citizens Participation Working Group Co-Chairs Mr. David Dasser, Director-General, Plateau State Information & Communication Technology Development Agency and Mr. Manji Wilson, European Centre for Electoral Support
- Open Contracting Working Group Co-Chairs, Mr. Peter Dogo Yilkangha, Director-General, Plateau State Bureau for Public Procurement and Prof. (Mrs) Patricia Lar, University of Jos
Point of Contact Persons (POC) Engr. David Jaafaru Wuyep, Chief Technical Advisor – PMRDO and Cmrd. Peter Gad Shamaki, Co-Leader, Plateau State Civil Societies Forum
The Terms of Reference of the Committee
- Drive the co-creation of the State OGP Action Plan 2021 – 2023;
- Set up and manage Technical Working Groups for the Thematic Areas identified by the State;
- Monitor the implementation of the Action Plan by the State Government for the fulfilment of the commitments made therein;
- Engage with the OGP International Team for Independent Review Mechanism
- Engage with the OGP National Office whenever necessary; and
- Carry out any other assignment directed to it for the promotion of the values of the OGP in the State
OGP is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
