The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has called for transparency and accountability in the use of public resources amid the decline in government revenue.
Obaseki gave the charge when he received a delegation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Accountability Lab and Open Contracting Partnership, at the Government House, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
He said: “We are not a very rich state and it’s important that the little we have is expended in such a way that it gives us much opportunity to work for our people.
“Transparency and accountability are key and core to our administration. Fiscal transparency is critical especially as we face declining federal receipts. It is important that we show to our people how we have spent the money we got from them. It is after this that we are justified to ask for more taxes that could lead to an increase in revenue.”
The governor continued: “As an administration, we are moving the whole of our governance architecture onto an e-governance platform, utilizing technology to enhance and enforce the e-governance process. We are open and will continue to explain to our people through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) our open and transparent policies and programmes. We always carry our people along, as they are our priority.”
Calling on the support of the UNDP in creating more employment opportunities in the state, Obaseki noted: “Following the great work done by Edojobs, we have continued to receive more data on the number of applicants. We need to domesticate the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programmes (NJFP) and need the help of UNDP.
“We have done the enumeration of businesses locally and have the data of our local businesses. We have data already and want to see how to domesticate the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme where we can get more allocation available to us.”
Earlier, the Senior Advisor, Programme Manager, UNDP, William Tauma commended the governor for his efforts at youth empowerment and capacity building.