Our Open Government reforms in Kano state will be owned by the people - Rimingado
- President Muhammadu Buhari's fight against corruption in the Nigerian society has been somewhat replicated in Kano state
- The Kano state government had since established the Kano state Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission
- Leading the charge is Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, who is getting accolades for the outstanding work that he is doing
The chairman of Kano state Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission and focal point for Open Government Partnership (OGP) in the state, Muhuyi Magaji Riminado has re-affirmed that the reforms that will be embarked on in the state will be fully owned by the people.
Riminado made the comment in a goodwill message he presented at a one-day capacity building program for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) aimed at deepening their understanding of the principles of the OGP.
The event which took place on Tuesday, October 17, had in attendance representatives of CSOs from across the state.
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The anti-corruption czar expressed happiness with development partners for supporting the eventm adding that, “this session aimed at deepening the understanding of civil society about OGP is crucial to our overall success."
He continued: “Knowledge based engagement will mean that the voice of civil society is not only amplified but also bold and responsive to the needs of the communities and other relevant stakeholders.
“The beauty of OGP is the unique relationship between government and civil society which it promotes. However, as you all know the whole idea of partnership-creation and co-responsibility will be sterile and ineffective unless we build the required capacity.
“Both government and civil society need to have clarity, understand and internalize all the principles of OGP to make sure that we are all on the same page from time to time. In Kano state, we want an OGP that the people can own because we want to improve governance and service delivery in a participatory manner.”
Commending Kano state government for a job well done, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, federal facilitator of PERL (DFID) stated that, “Kano state is one of the leading states when it comes to reforms especially in the area of anti-corruption.”
He noted that, “the expectation is that Kano state will be a model for other states to follow in terms of implementing commitments that are transformational.”
Commending the state government and civil society groups further for the partnership, the national co-chair of OGP and executive director of Media Rights Agenda, Mr Edeetan Ojo, further affirmed that, “Kano state has made a bold in joining the OGP in order to improve governance in the state.
“For my colleagues in civil society, I see it is a great opportunity for you to bring to fruition many of the ideas that you have advocated and championed over the years for the reform of governance in the State. I urge you to take full advantage of it."
On their part, representatives of civil society groups expressed delight with the opportunity to learn about the Open Government Partnership initiative and participate in it.
At the end the civil society groups resolved to expand their engagement with OGP to include other stakeholder groups like the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Nigerian Labour Congress, Kano state Chamber of Commerce, Academic Staff Union of Universities and others.
Six critical sectors of priority were identified which include education, infrastructure, water, agriculture environment and health.
Other partners present include: Representatives of OGP national secretariat, Dr. Blair King of the United States Agency for International Development, Oliver Blake of the United Kingdom Department of International Development, Rommy Mom of the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) also of the UK government.
READ ALSO: Open Government Partnership will reinforce governance reforms in Kano state - Buhari’s aide
How workaholic Governor Ganduje is transforming Kano state on - Legit.ng
Source: Legit.ng
