By Okechukwu Onuegbu
Anambra State governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Wednesday, assured the government commitment towards achieving full implementation of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) for accountability and transparent society.
Soludo stated this at a-2 day sensitisation meeting on OGP, held in Awka, the State capital, through the sponsorship of African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and Macarthur Foundation.
The programme was aimed at engaging and brainstorming with the stakeholders with a view to improving their knowledge of OGP, and gathering facts for successful implementation of the programme. Anambra was among the first few states to sign it into law, precisely on June 2017.
The state launched it with five thematic areas including Fiscal transparency, Ant-Corruption, Access to Information, Citizen Engagement and Climate Change and Natural Resource Transparency.
He explained that the global action was why the incumbent administration sustained the community choose your project programme started by the previous administration, as well as holds town-hall meetings, publication of annual budgets, and others for improved citizen participation, and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.
The governor, represented by the State Commissioners for Budgeting and Economic Planning and OGP Co-Chair, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake, added that OGP was also in line with the Anambra people egalitarian lives, commitments to humanity, greener society, sustainable lives and development.
Also speaking, the OGP co-chair and Coordinator of Anambra State Civil Society Network, Prince Chris Azor, appreciated the state government for sustaining the project, assuring that the team had learned from it challenges and would sustain engagements with all actors with a view to achieve the objectives of OGP.
On their part, the Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Mr Monday Osasah, urged Anambra State government and non-State actors to report the progresses so far achieved and challenges, as it would enable the committee to rejig and roll over plans to the remaining areas so as to achieve better results.
Other speakers including the Programme Coordinator of Centre LSD, Mr. Lawal Amodu, and Mr Uchenna Arisukwu of the OGP secretariat, advocated for a review of the State OGP action plan, while stressing the strategic roles of State actors , steering committee, thematic working groups and Open Alliance for better implementation of the programme.
Contributing, Mr Joseph Uchendu from the National Orientation Agency, Ananbra State chapter, stressed the needs for the political class to sustain their support to OGP as it according, has an overwhelming impact on the society.