Tag: Governor of Edo State

Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has said that economic growth and development can only be attained when state institutions are driven not only by well-defined strategies but also monitored and evaluated through well-thought-out, reliable metrics.

Obaseki said this in Benin City on Monday, at a Workshop on Designing, Building and Sustaining Result-based Monitoring and Evaluation System, organised by the state government in conjunction with Carter Consulting Limited for top civil and public servants in the state.

Condemning the negligent attitude that short-changes the state of project funds, he said that contractors collude with civil or public servants to walk away with billions of naira for jobs poorly done due to “the tradition of people not being diligent.”

He decried what he called a ‘bastard mentality,’ which allows contractors to throw paltry sums of money at officials of government while they walk away with billions of naira after executing poor quality projects.

“When you think about it. It is like a bastard mentality. That is, you are taking your money from your home and giving it to outsiders. At the end of the day, who loses? You make peanuts and the contractor has walked away with billions of naira. That is what I see across the country.”

He maintained that often times, monitoring and evaluation processes are inadequate because they are not informed by policymaking, noting that the workshop would serve to intimate the participants with the primacy of monitoring and evaluation for sustainable project delivery.

According to him, “Over the years, monitoring and evaluation processes have been applied in a manner that did not adequately inform the policymaking. Neither did it address the issue of planning in budgeting as well as projects and programme implementation. In fact, most employees in the civil and public services have a very limited understanding of the essence and value of monitoring and evaluation to the overall development process in the state.”

He argued that some civil servants lack tools, processes and methods required not only to efficiently and effectively monitor and evaluate but also to determine if the interest of the people is being served.

“It is not uncommon when you send out people to go and monitor ongoing government projects, and the people say they are on a witch-hunt. You normally hear things like, let us help the person. So, you are helping your friends or beneficiaries of state contracts at the expense of the people of our state?” He asked.

He continued, “The most embarrassing demonstration of this glaring limitation is that in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), where some form of monitoring takes place, the activities are reduced to periodic onsite visits, without analysis of how the activities are linked to the broader chain of results. You hardly see an M&E framework with clear measurable indicators used in evaluation or a holistic and replicable format for reporting achievements or setbacks.”

He said it is expected that the participants learn the need for MDAs to first think about strategic objectives, why they do what they do, why government sets out on certain initiatives, the impact and implications and why we have opted for certain policy choices.

“It is only when we have done that, can we now have a system where we can measure whether we are making progress in line with the choices we have made and how effectively these initiatives are being implemented,” he stressed.

He added that the workshop is targeted not only at decision-makers but all senior government officials responsible for M&E, noting that it would provide common understanding of M&E in policies, programmes, projects, including monitoring of public financial expenditure in line with the Fiscal Responsibilities Acts.

Speaking on The Context of Change and Project Portfolio Management, Chief Strategist, Carter Consulting, Dr. Adeniyi Onamusi, said it was pertinent for public servants to embed M&E components in their activities, not only to ensure proper project management but also to get value for money and for taxpayers.

According to him, “There is need for Edo State to improve the competence of its workforce as the good intention of the governor is the first step for the creation of value for projects in the state. Monitoring and evaluation of projects must be carried out to benefit the people of the state.”

Read Also: Obaseki to begin construction of 150km of roads

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has charged the newly inaugurated Board of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) to be fair, impartial and objective in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities.

Obaseki gave the charge at the inauguration of the Board at the Government House, in Benin City, Edo State, Thursday.

He said he decided to retain some former members of the board in view of their wealth of experience coupled with the daunting task ahead.

The governor emphasised his administration’s mission to build credible institutions, which are critical to sustaining democratic principles, particularly the conduct of local government elections, on which the democratic structure rest.

“The whole purpose of reforms in democratic tradition is to build institutions that will sustain democracy itself. Local government elections, which happen at the grassroots, are the bases and foundation on which our democratic system rests,” he said.

He added, “As usual, we will like to be the leading light in the country in consolidating our democratic experience. I trust that with the chairman and the calibre of the board members, they will not only do Edo State proud, but will also discharge their responsibilities judiciously”.

Responding on behalf of the board, the Chairman of EDSIEC, Prof. Stanley Orobator, assured the governor that the board would do its best to deliver on its responsibility and make the state proud.

He said the task ahead is challenging, but the board members are committed to deepening the democratic process.

The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki and leaders of Edo-Ijaws Wednesday, committed to peaceful co-existence, agreeing to work together for the economic development of the state.

They said that the recent agitations by groups to set the Edo-Ijaws against their Benin brothers and sisters are the machinations of interest groups out to frustrate economic advancements being recorded in the state.

At the meeting, the Ijaw leaders declared that they have been living peacefully with their Benin brothers for centuries and were ready to deepen the relationship, more so with the planned development of their area by the Godwin Obaseki-led administration.

The governor speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting said “There has been some angry publications in the newspapers and as a government, we have decided to have a conversation with our Ijaw brothers and sisters to understand what is really wrong, from our findings, the publications were sponsored by outsiders.

“The Edo Ijaws have lived here for many years so they understand the customs and traditions of the land.

“I guess some other fellows from outside of the state perceived some threats; have seen the pace at which we were developing the area; to build an ultra-modern port in Gelegele area and those are all developments that suddenly led to the agitations”.

The governor said the Edo government and the Ijaw community have taken a stand that law and order must be maintained in the area to allow for meaningful development.

He said his administration was determined to develop every part of the state and the Gelegele area would not be excluded from the plan.

“They have agreed and accepted that they will work with government and that they will talk to their kinsmen”.

He said the Ijaw community also agreed to support government to tackle security threats in their area.

The governor also assured to construct one of the main roads leading to the community which was abandoned by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) about five years ago.

A leader from Gelegele Community, Hon. Prince Barbs Pawuru, commended the governor for the heart-to-heart meeting with the Ijaw community and expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting.

Pawuru said Ijaw people are peace-loving people and are ready to work with the Edo government to ensure law and order in the community.

“We highlighted the issues and the governor understood them, we are so satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, we are going home to tell our people we should embrace peace, the Ijaw people are peace loving people, we want peace, but there cannot be peace with injustice.

The governor said the Ijaws in Edo are no strangers, we have been here for centuries and we have never had problems, but all of a sudden it came up”, he said.

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the state has put up structures to clear pension arrears accumulated from 1996 to 2000, noting that the migration of public servants to the contributory pension scheme will forestall a repeat of the trend.

Obaseki made this known while inaugurating the Ad-Hoc Committee on Pension Management at the Government House, Benin City, Edo State, on Wednesday, December 20, 2017.

Obaseki said his administration would continue to work to clear pension arrears, adding, “We cannot solve all the problems of pensioners in one day. This problem accumulated for a long time. As a government, we are committed to resolving all pension-related problems.”

He said a critical step the government has undertaken to avert delay in pension payment is to ensure civil servants start documentation for pensions six months to their retirement. He noted that this would ensure immediate payment after retirement from service.

He further said that the inauguration of the committee is in accordance with the provisions contained in section 17 sub-section 3 of the Pension Act, adding “The committee is meant to supervise and ensure effective administration of contributory pension scheme in the public service”.

Obaseki said that Edo State government has begun the implementation of the contributory pension scheme as the first realistic step to end pension problem in the state.

“Edo State Government employees who have more than five years to retirement have joined the contributory pension scheme. The fund for the payment of their pension is in a special account usually with their pension fund administrators. We have also appointed pension fund administrators and custodians who will hold those funds.”

He said Edo State has been rated as one of those states in the country that pay their pension contributions under the contributory pension scheme on time.

“We have mandated that the Pension Bureau office at Ring Road (Ethiope Building) should be refurbished in the first quarter of 2018 to reduce the discomfort of pensioners and make things easy for them”.

Chairman of the Committee, Dannis Juwobor, thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in them as members of the committee promising to do their best and discharge their responsibility effectively.

He said they will deliver on the committee’s mandate which is to ensure smooth operation of the contributory pension scheme.

“We are delighted to note that members of the trade union are represented on this committee and are in position to understand the workings of the committee and enlighten their members to eliminate the fear  by their members and work together to ensure that the mandate of the Bureau is achieved as all pension matters will be handled diligently to the benefit of all stakeholders.”