FG, Progressives Governors Forum Holds Parley on Service Delivery in Jos

By Jide Afolabi, Jos

Governors under the aegis of the Progressives Governor’s Forum on Wednesday held its 3rd Federal Government and Progressives Governor’s Forum Parley on policy synergy in Jos, the Plateau State capital today, Monday.

The theme for the event was “Strengthening Public Service Delivery” with a specific focus on Security, Revenue, Universal Basic Education and Health.

The President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha declared the programme opened.

Buhari urged the Governor’s under the forum to be people oriented and support the fight against corruption in their various states.

The Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu in his address commended President Buhari for allowing the various organs of government to function effectively and independently.

He acknowledged the efforts of the Federal government in the area of security, social investment programmes and economy which he said it is growing.

Earlier, the Plateau State Governor who hosted the event, Governor Simon Bako Lalong in his welcoming address urged his colleagues to be committed in their vision of providing accountable, responsible and responsive leadership to the citizens.

He added that the focus was to strengthen public service delivery in APC States and the nation at large.

Lalong reminded the governors of the last parley which took place in Kebbi State on August 1, 2017 with the theme “Policy Synergy to Ensure Development” which focused on Finance, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Agriculture, Education and Social Investment.

He said, “Your Excellencies, as Governors under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC), we are fully committed to our vision of providing accountable, responsible and responsive leadership to our citizens.

“This is in line with the promises we made while seeking votes from the electorates and the oath of office that we took to serve our people.

“We are also not unaware of the torrents of expectations from the people we were elected to serve despite the financial challenges confronting our States.

“The onus is therefore on us, to justify why we were chosen from among millions of Nigerians by devising ingenious ways of meeting the expectations of the public.

“This underscores the relevance of our meeting here today as we synergize to explore what we can do together, what we can share with each other and areas we can collaborate with one another particularly the Federal Government that has partnered with us all the way.”

He concluded that the parley was apt as “it affords us the opportunity of discussing some of our efforts through agencies such as the Plateau Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Plateau Health Insurance Scheme, Plateau Disability Rights Commission, Plateau Peace Building Agency, ICT Development Agency as well as Plateau Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency.”

While speaking, the National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole who described Governor Lalong as “Mr Alert and Mr Peace” urged the progressives governors to work with the party. He commended President Buhari on the closure of Nigerian borders saying that our neighboring countries must respect fair trade. He urged the progressive governors to lead the way in the payment of the new minimum wage and the consequential adjustments.

There was technical session which included the Federal Governemnt’s briefing experiences and perspectives from APC states.

On the panel were Governors Kayode Fayemi, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Godwin Obaseki, Abdullahi Sule, and Abubakar Sani Bello.

Others were Minister for Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, State Minister for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora and State Minister for Education.

The Plateau State Governor, Rt Hon Simon Bako Lalong presented the emerging issues and way forward.

In attendance were governors of Kebbi, Ekiti, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger, Edo, Jigawa, and Plateau states. Others were Deputy Governors of Kano and Kogi while other APC governors sent representatives.