From Olukayode Idowu
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a $72 million good governance sustaining machinery in Nigerian states.
The programme, a new State Accountability, and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity to strengthen subnational governance systems in six key states of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Gombe and Sokoto with the intention of extending it to other states, will run for five years.
A press release on Wednesday by USAID, said the five-year, $72 million State2State Activity would help improve how these states plan and budget, raise revenues, increase civil society participation, and oversee service delivery in the health; education; and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sectors.
It said: “The activity will begin operations in Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Gombe and Sokoto states and later expand to others.”
It explained that State2State works primarily at the state level, but also supports federal institutions and local government areas by strengthening government processes like public financial management and procurement; monitoring and evaluation related to delivery of services; increasing responsiveness to citizen priorities; and improving capacity to manage societal conflict through prevention, mitigation and reconciliation.
U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Beth Leonard said: “The scale and scope of the State2State activity is a potent symbol of the U.S. government’s commitment to partner with Nigeria to improve governance.”
She added that: “We have made this sizable commitment because we believe dramatic improvements sometimes require considerable resources.”
The State2State promises to increase accountability, transparency, and effectiveness while building on locally derived solutions, including expanding reforms that have proven effective in other parts of the country.
Speaking on the machinery, Ebonyi State Governor, Nweze Umahi, one of three governors who participated at the virtual launching ceremony, said: “There’s no doubt that we need the support of development partners to improve and sustain delivery of critical services”
He said: “State2State has come to Ebonyi at an important time, and I assure you that we will collaborate with this activity to ensure that it succeeds.”
The activity is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI) in partnership with key Nigerian organisations and aimed at capturing m documenting, and sharing best practices, working with partner states to make more information available to citizens and relevant institutions.