Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan administration’s giant developmental strides have continued to receive recognition and commendation within and outside the shores of the country.
The United Nations and revered cleric, Pastor William Kumuyi, General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church in their separate remarks about the administration, drew uniform conclusion that the Delta State Government was setting the pace in good governance and development in the country.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Daouda Toure in his goodwill message at the preparatory workshop on Delta State Development Performance Assessment, observed with delight the decision of the State Government, the first in the country, to subject its performance in key sectors: health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation for assessment with regard to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the global body.
Toure, who was represented by FAO Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Louise Sethswaelo, noted that monitoring performance and progress of development was one powerful tool which leads to positive transformation and evidence based planning in a state or nation.
“The UN System commends Your Excellency (Uduaghan), for signing up Delta State, for the objective performance assessment of key sectors of agriculture, water and sanitation, education and health, as well as the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“This assessment is an indication of the state’s commitment to the broad ideals of good and accountable governance, democracy, peace and security among others,” he said.
According to him, the assessment would enable the UN and the State Government to determine “what progress has been made, the shortcomings encountered and where to strengthen efforts in the future.”
Pastor Kumuyi, during a courtesy call on the Governor at the weekend, also observed, “I thank the Lord for the great strides of development that I see in the state. As I pass through and came to your capital here, I wondered has it been that long since I came to Delta State because everything has virtually changed.
“As I see the members of your able team especially in education and other areas and I really thanked the Lord and say no wonder such a great thing is being done in this state.
“I believe that as we move on with selfless efforts to be a blessing to all our people in the state, I will not be surprised if this state becomes a model state for the states in the country.
“The Executive Governor, even though looks so simple and unassuming, is a great gift to this state and I thank God for the cooperation of the citizens with the governor.”
Governor Uduaghan speaking at the UN pre-assessment workshop explained, “We have taken the bold and the courageous step to invite the UN to assess us on how far we have done in our human development agenda.
“It is a bold and courageous step because in Nigeria people have different ways of assessing the leadership and people are always ready to condemn.”
Dr. Uduaghan noted that the assessment was not aimed at determining whether the state government passed or failed but to help it evaluate its performance on the key sectors with a view to ascertaining how it has fared and identify areas that needed improvement.
He told the visiting cleric, that his administration through the help of God has recorded modest achievements despite the challenges it had faced.
The governor emphasized that the State was passionate about education and was pursuing a compressive educational programme which is free at the primary and secondary levels, adding that tertiary students are paid bursaries and scholarships, with over 180 students benefitting from the government’s scholarship of N5 million per session for first class graduates to pursue their academic careers up to doctorate degree.
Governor Uduaghan had earlier, during the preparatory workshop for the United Nations assessment of key sectors of the Delta State economy, challenged leaders not to be afraid of allowing independent assessors to take critical look at their activities while in office, noting that such assessments will enable leaders to know their achievements, challenges and areas they can improve on.
According to him, “we have taken a bold and courageous step to invite the United Nations to come and assess us on how far we have gone in our policies and programmes in bringing development to the people.”
“There is the need to assess how far we have gone because this assessment will help us in moving forward in developmental indices,” Governor Uduaghan disclosed, adding: “It will also show us how to achieve desired goals, especially the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”
He described the MDGs as “very key” to the administration’s policies and programmes noting that when achieved, the standard of living of the people would improve drastically.
The Governor used the occasion to state that his greatest legacy was not in the construction of an international airport and infrastructural development but in policies and programmes that impact directly on the people’s life such as the provision of free maternal and child care, free education and empowering the very poor in the society.
He added, “Bringing experts to assess what we have done since 2007 in critical areas of education, water and sanitation, health and agriculture will enable us see our achievements, challenges and prepare us for the post-MDGs years.”
In a welcome address, the Senior Adviser to the Governor on Foreign Relations, Mr. Oma Djebah said, “this workshop is to measure the achievements in the key sectors of the state economy and know the areas to improve on for the transformation of the state.”
