Bauchi State House of Assembly has assured that it will devise an evidence-based approach to oversight functions to bring the attention of the Executive to the need to improve and bridge the gaps identified in those areas of concern as it affects human capital development in the State.
This is part of its oversight function, reiterating the resolve to be engaging the Executive arm of the State Government with a view to bringing Government attention to citizens’ needs for human development.
The assertion was made by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Abubakar Y Sulaiman, in an interview with Journalists at the ongoing Two Days Orientation training on oversight roles, organised by Bauchi Field Office of the USAID-funded State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness (State2State) Program.
The Speaker said that the presentations made by USAID implementing partners have revealed disturbing indices, especially in critical sectors of health care services, basic education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and public financial management (PFM).
Hon. Sulaiman said that the gaps and challenges enumerated in those critical areas of human capital development need the involvement of both State and non-state actors to be able to mitigate some of the trends seen in the data presented.
He commended USAID State2State Activity for organising the capacity building orientation meeting, saying that such engagement will not only strengthen collaboration between USAID implementing partners in Bauchi State but would further assist the legislature in amplifying the needs of citizens to appropriate quarters in line with global best practices in governance.
Earlier in a welcome address, Bauchi State Team Lead (STL) of State2State Activity, Mrs Rabi Ekele, said that it was imperative to engage the lawmakers at the commencement of their 10th assembly functions and acquaint them with the activities of USAID State2State and other flagship interventions of USAID.
Rabi Ekele also said that the capacity building orientation meeting would further afford the Assembly members to know the current status of Bauchi State in the critical areas of healthcare service delivery, WASH, Basic Education, and Public Financial Management, which were some of the key areas of focus of State2State activity in Bauchi State.
Rabi Ekele then hoped that the synergy between USAID State2State, other USAID interventions, and the State legislature would entrench citizens’ driven engagements for accountable, transparent, and effective representation.
The Citizens Engagement and Capacity Building Specialist of State2State Activity, Mr Habila Salem, while highlighting some of the objectives of the orientation meeting said it was aimed at enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the participants on key aspects of state legislative oversight and also introducing them to legislative oversight template for an optimal legislative oversight function.
According to Mr Salem, part of the objective also was to build the capacity of the legislators for effective public budget oversight, financial monitoring, project monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
The Citizens Engagement and Capacity Building Specialist noted that the orientation was also aimed at strengthening collaboration among State2State, other USAID Implementing Partners, and the State House of Assembly on ongoing governance reform efforts in the state.
In a goodwill message, the State Director of USAID funded Integrated Health Program (IHP), Dr Siaka Alhassan, said the state health indicators were not encouraging compared to other states in the country, pointing out that the lawmakers have a responsibility to reverse the trend.
Dr Alhassan said without the help of the legislators, the USAID Implementing Partners cannot justify the billions of US dollars pooled from American taxpayers to change the negative narratives in health, education, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) as well as other areas of human interest in the state.
The representative of USAID funded Learn to Read, Abdullahi Abubakar, said the project was working in all the twenty local government areas of Bauchi State with particular emphasis on Primary one and two to ensure they can read and write in their mother tongue.
At the end of the orientation meeting, held at Tahir Guests Palace Hotel Kano, an action point will be developed to pave the way for further engagement with the legislature, USAID State2State, and USAID implementing partners.