Bauchi joins open government partnership, inaugurates steering committee

Bauchi State Government has declared that has long before now signed into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in order to enjoy the full portfolio of its processes, capacities and all the benefits attached.

The declaration was made on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barr Ibrahim Kashim Mohammed at the inauguration of the State’s Steering Committee on Open Government Partnership (OGP) with membership drawn from Government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The Secretary to the State Government, while inaugurating the Committee at the new Banquet Hall, Government House, Bauchi said the inauguration of the State Steering Committee is a clear commitment of the present administration towards ensuring that Bauchi State joins other states in the country in the implementation of global best practices relating to OGP thus bringing the citizens closer to the government.

Ibrahim Kashim, who is the State Co-Chairman of the Steering Committee, recalled that Open Government Partnership is an international multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.

According to him, “the Open Government Partnership remains a viable platform for Civil Society Organizations to constructively engage government at all levels on an ongoing, real-time basis, thereby ensuring more responsive governance.

The SSG also noted that the OGP engagements, stand as a strategic sustainability pillar for the World Bank’s SFTAS grants to the states – helping OGP States to become committed to the continuous implementation of the principles of open and transparent governance, as contained in the SFTAS disbursement linked indicators (DLIS) within the OGP co-creation approach and monitored through the independent report mechanism of the global OGP forum.

The SSG stressed that “Specific benefits of formalizing OGP membership for Bauchi State and its citizens include, but are not limited to enabling government and civil society to work together to develop action plans with concrete steps and commitments across a broad range of issues”.

He also said: “The Open Government Partnership is based on the idea that an open government is more accessible, more responsive, and more accountable to citizens, and that improving the relationship between people and their government has long-term, exponential benefits for everyone.”

According to him, “being part of the OGP creates an opportunity for the Government together with the CSOs, Private Sector, the Media, and Citizens to raise the collective ambition and transformative power of the OGP to collectively tackle the biggest societal challenges facing the country at the moment”.

He stressed that the challenges include but are not limited to issues like “poverty, inequality, exclusion, corruption, human rights violations, and poor service delivery.”

Ibrahim Kashim then assured that “OGP offers a platform that allows fairness, equity, and opportunities for citizens in policy-making, including those from marginalized groups, and an ongoing voice in political processes beyond that of voting in elections.”

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Bauchi joins open government partnership, inaugurates steering committee