Ganduje, Akeredolu, Wike, others advocate strong public institutions in Nigeria
NAN-H-99
Institutions
By Moji Eniola
Lagos, Aug. 23, 2017 (NAN) Three state governors — Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and Nyesom Wike of Rivers — on Wednesday advocated the building of strong institutions in the country.
They made the call in Lagos at “Governor’s Forum” of the 2017 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) with the theme:“ African Business: Penetrating through Institution Building’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that of the five governors scheduled as panelists at the forum, Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi were absent.
The forum was moderated by Dr Kole Shettima, the Director of the Mac Arthur Foundation.
Akeredolu (SAN), who harped on the need for strong institutions, said strong institutions would outlive bad leaders.
“We have bad leaderships in Africa, institutions in Africa must be strong to the extent that after the departure of leaders, the institutions remain.”
On his part, Wike, who was represented by Mr Emmanuel Aguma (SAN),the Attorney-General of Rivers, stressed the importance of building strong institutions in states and the federal level.
“We need strong institutions; however, the routes in arriving at such strong institutions are different.
“The question is how do we build these strong institutions ? In Nigeria, we have seen elected officers of the Senate and State Houses of Assembly abdicate their responsibilities.
“Part of our problem is how to merge the traditional institutions that are strong with modern institutions,” Wike said.
Kano Gov. Ganduje said there was need for capacity development for those who would operate the institutions.
“The institutions should also have clear-cut goals, templates for rewards and punishments and must be free from interferences by leaders.”
He also called for a strong judiciary as part of efforts to build and defend public institutions.
The moderator, Shettima, had challenged state governors to develop the business sector of their states.
The governor said that commerce had improved tremendously in the states, but called for strong security arrangement to avert disruptions and make the environment safe.
Ganduje said:“We currently generate not less than N2 billion monthly as revenue and we have made it a duty to inform the public about how their taxes are being utilised.
“On agriculture, we have revived the fertiliser plant established by Mohammed Rimi of blessed memory, he was strong but the institution was weak, for over 30 years the institution collapsed.
“We revived the place, bought new machinery, employed staff and we have seen a significant change in the economy.”
Akeredolu said:“It will be uncharitable to deny that my administration did not meet anything on ground when we assumed office.
“We are working on making Ondo State a maritime hub; we have approached the necessary government agencies to make that a reality.
“We look forward to getting a license for a seaport from the Federal Government.
“We are developing liquefied natural gas in the state and we are working on what is called Ondo State Development Agency which is to be a one-stop place for investors.
“We can boast of so many cash crops which can earn us foreign exchange such as cocoa and timber. Our focus is on agriculture and investment.
“A lot of delegates in this conference flew in for the first time from Akure to Lagos, this has encouraged investors to visit Ondo State because we are creating an enabling environment for investors.”
“We have the second largest deposit of bitumen in the world and we will soon start producing what we need from bitumen.
“Ondo State cannot remain a civil service state and expect to grow,”Akeredolu added.
Earlier, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi, also canvassed strong government institutions.
“Our models of strong people in our society are the weakest models that use the machinery of the state for personal interests.
“It is up to civil society and us to stand up to protect the integrity of institutions, lawyers and the NBA have a role as guardians in setting up the institutions,” said the former Central Bank governor. (NAN)
MAE/GOM/DA
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(Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Dele Akinsola)