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UNGA: Obaseki, other govs brainstorm sustainable devt in New York
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, alongside his counterparts from Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule and Ogun, Dapo Abiodun, were in the spotlight during a side event at the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) integration, to brainstorm on sustainable development in developing countries.
The session was themed “Bridging the Policy-Planning-Budgeting Gap for Achievement of SDGs.
Edo State, under Governor Obaseki, remains a frontline state in open governance in Nigeria, with budgetary reforms and programmes targeted at achieving sustainable development focused on basic education, healthcare as well as technical and vocational education.
Governor Obaseki is in New York with the Nigerian delegation to the 74th UNGA. The delegation is led by President Muhammadu Buhari and includes state governors, ministers, and captains of industry in Nigeria, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and many others.
Governor Obaseki is parading reforms in open governance in the state, which ensures that the state’s annual budget is made public and available for anyone to access and scrutinise.
The governor’s sustainable development programmes span across healthcare, education, infrastructure development, social welfare, industrialisation, conducive investment climate, job creation, skills development, reintegration of victims of irregular migration, among others.
In healthcare, Obaseki revealed concerted efforts to revamp 200 primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in the state, noting that the pilot phase, involving 20 PHCs across the state, has been completed.
There is also far-reaching reforms in the basic education sub-sector through the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) initiative. Under Edo-BEST, not less than 8,700 teachers have been trained and equipped with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices for improved learning outcomes. This has positively impacted over 150,000 school children in the state in over 234 schools, which are being reconstructed.
More than 7094 computer tablets have been distributed to teachers and headteachers, while 11688 School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) members have also been trained to help in administering and maintaining public education facilities.
