Osinbajo tasks State Governors to improve well-being of Nigerians

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has urged all the State Governors to assiduously work towards improving the lives of Nigerians who voted them into various elective positions.
Osinbajo who gave the charge at the BusinessDay States Competitiveness and Good Governance Award 2017 held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, also harped on the need for judicious utilisation of resources for good governance.
The Acting President represented by Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser on Poiitcal Matters, who applauded BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun for the initiative, harped on the need to entrench transparency and accountability in governance.
“There is the need for us to work harder to improve the lives of the people who voted us into power and to see our positions as a call to serve and not to be served.
“Let me add here that this is the reason the Federal Government would not relent in the fight against corruption. It is not a fight targeted at anybody; it is a fight against those who will use our commonwealth for self-enrichment.
“It is a fight against those who would, rather than deliver on dividends of democracy choose to deliver public funds into their personal pockets and by so doing worsen the pain of the people who voted them into power.
“Let me reiterate once again that the APC-led Federal Government will work with any State that chooses to commit resources to develop their States and deliver to their people the true and real dividends of democracy.
“I also share with the organizers of the Awards the need for transparency and accountability in governance. As leaders, we must be ready at all times to give account of the activities of our various tiers of Government,” the Acting President urged.
While reflecting on the state of Nigerian economy, Osinbajo emphasised the need for State Governors to demonstrate high sense and quality leadership amidst the lingering economic challenges facing the country.
“The condition of the economy at that time was pathetic as infrastructure was in a bad state; economy remained subject to the vagaries of a single product as only the oil and gas sector was the source of over 80 percent of the nation’s revenues; the export of non-oil goods was fairly non-existent while unemployment was very high. As such the stakes were high.
“Although we have seen some improvement over the years, there is still more work to be done and as such, much is still expected from those of us in leadership. We cannot afford to rest on our oars.
“It is therefore against this backdrop that we can situate the initiative West Africa’s premier financial and business intelligence newspaper, BusinessDay, which has set some quantitative and qualitative metrics to gauge the performances of public officials, in this case, State Governors.
“This clearly must have informed the creation of the annual States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards which has now been running for five years. The prime objective of the project is to engender healthy competition amongst state governments in Nigeria for capital and development so that citizens can get the real dividends of democracy.
“I understand that the quantitative aspects of the awards are anchored by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), while the qualitative aspects involving onsite inspections, interviews, interaction with the people and government officials are carried out by the Award Committee which comprises the editorial team of the newspaper and other distinguished Nigerians,” Osinbajo noted.
While reiterating the position of the present administration towards the fight against corruption, Osinbajo noted that the initiative was not a witch-hunt, rather against those who use the Commonwealth for self aggrandizement.
“Let me add here that this is the reason the Federal Government would not relent in the fight against corruption. It is not a fight targeted at anybody; it is a fight against those who will use our commonwealth for self-enrichment.
“It is a fight against those who would, rather than deliver on dividends of democracy choose to deliver public funds into their personal pockets and by so doing worsen the pain of the people who voted them into power.
“Let me reiterate once again that the APC-led Federal Government will work with any State that chooses to commit resources to develop their States and deliver to their people the true and real dividends of democracy.
“I also share with the organizers of the Awards the need for transparency and accountability in governance. As leaders, we must be ready at all times to give account of the activities of our various tiers of Government.
“We must recognize that our position in Government is transient; it is not a permanent appointment. We must look forward to an exit date and prepare for public scrutiny at the end of our service.
“I am also impressed that the media, particularly BusinessDay has bought into the federal government’s Ease of Doing Business policy and has dedicated an award to it. This is commendable, and I implore other media establishments in the country to take active participation in government policies aimed at developing the economy,” he said.
Credit: BusinessDay