Effective democratic governance promotes sustainable devernment, says Okowa
[FILES] Okowa
Delta State governor and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday, noted that effective democratic governance helps to advance sustainable development.
Okowa disclosed this while declaring open the second quarterly meeting of Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Secretaries to State Government, held at Unity Hall, Government House, Asaba.
He said the theme of the meeting, ‘Democratic governance and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Opportunities in Key Sectors of the Economy’, was apt, as government at all levels strive to strengthen democracy and make the idea real.
Okowa who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah, commended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, for keeping faith with the cause of advancing the forum through continuous engagements with Secretaries to State Government.
He said public service provides incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people and urged them to use their privileged offices to improve standards in their respective states.
He said: “This forum is a very stable platform to share ideas, compare notes on implementation of national and sub-national policies and programmes of government.
“Opportunities in key sectors of the economy must be identified and exploited fully by all tiers of government to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Indeed democratic governance is paramount for the attainment of sustainable development and we must not lose sight of this focus.”
In his remarks, Mustapha explained that the meeting strives to build required synergy between federal and state bureaucracies to enhance harmony and improve relationship between the tiers of government.
Keynote Speaker and former Head of Service of the Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, said to ensure good governance, rule of law, social accountability, transparency and integrity, independence and high moral values must take centre stage.
He charged all leaders to provide direction, maintain order and put the interest of people above self, stressing that anything contrary will be counter-productive.
