Osinbajo calls for interrogation of local governance structure

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has emphasised the need to critically and painstakingly interrogate the existence and functionality of the local governance structure in Nigeria, to strengthen them for better results.

Osinbajo stated this yesterday at the inauguration of the Senior Executive Course 44 themed ‘Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria: Challenges, Options and Opportunities’ at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

According to him, that will bring about a clearly defined structure from bottom to top, eliminate obstructions and guarantee the free flow of communication and interventions from top to bottom, and vice versa.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor, said Nigeria is going through a period of critical developmental transformation but not without challenges.

His words: “Most of the efforts are targeted towards the vulnerable at the grassroots level. They are also mostly the victims of our challenges as a nation. Let me reiterate that this government strongly desires to make life comfortable for all, especially the average Nigerians.”

He argued that such efforts and resources had gone into the provision of security and improving the living conditions of Nigerians with special interventions to diversify the economy.

“The Return on Investment (RoI) still leaves much to desire. There is, therefore, a compelling need to critically and painstakingly interrogate the existence and functionality of the local governance structure in Nigeria, with a view to strengthening them for better results.”

In his address, the Acting Director-General of NIPSS, Brig-Gen. Chukwuemeka Udaya (rtd), assured that the participants would painstakingly interrogate the theme and come up with useable recommendations and implementation strategies.

Udaya, who said selection process of the participants was keenly competitive, added that the number of participants grew from 66 to 90 in line with the strategic Plan 2019-2023.

“Correspondingly, the number of study groups has increased from six to seven. Consequently, the NIPSS would be requiring a modest expansion of facilities to cope with the increasing number of participants as a result of the increased demand for our programme,” he said.

He further enumerated that curriculum for the Senior Executive Course is broad-based, rich, flexible and organised around course modules encompassing subjects such as Leadership, Policy and Strategy; Understanding the Nigerian State; Research Methodology; Strengthening Local Governance in Nigeria, Economic and Management Studies; International Relations; Science, Technology and Innovation; Defence and Security Studies; and Peace and Conflict Studies.

According to him, the resource persons and course facilitators are carefully drawn from among the best within and outside Nigeria to meet the expectations of the course.