PIND, Edo governor chart path to sustainable development

Foundation for Partnerships in the Niger Delta (PIND) and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State have identified planning and implementation of development frameworks as crucial for sustainable development.

Executive director of PIND, Dara Akala, and the governor made the assertion at the opening of this year’s edition of Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF 2018) in Benin City, Edo State.

NDDF is an annual multi-stakeholder discourse on economic development and policy in the region

Speaking at the event themed ‘Delivering Results: Executing A State-Led Plan’, Akala said that for Niger Delta and indeed Nigeria to develop, planning should take centre stage.

“The NDDF should, therefore, serve as peer-to-peer learning and lesson sharing between government and stakeholders, to enable them deliver on their state-led development roadmaps,” he explained.

Obaseki said that his administration understood the role of planning in development; hence its current effort at institutionalising its development effort for sustainable development.

Represented by his special adviser on Economic Planning, Joseph Eboigbe, the governor noted that the rate of crime in the region was a pointer to that fact that despite the availability of natural resources and development efforts by successive governments, much needed to be done in areas of planning for sustainable development.

Other speakers, including Dr. Seun Akisanya (Director, Economic Planning, Lagos State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning), Dr. Francis Ntamu (Chief Economic Adviser, Rivers State) and Dr. Ali Momoh (Facilitator, National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable) noted that government must take cognisance of the state-led plans vis-à-vis institutional structures, policy mechanism and regulatory reforms.

They urged the government to tie initiatives to incentives and investments that encourage continued adherence to the development plan that galvanises partnership, capacity building and local empowerment.