By Femi Mustapha
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the commitment of his administration to judicious use of resources for the benefit of citizens.
He asserted this in his virtual remarks at a three-day event to mark the 2021 Open Government Partnership(OGP) Global Summit.
According to him, Open government is not just about governments becoming transparent, but fundamentally about governments working collaboratively with citizens and citizen groups to tackle shared challenges every day.
He explained that OGP seeks to renew democracy at and beyond the ballot box to deliver stronger results for citizens on an ongoing basis that will lead to Accountability and transparency.
The President said as the Summit maps out reforms that will engage citizens and civil societies in delivering reforms and making governments more open, participatory, and accountable to the grassroots should be their focus.
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) Of Open Government Partnership. (OGP) Sanjay Pradhan said the world today is ravaged by crisis that affected the citizens.
According to him, the crisis is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negative impacts on the health and economy of the world, Climate change crisis, Humanitarian crisis resulting from Disaster and conflicts, and Political Crisis.
He said it is very sad that this Crisis have direct impacts on citizens who are supposed to benefit from good governance.
Welcoming the participants to Republic of Korea, he said the summit with theme “strengthening Civic space and Public Participation, tackling anti-corruption, and promoting inclusive digital innovation” provides an opportunity for representatives of government, Civil Societies, and others to exchange experiences, best practices, and progress on open government initiatives and implementation.
He explained, Open Contacting is a critical part of the wider Open Government movement as highlighted in OGP’s review of government commitment.
In his remarks, Secretary-General Of United Nations António Guterres expressed dismay that Accountability and transparency are been eroded in many Country.
Represented by Mr. Shim Bakayum, he called on Civil Society Organizations to engage with National Institution for the benefit of the citizens.
Similarly, the Director-General of the World Health Organization(WHO)
Tedros Adhanom commended the OGP platform for its push for accountability and transparency.
He however said Covid 19 pandemic affected the economy but assured that his organization will work together with the OGP for a Digital Health world, saying it is vital for a safe World.
