By Gbenga Akingbule
Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has urged the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officials to ensure total disclosure of monies received from different nations and donor organisations targeted at bringing aid to the people of the state.
Gatekeepers News reports that Zulum stated that it will be in the best interest of the state to know the amounts of monies donated before the commencement of programmes and projects by the UNDP, insisting that accountability and ownership must be taken very seriously.
The state governor made the disclosure at the weekend during a press conference in Maiduguri shortly after the commissioning of over 500 houses built by the state government in partnership with UNDP for the resettlement of displaced residents of the Ngarannam community and neighbouring villages that were destroyed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.
According to the Governor, the state government already has a model in place towards addressing the developmental challenges of its people noting that the disclosure of funds received by the UNDP for development programmes in Borno, will assist the state government to outline its priorities with a view to meeting the yearnings and aspiration of the people.
“When the European Union (EU) was mentioning the number of Euros and Dollars that are being donated, what we want the UNDP to do to the people of Borno State is for them to be accountable to us.
“What we want to know is the total amount donated by Netherlands, EU, Sweden and Germany so that we can prioritize our demands,” Zulum said.
Prof Zulum explained that demands must be community driven and stressed that the needs of communities vary from one community to the other.
The Borno state Governor noted that the ideal step to take is when all projects in the state are implemented through a community-driven approach that will give room to ownership and sustainability.
“Our priority will not be the priority of people outside Borno state. The concept of Europe and Africa differs – our model defers.
The Governor however commended the UNDP for its humanitarian interventions in the state but stated that more is expected from the organisation.
The UNDP resident representative in Nigeria, Mohammed Yahaya announced donations received from Germany, Sweden, EU, UK and The Netherlands but stressed that the international community can only support the government in carrying out some of its intervention programmes and projects.
“The emphasis here is that the International community can only support, but what matters on the success of the entire initiative is government ownership and government leadership and that has been provided,” Yahaya said.
