The World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the European Union and other infrastructure providers on Monday aligned for aid effectiveness for Delta State.
This was to fulfil the importance of a Donor Development Partnership Policy as demanded by the 2005 Paris Declaration and 2008 Accra Agenda for Action on ownership, alignment, harmonization, mutual, accountability and managing for results.
Describing the state as their “prime partner in Nigeria”, they hailed the state for being “a true reflection of what development means”.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, who wooed them to the state to provide schools, health, water and other donor infrastructure, said a new course would be charted for holistic strategy by conceptualizing the brand identity: ‘Delta Beyond Oil.’
Speaking during the state’s Donor Partnership Forum in Asaba on Monday, the Governor, represented by his Commissioner for Finance and Coordinating Commissioner for Economic Planning, Chief Kenneth Okpara, said the state was determined to quell the effects of militancy in the Niger Delta.
Uduaghan maintained that enabling environment for effective project planning and management has been provided.
The governor said although the challenges of insecurity, poor education, health infrastructure and services, poor road networks, unemployment, corruption and poverty, especially in rural communities, have been ameliorated subtantially, there was the need to invest massively in infrastructure.
According to him, the state had since embarked on a self evaluation process to increase accountability in governance.
He said: “The Delta State Economic Dashboard is a traffic-like methodology where we look at all the sectors, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies and subject them to a rigorous level of scrutiny and come out periodically with a result on their performance.”
He recalled the large scale recruitment of unemployed youths through government efforts and collaboration with the World Bank under the SEEFOR project where over 1,500 youths were engaged.
He said the recently completed Multi-Purpose Youth Empowerment Centre at Egbokodo, being run with the support from UNDP, but managed by Delta State and the United Nations Office for Project Services, has provided tuition free skill based residential training to youths of the state.
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