The BusinessDay Good Governance Awards, which held Wednesday in Lagos, have thrown up a huge challenge to public officers on the need to put the people first in their service mandates. The exciting event had 13 state governors honoured for their sterling performances in different areas of government business.
The governors, who were selected based on careful study of their efforts at providing the democracy dividends in their individual domains, pledged to up the scale.
The event, which held at the prestigious Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, was attended by Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, governors of Osun, Rivers, and Gombe States, respectively. Also in attendance were various categories of other senior political officeholders ranging from secretaries to state governments, commissioners, special advisers, local government chairmen, among others representing their principals.
Receiving the ‘State with Most Improved Security’ award on behalf of Theodore Orji, governor, Abia State, his deputy, Emeka Ananaba, said he would have been surprised if his state did not win the award.
“No other state is more qualified to win this award than Abia State. If you come to Abia today, everybody sleeps with his/her eyes closed,” he said.
In his welcome address, Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay, said the award was instituted to recognise governors whose administrations had positively impacted the lives of the natives of their states, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and provision of dividends of democracy.
“We have been very particular in focusing on how the state governments are faring in the areas of investment flow into their states and how they are managing that flow to the benefit of the people in their states. It is very easy for anybody to think that nothing is happening outside his/her own state, but I stand here this evening to say it is not so. A lot is happening in the states across the country,” Aigbogun said.
He added that the award was to “celebrate these hardworking governors whose efforts at developing their states are contributing to the growth of the national economy”, saying the awards would deepen peer review mechanism and inspire competitiveness among the states.
He also said the awards were a by-product of the State of States Report produced by BusinessDay Research and Intelligent Unit (BRIU) and “an extensive tour of states across the nation by BusinessDay editors, research team and correspondents, and submission of entries by states”.
Introducing the award categories, Phillip Isakpa, editor, BusinessDay, said the awards were being presented because of the strong belief BusinessDay has, and its understanding of what democracy is all about, that “people who go into politics must provide the dividend of democracy to justify their being there”.
He further explained that as a business newspaper, BusinessDay understands that economy is at the core of politics as a business.
Isakpa further said that rankings were based on what was found on ground in the states and the impacts state governments have made to improve the lives of their people.
In their responses after receiving the awards, the state governors (present and representatives of those absent) said the awards indeed reflected the true position of things in their individual states. Some of them also said they were not even aware when the BusinessDay team visited their states for the assessment.
While Rivers State won ‘Best Governor in Education’, Abia and Anambra States clinched the ‘Best Governor in Health Development’ award. Kwara and Sokoto States were adjudged winners of ‘Best Governor in Agriculture’, while Cross River State walked away with ‘Best Governor in Tourism’. Lagos State won the ‘Excellence in Governance Award’, while Edo State went home with the ‘Best Governor in Transparency’.
Osun State smiled home with the ‘Best Governor in Urban and Rural Development’. Abia State was considered the ‘State with the Most Improved Security’, while ‘Best Governor in ICT’ award went to Cross River State.
Awards were also presented to Ogun State as ‘Fastest Growing State Economy’, while Kano and Enugu States tied as ‘Best Governor in Housing Development’. For ‘Ease of Doing Business’, Gombe State smiled home with an award; and Delta State won the ‘Best State in Youth and Sports Development’.
By: Zebulon Agomuo
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