Yobe partners with Moroccan UCLGA on local council development
Tada Juthan, Maiduguri
The Yobe State Government has partnered with the United Cities and Local Government of Africa (UCLGA) in Rabat, Morocco.
Director General of Press and Media Affairs to the governor, Mohammed Mamman, on Monday in Rabat, Morocco, stated, “The team led by the Secretary to State Government, Baba Malam Wali, had a meeting with the UCLGA secretary general, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, in deliberating on the modalities of funding development projects in the local councils of Yobe State.” Mbassi said that the council projects will be executed through the African Forum for Decentralised Cooperation (FACDI) fund,” stating that FACDI will provide 60 percent of total funding, while the Moroccan government and the benefitting local councils contribute 20% and 10% in kind, including land, respectively.Besides the ratio in funding, Mbassi added that there are windows for the local governments to benefit from the partnership, including the mitigation of climate change, desert encroachment, and the perennial floods. “There are opportunities to source funds from the Green Climate Fund,” he said, noting that it will support the fight against climate change and its devastation on people’s lives and property. The leader of the delegation, Wali, described the high-table discussions as fruitful, stating; “The state government will hasten the registration process, so as to facilitate the projects funding programme. The SSG continued, “We’ll explore the opportunities of capacity building for the local councils’ staff, particularly through the College of Administration Management and Technology (CAMTEC), Potiskum. Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ibrahim Adamu Jajere, also said the Buni administration is committed to changing the narrative in local government administration in Yobe state. He added that the partnership with UCLGA will ensure proactive measures in councils’ administration and development. Jajere assured Mbassi that they will be on the same page in implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the interest of our people,” he said. The Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Muhammad Bello Kawuwa, charged UCLGA to adopt the “train the trainers approach” for wider coverage of the 17 local councils.The Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), who also serves as Chairman of the Damaturu Local Government Council, Bukar Adamu, assured the readiness of the 17 local councils to participate in the MoU.He noted that the partnership with UCLGA will overcome the peculiar challenges facing the local councils in the state.
