South West Development: Ogun Government Advocates Digital Connectivity, Others

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Ogun State Cabinet Secretary Tokunbo Talabi has instructed his counterparts in the South West States to come up with short and long term strategies that will propel the next level of development in the region.

Talabi told Abeokuta Thursday at the 2nd edition of the State Government Secretaries (SSG) Forum.

In a statement made available to reporters on Friday, Talabi added that Southwestern states should adopt a uniform structure of digitization processes, to encourage interconnectivity between member states to avoid the duplication of effort.

Talabi said the latest meeting was an eye-opener on the need for collaboration, cooperation and knowledge sharing among South West states, especially on Cabinet affairs, urging his colleagues to take the opportunity not only to plan but to implement these strategies to enable the region to move forward.

One of the resource persons present at the event, who is from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Professor Tunji Olaopa, speaking on the subject: "The Nigerian State, the Implementation implementation of public policies and the challenge of implementation”, identified the lack of a national ideological framework to understand development as a scourge engendering impactful development initiatives by government at all levels.

Prof. Olaopa posited that to tackle the trends of unfinished business by Southwestern states, the government should have the political will and leadership sophistication that harnesses the best of political intelligence and expertise, channels funds and resources according to technical and rational parameters.

He tasked the South West states to deploy the required smart structures and methods, as well as ensure the recruitment of personnel to achieve a smart mix that would facilitate effective service delivery in the public sector.