A large portion of development work is focused on change; change in context, change in operations, change in behaviour. These changes don’t happen overnight, and in some cases, it can take a while to see results. But even small, incremental adjustments can be important early signs that positive change is happening.
In this series called “Stories of Change,” we share some examples of early indicators of change.
Who was there?
The Chairman of the Governor’s Forum and members of the Forum were present. The Ministry of Power was also represented, as were 15 different Nigerian states.
Also present were Heads of Agencies, Directors General, and Senior Management from Federal Ministries and Parastatals.
The private sector was also represented as were International Development Agencies and Development Finance Institutions, (DFIs).
What was discussed?
The event featured keynote addresses, breakaway sessions, and facilitated panel discussions.
It was recognized that:
- not all states were in the same position to take advantage of opportunities.
- the opportunities were not for replicating existing structures and processes nor for building empires
- states should create an enabling environment to attract investment
- the aim is to expand electricity access for unserved and underserved citizens.
What was the Roundtable?
The recently legislated Electricity Act allows states to generate, transmit, and distribute their own electricity. The roundtable discussions gave states an opportunity to discuss ways to improve energy access for their citizens.
What are the next steps?
As part of the process to ensure a smooth transition stakeholders will seek opportunities to implement the following actions.
States will look to:
- ensure a high level of political will and commitment to the process
- assess their own operational context and draft a roadmap based on this
- deploy professional expertise
- build capacity
- work together to develop synergies
- consult and engage key stakeholders to enable the Act within their states.
Donors and DFIs will look to:
- scale up support to states to perform these actions, taking the operational context into consideration.
The Nigeria Governors Forum will look to:
- support states to promote orderliness, coherence, and peer learning.
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