By NAN
An NGO, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) on Wednesday in Abuja advocated the active involvement of states and local governments in e-governance.
The centre believes that the involvement of the two tiers of government will help to increase efficiency, transparency and citizens’ participation in governance, especially in procurement processes.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Shittu Jubril, said the rise in digital transformation could positively impact on the monitoring of governments’ activities if properly activated.
He said the NGO would want the National Council on Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council to examine how to govern the country through the e-governance innovation.
“Procurement matters can be discussed by the National Council on Public Procurement and such discussions allowed to percolate to states and to local government councils,’’ he said.
Jubril stressed that it was possible for Nigeria to achieve transparency in governance through e-governance.
He said there was the need for states and local governments to embrace e-governance technology for citizens’ participation in governance, especially at the grassroots level.
“This will go a long way in carrying the citizenry along and limiting unnecessary questions about what government is doing and what it is not doing.
“It will also play major part in checkmating corruption,’’ he said.
He added that Nigeria could only achieve transparency through e-governance technology.
Jubril also told NAN that the NGO had been engaging all tiers of government, the private sector and civil society organisations to promote and advance procurement compliance.
He added that this was with a view to leveraging on technology to enhance transparency in procurement processes.