SGF Seeks Inclusive Devt Strategy For Local Govts As Segnip Holds 2-Day Summit On LGs

By Gideon Ayodele

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha has called for an inclusive development strategy for local government in the country as a strategic element for achieving inclusive growth in Nigeria.

In an address during the Nigerian Local Government Summit organized by Segnip Promotion Limited in Abuja today, with the theme: ‘’Evolving an Inclusive Growth Model for Sustainable Grassroots Development in Nigeria’’, Mustapha called for building systems that will cater for issues affecting local government in the country.

Mustapha who was represented by Gabriel Aduda described the summit as timely and urged the participant to come up with decisive action plans.

He averred that such plans should encompass promoting an appropriate structural transformation in the context of which intra-and inter sectorial resource flows are driven by productivity differences which will in turn further enhance economic growth and job creation at the grassroots.

In his opening speech, the Chief Executive Officer, Segnip Promotion, Engr. Kayode Adegbayo, said the firm visited the six geo-political zones over the past nine months and observed the wide developmental gaps at the grassroots and which was compounded by an un-inclusive development strategy of the local government areas.

Engr. Adegbayo noted that it ‘’is imperative for government to focus attention on delivering inclusive growth.’’

He stressed the need for an employment-intensive growth process for effective participation of people both in terms of generating growth and benefits from the process.

Adegbayo, however, called on all participant of summit to ‘’effectively participate and contribute to the discussion at the summit as critical and concerned stakeholders in order to achieve good deliverables and provide implementable suggestions for the overall development at the grassroots where majority of Nigerian citizens reside.’’

He added that the ‘’two days summit, shall present a unique platform for addressing the various developmental challenges facing the third tier level of government in Nigeria.’’