Ahead of inauguration, NGF to induct new, returning governors May 15-19

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is set to conduct an induction for incoming and returning governors ahead of the May 29 inauguration.

A statement by the Director, Media and Public Affairs of NGF, Mr Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, and given to Persecondnews, said the induction will hold from May 15 to May 19, 2023.

According to the NGF, the induction programme for the incoming and returning Governors is supported with special tools to usher them into office in a seamless manner and to assist them move away from campaigns to governance.

The statement said: “Traditionally, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces is invited to give the keynote address to the gathering of fovernors including those that are already out of office.

“The occasion accords the governors an opportunity to share experiences and compare notes to further strengthen service delivery to the Nigerian people at the subnational level.

“This year, 2023, the programme is holding at the Banquet Hall of the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja with President Muhammadu Buhari as the Special Guest of Honour. It commences at 8 in the morning.

“Speakers are invited from all over the world from among heads of governments, members of the diplomatic corps, captains of industry and other categories of guests who have accomplished and distinguished history of service to their people to inspire the Governors to hit the ground running.

“On this occasion, the current Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams and two former American Governors, Terry McAuliffe of the State of Virginia and O’Malley Martin Joseph of Maryland are gracing the occasion.

“Perusing their performance resume, O’Malley became renown for reducing crime while McAuliffe focused on healthcare provision and education. Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City, which, if it were a country would have the nineth-largest gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $1.66 trillion, is visiting Africa for the first time, is known to have applied digital methods to fight crime in NYC.”

Also expected to speak at the NGF induction is Prof. Peter Anyang Nyongo, Governor of the Kisumu County in Kenya who transformed Kenya’s hospital fund to a national health insurance fund, reduced poverty and brought Kisumu County to compete in poverty reduction, education and infrastructure with modern cities around the globe.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, the Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa and President William Ruto of Kenya are also expected.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Director General of the World trade Organization, Amina Jane Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and Dr Akinwumi Adeshina of the African Development Bank, bring their experiences to bear on the occasion. They are all slated to speak to the event.

Other speakers include the National Security Adviser, Major-General Mohammed Babagana Monguno, who will be speaking on managing security in the states, with Kaduna Governor, Malam Nasiru el-Rufai, Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba and the DG DSS among others, as panellists.

The statement also indicated that a topic on recruiting your team, vetting, ethics, staffing the Governor’s office and identifying critical skills and capacity will be discussed with Kaduna Gov. El-Rufai as the lead speaker.

“There will also be rich conversations on managing expectations and powering the bureaucracy to accomplish your agenda and balancing political appointees versus the civil service, among many other critical governance toolkits.

“The same induction program will also deal with how to seamlessly ease the outgoing governors to a life after office. The last two days of the week will be occupied by activities of the First Ladies,” it said.