Gombe stakeholders emphasise public service accountability

Stakeholders at a two-day workshop in Gombe have harped on the need to ensure accountability, integrity, and transparency in public and civil services.

reports that the engagement was organised by Accountability Lab in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation to expand the coast of integrity icons in the state.

Speaking in an interview with , Gender Desk Officer at the Ministry of Justice, Gombe, Barrister Mwalin Abdu said the workshop was geared towards supporting integrity icons in the hub to implement their learnings through training.

Abdu said, “Immediately after the award each year, Accountability Lab trains us (icons) to build our capabilities on issues around integrity and accountability. The workshop was organised to support us in sharing our experiences in most cases and it’s about naming and shaming but Accountability Lab does it to name and fame and so people now understand that it pays to do good.

“People must understand that when you are true to your work, it has a lot of benefits. What Accountability Lab is now doing is to enlarge it such that it shouldn’t be the four of us alone in the region it should be expanded by including civil servants.”

Speaking on her nomination process towards becoming an icon, She disclosed to  that her involvement in the prosecution of gender-based violence cases without accepting inducements paved way for her, adding that “Usually, it comes with challenges some with inducements, others with harassment but I always stand my ground to ensure justice is served. These were part of what some people saw that made them nominate me.”

Also, the Director-General of Gombe Due Process Babayola Isa, while commending the organisers said, “The idea was to bring together civil and public workers in the state to know and understand the processes of accountability, transparency and integrity to ascertain their challenges so that we can address it and know the way forward.

“We hope to instil integrity into them for the benefit of the entire state.”

Isa, who doubles as an integrity icon, said, “We hope that lessons learned will be applied. We are expecting more of this engagement in the state so that a lot of stakeholders will be invited to have the international best practices of service delivery to the state.”

Also, Chief Magistrate Victoria Barnabas, Director High Court of Justice, Jalingo Taraba State, explained that the essence of the workshop was to identify those with high moral standards in their places of work.

She said, “They should know that it pays to be a person of integrity. We should know that Nigeria is ripe for us to effect corrections. We should make sure things are corrected  by doing the right things and that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.”

She commended Accountability Lab for bringing the workshop to Gombe State, saying “Participants are going home with the change mindset, ways of doing things will change. Some don’t know that appreciation after the task is a way of having undue influence, but now, because of this workshop that orientation has been changed not to collect and be contented with what you are doing. You shouldn’t be scared to be focused and do not compromise.”

The Project Officer, Accountability Lab, Shiiwua Mnenga, said “We have two icons here in Gombe State, the workshop was organised around them so that using them we can have more people in the hub as champions of integrity with a view to building a movement that will foster the culture individually. To ensure that the service is rid of acts that lack transparency, that doesn’t add up to quality service delivery.”