The State2State project in Adamawa is working at strengthening government systems on accountability, transparency and effective management of public funds.  

The project facilitated by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is part of the national public procurement component of the Nigeria State Accountability, Transparency, and Effectiveness (State2State) to strengthen governance structures in six states of Adamawa, Gombe, Sokoto, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom.  

In Adamawa State, CSJ organised a capacity building training for more than forty civil society organisations (CSOs) on best practices in public sector procurement. 

State2State is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI). 

The team leader, USAID/State2state activity for Adamawa State, Machill Maxwell said intervention under the USAID state accountability transparency and effectiveness programme is designed to strengthen governance systems in the six states. 

Maxwell said “This project is essentially for states government of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom and Sokoto, to strengthen, their governance systems, particularly, in the areas of public financial management so that once that is gotten right we would see that translate into, better service delivery, in basic education; WASH and primary healthcare.” 

“We are providing you CSOs with the capacity not just to think like laymen but like professionals in the field of procurement when engaging the government for accountability purposes. 

“The State2State programme is not just focused on procurement only but is focused on improving accountability, transparency and effectiveness in the Nigerian Government,” Maxwell added.  

The Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere said that governments all over the world use public procurement policy and implementation mechanisms to address a number of issues including budget implementation, service delivery, social, economic, environmental, human rights and developmental concerns. 

“It can be stated as a basic aphorism that the level of economic growth and development in any society is directly related and proportional to the maturity of its procurement policy and how the policy responds to the challenges facing the society,” he added.  

The training included paper presentations, speeches from government officials and question and answer sessions after which participants were divided into groups of four to provide answers to various case study questions.