EDO GOVT SUBMITS OGP REPORT – HAILS ANEEJ
Background:
Before the Open Government Partnership (OGP) was successfully launched by the Edo State Government, ANEEJ had been there working. With her Open Niger Delta Project, OPENED, ANEEJ trained members of the Civil Society on the theory and practice of the OGP on the 27th day of September, 2018.
Just two days after that training Civil Society Organizations met, independently of the State Government and chose those to steer OGP activities in Edo state as follows:
| S/NO. | NAME/ORGANIZATION | PROPOSED POSITION |
| 1. | Leo Atakpu-Deputy Executive Director/a representative of Africa Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ). | Co-Chairman |
| 2. | A representative of the Benin Chamber of Commerce. | Member |
| 3. | A representative of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Edo State Branch (Edo NUJ) | Member |
| 4. | A representative of the Nigerian Bar Association, Benin Branch(NBA Benin) | Member |
| 5. | A representative of Conference of Non-Governmental Organization(CONGOS) | Member |
| 6. | A representative of Connected Advocacy. | Member |
On the part of the Edo State Government, the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Yinka Omorogbe, was nominated as co-chair and other members proposed by the State Government as members of the steering committee are:
| S/NO. | NAME | DESIGNATION/MDA | PROPOSED POSITION |
| 1. | Kelvin Uwaibi | SSA on Investment Promotion | Member |
| 2. | Dr. UyiOduwa-Malaka | Principal Private Secretary. | Member |
| 3. | Mr. Henry Idogun | MD/CEO Public Procurement Agency | Member |
| 4. | Mr. Joseph Eboigbe | Special Adviser on Economic and Development Planning | Member |
| 5. | OrobosaOkunbor Esq. | Representative of the Ministry of Justice. | Member |
Prior to its subscription to the OGP, Edo state is known to run an all-inclusive, open and transparent Government. The government did away with certain obnoxious land acquisition practices and proposed an executive bill, the Private Property Protection Bill, which was passed into law in 2017, and which criminalizes those obnoxious land practices. The Edo Government also took steps to pass a law to regulate Lands Administration and other matters connected therewith, in 2018, which has also helped in identifying land ownership, easing the burden of the acquisition of Certificate of Occupancy(C of O) in the State. The Public Procurement Law is operational in the state, helping to ensure that due process is followed in the way government conducts its business.
November 7, 2018, Taiwo Akerele, Edo state Chief of Staff who paid an unscheduled visit to the ANEEJ international headquarters in Benin City summed up ANEEJ involvement with enlisting the Edo state into the OGP Family in a short but loaded statement: ‘ANEEJ, you have done well!’
There are ten tools below which the Edo State OGP will acquire as part of implements it will need to participate actively as an OGP state.
Even though Edo is barely two months into the OGP fold, it looks poised to deliver.