By Joy Salami
The Kogi State Government has commenced a two-day workshop to build the capacity of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officers across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and to develop a statewide Performance Management Plan.
Organised by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, the workshop is aimed at strengthening accountability, improving the use of public resources and ensuring that government programmes deliver measurable results and tangible benefits to the people.
The Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Hon Asiwaju Ashiru Idris, who was represented at the opening ceremony by the Special Adviser II on Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Elijah Evinemi, described the initiative as an important step towards a results-oriented public service.
According to him, the success of government policies and projects should not be measured by the volume of funds allocated or spent, but by the results achieved and their impact on citizens’ lives.
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The Commissioner said an effective M&E system gives the government the tools to track implementation, measure progress against targets, identify gaps and generate credible information for evidence-based decision-making. He added that Kogi State must move from a system that focuses on activities and expenditure to one that prioritises measurable results, value for money and sustainable impact.
On the Performance Management Plan, he explained that the framework would translate the strategic objectives of government institutions into specific, measurable and time-bound commitments, with clear responsibilities, targets and indicators. It would also align government priorities, institutional objectives and annual budgets, and provide a reliable basis for assessing the performance of MDAs.
He called on Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Heads of MDAs to support their M&E Officers, particularly in data generation, record keeping, performance reporting and timely submission of monitoring reports.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Philip Ochu, said the workshop would improve the technical capacity of M&E Officers and strengthen the framework for performance management across government.
He stressed the need for MDAs to hold regular performance reviews and take corrective action on identified gaps, assuring participants that the Ministry would strengthen coordination of monitoring and reporting.
Introducing the workshop, the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation in the Ministry, Mr Bello Joseph, outlined its objectives, which include enhancing participants’ skills in data collection, analysis, validation and performance reporting. He said the training would also equip participants with the tools to develop effective performance management plans and strengthen institutional planning.
The Statistician-General of Kogi State, Mrs Irewole Ayo-Alani, emphasised the importance of credible data to effective monitoring and evaluation. She called for stronger collaboration among government departments on data collection and use, noting that reliable information would help the government assess past interventions and plan better.
She urged participants to approach the training with commitment so that the knowledge acquired translates into better service delivery.
The Chairman of KONGONET, Mallam Hamza Aliyu, who represented the civil society community, commended the Ministry for the initiative. He noted that although Kogi State has a development plan capable of supporting engagements with development partners, the critical task remains translating its objectives into tangible benefits for the people.
He identified inadequate data and weak data management as major obstacles to decision-making and accountability in the State.
The technical sessions were facilitated by the Technical Assistant to the Director-General of the Governance Delivery Unit, Mr Busari Kayode Oyelola. Participants were introduced to the project cycle, results chain, logical framework, SMART objectives and indicators, baselines, targets and the preparation of basic M&E Plans.
The training also examined the causes of project failure at the planning, execution and utilisation stages, including poor data, inadequate stakeholder involvement, political interference, procurement challenges, weak monitoring and poor sustainability practices.
The sessions stressed the need to involve M&E Officers from the planning stage and ensure that interventions respond to the actual needs of communities.
