After eight days of intense learning, reflection, and reorientation inside the Hauwa Isah Wali Hall, government house, Minna, one question now sits at the centre of Niger State’s public service conversation is; What comes next?
It is true that the capacity-building retreat for commissioners-designate, special advisers, permanent secretaries, and local government chairmen-elect may have ended, but what it set in motion is only beginning.
The New Niger Vision of Governor Umaru Bago’s blueprint for a modern, accountable and development-driven state, now expects its executors to translate knowledge into action.
During the retreat, participants explored the realities of governance, its demands, the gaps within the system, and the discipline required to run a government that places people at the heart of policy. They signed a social contract committing to transparency, accountability, teamwork, and community engagement.
But beyond the signing and the speeches, the real work lies ahead. The coming weeks will reveal how these leaders will apply what they learned.
Will the permanent secretaries strengthen further the administrative discipline in the governance process?
How will the commissioners align their ministries with strategic priorities set at the retreat?
In what ways will the local government chairmen bring governance closer to the people at their various LGAs?
How will the advisers provide informed, forward-thinking guidance to the various stakeholders in the state?
These and many more questions are what discerning minds need to interrogate as the retreat ends.
Because, the retreat having served as a mirror, showing public officials where they are, and more importantly, where they must now go will only make sense if practical steps are taken to turn the resolutions into actions.
The communique captures a long list of resolutions and recommendations, but their value depends on execution. Among the most urgent next steps are:
Digitising governance processes through ICT deployment and e-procurement.
Boosting internally generated revenue to reduce overdependence on federal allocations.
Empowering Information Units for real-time, transparent reporting and public engagement.
Establishing performance contracts and quarterly reporting systems through Performance & Delivery Units (PDUs).
Strengthening internal controls and oversight bodies to ensure accountability.
Conducting baseline assessments of ongoing projects to eliminate duplication, waste, or unclear mandates.
Activating whistle-blower protection mechanisms to encourage ethical behaviour.
These are not theoretical ideals, they are the building blocks for the efficient, citizen-focused administration Niger State aspires to run.
If the retreat achieved anything remarkable, it is the renewed sense of unity across the leadership spectrum. For the first time in recent years, commissioners, advisers, permanent secretaries and local government executives sat down together to confront the same questions:
What future are we building?
How do we get there together?
This shared understanding is the foundation upon which the next phase of the New Niger Journey will stand.
What comes next after eight days of retreat is clear:
Implementation.
Discipline.
Service.
And results that citizens can see and feel.
The Ministry of Information and Strategy must play a pivotal role here, being the statutory hub of information dissemination across and among the various strata of governance, will have to ensure that public trust is deepened by making sure all policies translate into improved service delivery, faster response to community needs, cleaner governance processes, and development outcomes across every LGA.
The MDAs and LGAs, must as a matter of importance incorporate strategic information dissemination policies for the impact of the retreat to be felt.
The retreat may have concluded today December 11, but in truth, it marks the beginning of a more demanding journey. The real test lies in how the resolutions are applied in offices, communities, meetings, budgets, and everyday decision-making and above all how these decisions get to the people who are the most critical stakeholders.
For the leaders who embraced the eight days of learning, the next phase is simple yet profound:
Turn commitments into governance.
Turn ideas into impact.
Turn the New Niger Vision into the new Niger reality.
And that is what comes next.
Yunusa Abugi is the Director Information in the Niger State Ministry of Information and Strategy.
