By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
The Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists (NGIJ) will begin a five-day Governance Assessment Visit (GAV) to Gombe State on Nov. 9.
The exercise will be led by the President of the Guild, Malam Abdulrahman Aliagan, and involve a delegation of experienced investigative journalists from across the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by the National Secretary of the Guild, Mr Rowland Olonishuwa, on Friday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the assessment is part of the Guild’s commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and evidence-based evaluation of governance across Nigeria.
It said the visit would involve an independent and comprehensive assessment of governance performance in Gombe, particularly public service delivery, implementation of government policies and projects, institutional effectiveness and the impact of governance on citizens.
The statement said the delegation would engage relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), government officials, development institutions, civil society organisations, community leaders and residents to obtain first-hand information on the state’s development.
It said the assessment would cover critical sectors, including education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, economic development, employment generation, environmental sustainability, security, local government administration, transparency and accountability.
The team would also examine government interventions in grassroots development, access to essential social services, rural infrastructure, human capital development and the responsiveness of public institutions to citizens’ needs.
It added that particular attention would be given to the relationship between government policies, budgetary provisions, project implementation and measurable outcomes, to determine how public resources translated into tangible development benefits.
The statement quoted Aliagan as describing the visit as one of the Guild’s key mechanisms for strengthening democratic accountability and promoting responsible governance at the subnational level.
He said the assignment was not designed to condemn the government or endorse political narratives but to provide an independent assessment based on verifiable facts, documentary evidence and citizens’ experiences.
Aliagan said the Guild recognised that every government had achievements, challenges and areas requiring improvement, stressing that responsible investigative journalism must examine all three without prejudice.
“Our mission in Gombe is to look beyond official pronouncements and political narratives to establish what is actually happening across critical sectors of governance.
“We want to understand the policies being implemented, examine the projects being executed, assess the quality of public service delivery and determine how these interventions are affecting ordinary citizens.
“Governance assessment is not about looking for faults or celebrating government. It is about establishing facts, identifying progress, interrogating gaps and providing citizens with credible information about how their state is being governed.
“Where government has performed well, we will acknowledge and document such achievements. Where there are gaps, implementation challenges or unmet expectations, we will equally bring them to public attention based on verifiable evidence.
“Our commitment is to truth, fairness, professionalism and the public interest,” Aliagan stated. (NAN)