Sokoto — The Federal Government has been urged to hasten the completion of the Goronyo Dam and Shagari Earth Dam projects. Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, who was represented by the Deputy Governor Barrister Muktari Shehu Shagari, made the call at the second zonal consultative meeting on inclusive national budgeting held in Sokoto yesterday. Declaring the event open at the Sokoto House of Assembly, the Deputy Governor remarked that the consultative meeting was of high national significance.

He stated that the country cannot achieve the much desired development without popular participation of all stakeholders in national planning and budgeting, hence the need for the meeting. He stressed that the forum was meant to generate awareness among all stakeholders on the need for people centred and development oriented national budget. In his remarks, the chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Iyiola Omisore, represented by his Deputy, Senator Ahmad Mohammad Maccido, noted that the aim of the new initiative on budgeting was to among other things, promote a participatory budget process that would ensure a people oriented budget in Nigeria. The senator stressed that their experience had revealed that participatory or inclusive budgeting had not been a feature of the budgeting process, adding that the National Assembly strongly believed in effective voice in the process was the best strategy for revising the trend.