By Ezekiel Dontinna – Shendam
Plateau State Government, has, in an effort to provide dividends of democracy at the grassroots, promised to introduce a “Ward Development Initiative Programme” in the 2026 budget across the 17 LGAs of the State.
He State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Adams B. Lekshak, disclosed this yesterday, while delivering his speech at the Town Hall Meeting on Citizen’s Engagement in Budgeting Process for Southern Zone, held in Shendam.
He explained that, the essence of the engagement was to strengthen transparency, accountability, open governance and sustainability in execution of government projects and programmes to gain confidence in the implementation of the budget.
Lekshak, noted that some of the projects and programmes that emanated from 2025 town hall meeting were captured in the budget for MDAs to implement and encouraged citizens to follow up with relevant MDAs, collaborating with elected members to fast track implementation.
“It is also important to inform the citizens that, in an effort to providing dividends of e at the grassroots, the government has introduced a new programme known as; “Ward Development Initiative Programme”.
“The aim is to have the presence of government projects in all the 325 State electoral wards of Plateau State. As a government, we are fully aware of the economic hardship the citizens are passing through and will not relent in our efforts.
“It is another privilege to charge all citizens to support the present administration in its effort to transforming the state across all sectors of the economy”, he highlighted.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget, Hon. Obadiah Joshua Afwanks, said, “we have started seeing roads being constructed. We have already started seeing clean water. We have also seen hospitals being renovated and even constructed.
“This is to say, indeed, the Time Is Now Administration is for the transformation on the plateau. There has never been a time like this. In the 2025 budget, the governor deemed it fit to say yes, the best way for him to pay the people of Plateau State is to pay them through development”, he noted.
Earlier, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Yohanna Mangtu, commended participants for the show of interest in government programmes and encouraged them to support the government by ensuring that peace was achieved in the state.
There were presentation of the 2024 approved budget by the Ministry’s Director of Budget, Mr. Yusuf Bot, questions and answers sessions as well as good will messages from the traditional institution and CSOs respectively.
The Team will be in the Pankshin today for the Central Zone’s Town Hall Meeting Citizens Engagement in Budgeting Process.
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