The Adamawa State Planning Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations Fund Agency (UNFPA), conducted two days of training for officers of monitoring and evaluation in the twenty-one local governments of Adamawa. The event took place in the Tannel Hotel and Resort Jimeta Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Monitoring and evaluation play a pivotal role in ensuring the success and impact of government initiatives and projects. The Adamawa State government, through the Planning Commission, recognizes the significance of equipping its local government area staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively monitor and evaluate programs and projects in their jurisdictions. In her keynote address, the executive chairman of the Adamawa State Planning Commission, Dr. Mary Paninga, said the aim of the training is to enhance the understanding of monitoring and evaluation concepts and principles, equip participants with the necessary skills, and improve participants’ ability to collect data for effective decision-making. To build the capacity of local government area staff, to contribute to evidence-based policy formulation and program improvement, and to promote a culture of accountability and transparency within local government authorities in Adamawa State. Dr. Paninga further explained that the Adamawa State technological HUB (Citizen Eyes and Ears) performs evidence-based assessments on projects and programs of the government and aligns with the state development plan, which is part of the state’s commitment to open government partnership principles. The chairman explains that the monitoring and evaluation unit of the commission is responsible for harvesting feedback from citizens on government projects and programmes as it relates to result delivery and value for money to improve fiscal planning for sustainable development. She further explained that the Adamawa state government is keen on a new chapter in its pursuit for transparency, accountability, and value for money to achieve the needed goals for rapid development in Adamawa state, hence the establishment of the monitoring and evaluation HUB (Eyes and Ears) to ensure an effective approach in measuring key performance indicators and an evaluation instrument for tracking and determining projects, programs, and policy implementation on state investments to achieve cost-effective measures, thereby realizing the long-term vision and result delivery of all projects and program implementations in the state. Also, in their separate good will messages, the special adviser on monitoring, Hon. Augustine James, and the special adviser to the governor on planning and statistics, Hon. Murbuge Abraham, called on participants to key in to the all-inclusive government of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri by monitoring projects within their local government area, as no one is left behind and nothing is left untouched in the state.
Mr. Umaru Yahaya, a consultant from iMMAP, took the participants through the technical sessions on:
- Introduction to M&E with reference to state projects
- Data collection form development & quality assurance
- Designing and developing the Kobo Collect tool for data collection
