Imo to partner with Association of Evaluators

Imo Government has promised to partner with the Imo Chapter of Nigerian Association of Evaluators (NAE) to ensure proper planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects in the state.

Mr Anthony Amadi, the Permanent Secretary, Imo State Planning and Economic Development Commission, made the promise when members of the association in the state visited him in his office on Wednesday.Mr Anthony Amadi

Amadi regretted that most governments and business organizations did not appreciate the importance of monitoring and evaluating projects and called for a change of attitude.

He noted that evaluation helps policy makers to focus more on output (result of projects) rather than on input (amount spent on project).

“A lot of people in leadership do not appreciate or understand the importance of monitoring and evaluation.

“Evaluation helps to showcase the result of what you are doing, assess the amount involved, and the impact on the people and input.

“This commission understands the value of monitoring and evaluation and will partner with you,” he said.

Amadi said that the present administration in Imo has been able to assess the impact of its free education through the number of enrolment into the school systems and overall performance of students in external examinations.

He said the commission is involved in the social and economic development of the state as well as in the monitoring, planning and evaluation of social programmes of the state government.

The permanent secretary tasked the association’s chairman on the need for more advocacies for people to appreciate evaluation and monitoring and to sensitize the public to get more people into the field.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Association, Dr Uzodinma Adirieje, said they were in the permanent secretary’s office to introduce the association, and solicit for partnership.

He said the association is ready to work with the government through the ministry to ensure proper monitoring and evaluation of government projects at all levels.