By Atlantic Reports

The Enugu State Government has opened consultations with stakeholders on a proposed 25-year development plan intended to guide public investment and development beyond the present administration.

The Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning organised the “Stakeholders’ Engagement and Data Collection Exercise for Enugu State Development Plan” in Enugu on Tuesday.

Participants included traditional and religious leaders, students, women, young people, farmers, labour representatives, academics, business leaders, persons with disabilities and media practitioners.

Their contributions are expected to inform a blueprint covering the state’s development priorities until 2051.

Planning Beyond One Administration

Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning Chris-Roberts Ozongwu described the consultation as a needs assessment designed to give citizens a voice in setting priorities.

“It is not about the government of Peter Mbah but about the people of the state, and that is why people across sectors are here to be heard, make their contributions and, in the end, take ownership of the plan,” he said.

Ozongwu said the plan would cover all sectors of the state’s economy and was intended to serve as a guide for successive governments over the next 25 years.

The exercise is part of developing the plan. It does not establish that a final blueprint has been adopted or that future administrations are bound to implement it.

Integrating Sustainable Development Goals

The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals, Onyinye Akubuilo-Okpalanma, said the consultation would help define the state’s long-term priorities.

She said the United Nations Development Programme and her office supported the exercise to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals were incorporated into the plan.

Akubuilo-Okpalanma expressed confidence that sustained development efforts could make Enugu a reference point for Nigeria and Africa. That remains her projection, rather than an established outcome of the planning process.

Labour Welcomes Participation

Enugu State Nigeria Labour Congress Chairman Fabian Nwigbo welcomed the opportunity for stakeholders to contribute.

He contrasted the exercise with previous approaches in which, he said, government designed plans based on its own assessment of citizens’ needs and then presented them to the public.

“But today, we have the privilege of having a government that wants the people to participate in its activities and contribute to decisions on what it intends to achieve for them,” he said.

His remarks reflect a participant’s assessment of the consultation. The extent of public influence will become clearer when the government explains how submissions shaped the final priorities.

Turning Contributions into Commitments

The account did not specify when the draft plan would be published, how citizens outside the meeting could contribute or what arrangements would support implementation across successive administrations.

It also did not provide proposed funding requirements, measurable targets or a timetable for reviewing progress.

Those details will determine whether the blueprint becomes a practical guide for budgets, infrastructure and public services. For residents, meaningful participation requires both an opportunity to identify needs and a clear account of how those needs translate into decisions.

Atlantic Reports: Voices. People. Facts.