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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in Abuja called for accountability and good governance in the public sector.

Mr. Jonathan,
represented by the Minister of Interior, Emmanuel Iheanacho at the
opening of the Regional Conference of Commonwealth Association for
Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), said without good
governance, there could neither be accountability nor trust in
democratic governance.

“In the same
vein, there can be no good government without good public sector
institutions with a critical mass of public servants who are
irrevocably committed to the promotion of the common good.

“Accountability
is also an embedded process of good governance within an agreed
framework for holding someone or institution responsible for the
delivery of anticipated results or outcomes,’’ he said.

The president said
global challenges could be effectively resolved through a regime of
good governance across nations, with enabling institutions in each
country.

“It is therefore
incumbent on us all as leaders in various spheres of our national life,
to take effective steps to improve the quality of public administration
and management in order to ensure substantial improvements in the
quality of livelihood in our respective countries,’ he said.

Speaking at the
event, the Head of Service of the federation, Stephen Oronsaye, said
public service in the 21st century should achieve relevance in
delivering the dividends of democracy to its citizens.

Mr. Oronsaye said
that globally, low ethical standards in the business of governance,
whether in public or private sector, had led to a degree of mistrust of
those saddled with the responsibility of leading.

“In Africa, like
in other parts of the world, efforts are now on to regain the long lost
trust that the citizenry had in their leaders, particularly the
political class.

“The public
service, on its part, must also mobilise required policy intelligence
to ensure that it earns the trust of the citizenry and aid state to
record quick wins in war against poverty and disease.”

Earlier, the
Chairman of the Conference, Amal Pepple, said institutions such as the
public service had to function efficiently and effectively.

“It is in this regard that we are gathered here, over the next
three days, to continue our shared journey on good governance,
accountability and trust as essential pillars of building more capable
states in the Commonwealth,” she said.