UN Agency honours Mimiko

Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State yesterday received the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award, the most prestigious human settlements award by the United Nations.

The award for achievements and best practices in innovation; housing and slum upgrading; risk reduction and rehabilitation; urban land; legislation and governance; urban basic services and urban research and capacity development, was given at the 6th World Urban Forum at the City of Naples, Italy.

In presenting the award to Mimiko, the organisation said “UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards is given by the United Nations in recognition for work carried out in the field of human settlements development. The aim of the award is to honour individuals and institutions who have been instrumental in improving the living conditions in urban centres around the world.”

The UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr. Joan Clos, and Italy’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Staffani di Mistura, presented the award to Mimiko.

The process for the prestigious award began with the assessment of nominations and submissions followed by verification for conformity with outlined standards in August, 2012.

The verified submissions were then subjected to a five-man jury of experts on human settlements and urban development for selection of the best five winning initiatives.

The jury then makes recommendations to the Executive Director of the UN-Habitat with reasons, who in turns made the final selection for the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards.
The awardees’ initiative must have been seen as impactful, transferable and open to upscaling and must among other things be innovative.

Mimiko’s administration in Ondo State has in the past three years recorded remarkable success in areas such as urban community management and governance, urban waste management and sanitation, market town and intermediate city planning, youth and job creation, housing, and rural development and infrastructure rehabilitation among many achievements related to the UN-Habitat’s theme “Changing Cities, Building Opportunities” for the year 2012.

Mimiko, while addressing the over 8,000 delegates and volunteers from 150 countries, said he is challenged by the honour and encouraged to do those things that will bring satisfaction to both city and rural dwellers in Ondo State.

The governor, who dedicated his award to God and the people of the state, said: “Markets, housing, urban renewal and rural developments are key issues in the development model in Ondo State and we shall not relent in giving them needed focus and attention.”

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