Nigeria has joined 70 other countries on the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative designed to allow for transparency and accountability in government business.
Dr Joe Abah, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), made this known at a seminar his office organised in collaboration with Right to Know Initiative (R2K), an NGO, on Wednesday in Abuja.
OGP is a multi-stakeholder initiative through which government makes concrete commitment to open government.
He said that it was necessary to hold officials of government accountable for any decisions and actions, adding that Nigeria’s alignment with other countries was for the interest of the nation.
He said that the need for transparency in governance necessitated inspired President Muhammadu Buhari to sign on to the OGP alongside the immediate past UK Prime Minister David Cameron, during the London Anti-corruption Summit in May 2016.
He said that public servants needed to be fully aware of the objectives and essential elements of the OGP.
“An important element of OGP is to help foster public participation, government integrity, freedom of information and public service delivery.
“BPSR considers open government and Freedom of Information (FOI) to be extremely important mechanisms in fighting the scourge of corruption.
“The more open and accountable we are to the public, the more public support that government will receive for its initiatives.
“It is for this reason that we have championed this cause and BPSR was recently rated as the government agency with the most open and transparent procurement system in Nigeria.’’
The director said that the bureau had also complemented the effort of the Ministry of Justice to enlighten the public service on open government initiative.
Abah added that the seminar was timely as it would raise the capacity of public servants on the FOIA.
He said that the OGP was launched in 2011 by eight countries — Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippians, South Africa, UK and the U.S.
He said that between 2012 and 2016, the OGP had expanded to 71 countries including Nigeria.
Abah said that most developed and developing countries in the OGP were able to create National Action Plans for the development of the various countries.
“Fifty per cent of countries using OGP are developing while the other 50 per cent are developed countries. These countries have used the OGP to address their national priorities.
“This also requires us to be more responsible and transparent in any government business.’’
He said that the bureau was partnering with civil society organisations and the media to raise awareness on the need to embrace transparency and accountability in government agencies.
Also speaking, Mr Benjamin Okolo, Head, FOI Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, urged Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to follow the FOIA guidelines.
Okolo said that government agencies should make public records and information more freely available while ensuring openness and transparency.
He, therefore, advised MDAs to build the capacity of their staff to effectively and efficiently implement the provision of the Act.
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