OGP: Buhari’s move boost Nigeria’s budget transparency -Agba

President Muhammadu Buhari’s order on the global Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative, was one of the reasons for the development of the nation’s budgetary processes, the Minister of State, Finance Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, has said.

He said this at a media parley as part of activities marking the global OGP week in Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.

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He also noted that the successes recorded would not have been possible without the efforts of Partnership to Engage, reform and Learn (PERL) of the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

“PERL has consistently supported the development of our NAPs I and II and the implementation. They also have supported in stabilizing the OGP National Secretariat by recruiting the Civil Society Adviser who is providing enormous support to the OGP National Coordinator,” he said.

Speaking on how Nigeria joined the OGP movement “We must reflect on how we started the OGP journey in Nigeria. In 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari took over office, he was very clear and unequivocal in his desire to stamp out corruption and reverse the culture of corruption in Nigeria.

“It was not surprising when at the Anti-Corruption conference in London, he committed Nigeria into the Open Government Declaration and subsequently signed Nigeria into the OGP. Nigeria therefore became the 70th country to join the OGP initiative in 2016.

“Today in Nigeria, the budgetary process is a lot more inclusive, participatory, and accessible that it ever was. All the different stages of the budget process are now participatory, citizens now engage and participate effectively in the budget process,” Agba said.

He said that since joining the OGP, Nigeria has developed two National Actions (NAPs), the first being NAP I, carved around four thematic areas of Fiscal Transparency, Access to Information, Anti-Corruption and Citizens Engagement. NAP contained 14 commitments and operated from January 2017-June 2019.

He said, “NAP II was developed at the expiration of NAP I and contains 16 commitments organized around seven thematic areas of Fiscal Transparency, Access to Information, Anti-Corruption and Citizens Engagement, Extractive Transparency, Inclusion and Diversity and Service Delivery.”

He therefore urged the reaming 15 states of the country to signed into the OGP.

On her part, National Coordinator, OGP Nigeria, Dr Gloria Ahmed, said that NAP two would end in May, as its assessment was ongoing to note the successes and challenges recorded.

The Non-state Actor and Co-chair of OGP, Dr. Tayo Aduloju, said that the fundamental essence of the OGP week was to demonstrate that co-creation works.

He said that when the collective capacity of government, private sector, civil society are mobilized to energize citizens to participate in governance, the transformation could be seen and felt.