FG to adopt citizens’ participatory model in budgeting ― Agba

Minister of State Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has said the Federal Government will soon adopt a citizens’ participatory model in the preparation and implementation of budgets.

Speaking at the 8th National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria as the new Co-chair at the weekend, Agba added that President Buhari is committed to good governance, the building of strong institutions, respect for the rule of law and engendering high levels of public trust.

He reiterated government’s commitment to the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) 2 and strengthening the National Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism to allow for citizens’ feedback on project implementation through the use of appropriate technology as well as involving citizens in the entire budget process through the soon to be adopted participatory model.

Although there were challenges in the implementation process NAP 1, Agba expressed “confidence that we will work out an implantation process that will produce desirable results for citizens in the shortest possible time.”

He further reiterated the ministry’s preparedness towards reforming government to be more responsive, to the aspirations of Nigerians as it affects the open Government Partnership.

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Earlier in his opening remarks, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami who relinquished the co-chair (State Actors) position said the government has recorded remarkable achievements on National Acton Plan 1, in the areas of open budget publication and Bureau of Public Procurement Portal.

Malami who was represented by Special Assistant to the President on Financial Crimes, Barr Biodun Aikomu said OGP has enabled citizens to have more access to information and improved the transparency of the present government.

Malami said the OGP contributed to the government drive for transparency in the areas of open budget, open contracting, extractive industry, tax transparency, access to information and citizens’ engagement in governance processes as well as the reformation of the Bureau of Public Service.

“The Budget Office of the Federation in line with global best practices and Open Budget Survey Index developed the citizens iMonitor portal which enables citizens across the country to access budget information in real-time to monitor projects while encouraging proactive feedback to the government,” he said.