Udoma ticks off aid transition work group

BUDGET and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, on Thursday, inaugurated the Technical Working Group for the Nigeria Aid Transition Plan (TWG-NATIP).

The group has the mandate to develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing the funding gap that may arise with the scaling down of development partner funding to Nigeria.

He said the initiative was to drive home the fact that effective planning is the bedrock of government’s developmental strategy and be pro-active in the face of emerging challenges.

He drew attention to the fact that the country’s relationship with international development partners is evolving because of the graduation of the nation to a middle-income country, with the implication of the country being at risk of losing access to some concessionary funding windows.

“The funding gap created by the withdrawal of donor funding to critical programmes of government would, therefore, require additional government expenditure to cover the shortfall. In view of the potential fiscal and other implications of these changes, including larger debt burden to ensure sustainable development in Nigeria, it is important for us to seek an orderly aid transition,” he explained.

While appreciating the significant amounts development partners have been contributing every year to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, the Minister said Nigeria has to be proactive and plan for how to cover the funding gap that might result following the evolving development.

He commended the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government involved for the work already being carried out to ensure effective management of development assistant programmes in Nigeria and charged the TWG to consolidate on the efforts and develop a comprehensive strategy for addressing the challenge of Aid scaling down in Nigeria.

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Among others, the strategy must recognize efforts already being made by MDAs as well as carry out critical review where there is none; including reviewing all development partner funding arrangements and recommending a credible and realistic path towards ensuring a smooth graduation from those under transition, the Minister stated.

He added that the strategy would serve a dual purpose with the inclusion of a credible decision framework for mainstreaming affected programmes into the budget. “It would also serve as a medium to make a case for delay in aid transition where feasible.”

The TWG-NATP which is chaired by the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, will report to the Budget and Planning Minister and be responsible for documenting an overview of the development partner network in Nigeria identifying all development partner-assisted programmes with a focus on key sectors such as education, health, social development and agriculture;

Prepare an analysis of the potential impact of the withdrawal of critical development partner funding on socioeconomic outcomes and fiscal indicators;

Make a case for the delayed transition from development partner programmes utilizing the analysis in (b) and other compelling information; and

Prepare an Aid Transition Plan for Nigeria.

Members of the TWG are drawn from the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Debt Management Office (DMO).

The Minister stressed that to accomplish the objectives of NATP, each member must act as a representative of their respective MDA and participate in the relevant activities designed to achieve the objectives of the Plan.