The Honorable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba has re-echoed the transparency of Nigeria’a budget process, maintaining that the recent ranking in the 2021 Open Budget Survey, with an upward movement of 24 points and second highest improvement worldwide, clearly attests to that.
According to him, survey conducted in 120 countries showed that Nigeria has improved the timelines in publishing budget document, improved inclusions in the budget processes, enhanced comprehensive documentation made available to the public, and better institutional oversight roles in the budget process.
The Minister who said this at a Press briefing which held at the Budget and National Planning Building, on Thursday, 28th July, 2022 in Abuja, disclosed that 22 out of the 36 states in Nigeria have published their budgets online.
In his words; “The world bank funded State Fiscal Transparency Accountability And Sustainability (SFTAS) programme for result projects has contributed greatly to improving fiscal transparency at sub-national level. Not only have 22 out of 36 states published their budgets online, citizens are better equipped to engage government officials on fiscal issues.
Agba further stated that public information is now more easily available and accessible through the use of technology and innovations.
“As a core principle of the OGP, state and non-state actors continue to leverage on technology platforms, to improve citizens’ participation in the governance process.
“Apart form having the budget and public procurement information published online, we have recently launched ‘Eyemark’ – an application that uses geo – spatial technology to track physical projects across the country. It is our hope that all citizens contribute to effectively monitor and track government projects in the vicinity.” He said.
Asides members of the press, the meeting also had in attendance the Global Chief Executive Officer, Open Government Partnership, Sanjay Pradhan, OGP Co-Chair, Aidan Eyakuze, OGP National Coordinator, Dr. Gloria Ahmed, the COO, Nigeria Economic Summit Group NESG, Dr. Tayo Aduloju, amongst others.