Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim who serves as the State Co-Chair, OGP Nigeria, said this is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cardinal objective of fighting corruption and growing the economy.
The minister who was delivering her opening remarks during the OGP Nigeria Review and Strategy Conference held in Abuja on Thursday, described Nigeria’s journey with the OGP since its inception in the country as a significant progress in enhancing transparency, citizen engagement and good governance.
She said, “The OGP principles have been instrumental in addressing corruption and fostering accountable practices in the country; the successful implementation of OGP initiatives, especially in citizens’ participation, beneficial ownership transparency and freedom of information, highlights the potential for further positive impact.”
The Minister appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for taking open governance ideals and situating them adequately in his 8-point agenda, saying the administration has further demonstrated its support for open governance, transparency, and accountability by re-launching the Citizens Delivery Portal (app.cdcu.gov.ng) to give citizens the opportunity to assess government’s delivery of the 8 priority areas and provide necessary feedback to enhance implementation.
She underscored OGP Nigeria milestones so far to include the institutionalization of OGP principles in Nigeria; approval of Nigeria’s membership of the OGP Global Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group by the former President Muhammadu Buhari as well as establishment of the Nigerian Open Contracting and Procurement Portal (NOCOPPO), where citizens can monitor all government procurement processes in a transparent manner.
She said, “We are currently improving this system to achieve greater effectiveness.”
The Co-Chair, Non-State Actors, Mrs Obialunanma Nnaobi-Ayodele, while delivering her opening remarks, emphasized that the Open Government Partnership is not a stand-alone initiative; it is rather a platform that brings together government’s on-going and future reform initiatives that support transparency, accountability and deepen the rule of law.
She disclosed that a lot of work has been done, and significant improvements in participatory budgeting, company ownership transparency, fiscal transparency reforms at sub-national levels amongst others have been recorded.
She said, “The Nigerian Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) needs to be fully functional to increase openness and transparency in public procurement, citizens still need to be sensitized and their capacity developed to be able to fully engage in the process.
Earlier, the National Coordinator, Dr. Gloria Ahmed who gave the welcome remarks, charged participants to a collective and concerted effort at ensuring that commitments are delivered within the agreed timeline.
She extolled the Non-State and State Actors for galvanizing the needed momentum to drive the process in order to keep OGP Nigeria afloat by championing reforms that have brought Nigeria to limelight.
The conference focused on eight years of OGP implementation in Nigeria and the journey ahead with the objective to review, re-strategize and reposition OGP.