BudgIT, a frontline civic-tech organisation leading the advocacy for transparency and accountability in Nigeria, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ondo State Government to improve and support fiscal transparency and responsibility in the state.
BudgIT entered into the pact under its subnational transparency and institutional partnership project across the 36 states of the country.
The MoU signing took place at a Retreat for Political Office Holders and Accounting Officers in which the State Governor, Olurotimi Akeredolu and the Deputy Governor, Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa, were in attendance. The Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu and the State’s Attorney General, signed the MoU on behalf of the Ondo State Government.
During the MoU signing, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), stressed that the state government was committed to ensuring fiscal transparency and accountability in its public finance and related affairs.
BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, reiterated civil society organisation’s commitment to supporting the Ondo State Government through its fiscal transparency process.
According to him, with the involvement of the state government’s technical team, BudgIT will design an Open State portal, which will serve as a repository for the pre-budget statements, executive budget proposals, enacted budgets, audit reports, implementation reports, financial statements and other public documents, for the state government.
In addition, Okeowo promised BudgIT’s support to further strengthen the Ondo State Government’s work on fiscal reforms and the observed gaps for the administration’s success and its “REDEEMED” agenda of improved service delivery, which will ultimately improve revenue generation.
In his comments, BudgIT’s Open Government and Institutional Partnership Lead, Tolutope Agunloye, said: “An open state is a win for both the government and the citizens, as it projects the state positively for investment and development support opportunities. In contrast, citizens enjoy improved service delivery through public participation and constant engagement with the government”.
According to him, BudgIT’s support for the state will also strengthen its monitoring and impact measurement framework through the office of the Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPIMU)
The CSO urges other state governments in Nigeria to subscribe to this initiative as it will effectively raise local and foreign investment channels for economic growth, development, and sustenance.
