ABUJA – (Federal Ministry of Justice Report) – The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami has said that the fight against corruption using the Open Government Partnership (OGP) platform is one of the efforts that the Government is making to enthrone accountability and national prosperity.
Abubakar Malami made this statement at the 6th Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Steering Committee Meeting which held in Abuja recently. He described the process as a journey that will take the executors from transparency and openness to national prosperity, explaining that the road may be bumpy and rough, and the executors may sometimes stumble and make mistakes, but they will get to their destination of shared prosperity if they do not relent.
The Minister of Justice represented at the occasion by the Director of Budget and National Planning in the Ministry, who is the Incoming Co-chair of OGP Nigeria, Ann Nzegwu (Dr) noted that the membership of OGP continues to affirm Government’s efforts to deepen institutional reform and strengthen the measures in the fight against corruption.
“Taking a look at the agenda of this meeting, every item is important as Nigeria is about to end this first circle with the Government. The review of the second circle is in progress and Nigeria will meet the stipulated time for the submission of the new plan to the International OGP Secretariat,” she said.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed in his opening remarks notified the National Steering Committee(NSC) members about Government’s plan to refocus on the e-Government agenda for Nigeria through a holistic and citizen-centric development of ICT in Governance, rather than the erstwhile individualistic approach. He stressed the need for a continuous collaboration between the Ministry and the OGP National Secretariat towards actualizing the plan.
While urging the members of NSC to pay a visit to the e-Government facility, he menltioned that the OGP would have been sustained, even if there were to be a change in Government by May 29, 2019. He emphasized that the international body and more states have keyed in, adding to the sustainability of the OGP.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda and Co-Chair of NSC, Edetaen Ojo in his remarks informed that the Secretariat of the OGP Nigeria is undergoing a re-structuring to enable it respond more effectively and efficiently to the current needs of OGP Nigeria. Ojo further indicated that the initiative is growing and many states are coming on board with a lot of activities being planned to engage governance at the sub-national level.
According to him, the OGP’s symbol of Governance reform is based on the principles of transparency, accountability and citizen participation. He continued that the Secretariat which is the engine – room of the initiative must itself embody and reflect these principles and be able to meet the information needs of its diverse stakeholders as well as be responsive to their various interests.
Edetaen reiterated that the Secretariat in its present state, simply cannot cope with the demands of the new reality. Adding, it lacks the staff capacity and many of its procedures and mechanisms are still being developed with aspects of their operations in urgent need of attention.
Explaining further, the Media Rights Director hinted that the National Steering Committee would also be experiencing a transition in the course of the year, allaying that new co-chairs would take over the affairs of OGP Nigeria sometime in June 2019. He implied that how the process is managed can also have an impact on the fortune of the OGP in Nigeria.
In her remarks, the representative of the State Actors Co-Chair, Anne Nzegwu (Dr) disclosed that Nigeria has experienced significant challenges and laudable changes since the implementation of the first circle on the National Action Plan (NAP). She later urged everyone to continue in their efforts to uphold the integrity of the nation.
