Groups decry poor allocation for open government partnership in Kogi

By Odimayo Olatunde Fredrick, Kogi

The Initiative for Grassroot Advancement, (INGRA) Nigeria and the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room has called on the Kogi state government to allocate more resources on the commitments for Open Government Partnership, (OGP).

The group made the call on Thursday at a one day dissemination meeting of the Kogi State 2024 budget analysis to the Open Government Partnership, (OGP) organized by the Initiative for Grassroot Advancement in Nigeria, (INGRA) in partnership with Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room in Lokoja.

The Executive Director of INGRA Hamza Aliyu decried the poor resources allocated for the commitments of OGP in Kogi State stressing that, there is need for improvement which is in line with the initiative of OGP aimed at promoting transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.

Explaining reasons why the Kogi State Government should allocate more resources for OGP commitments, Aliyu said ” The main objective of this one day activities is to analyze the 2024 Kogi State revised budget and extract the component that has to do with OGP.

“We feel that we need to extract that aspect of it to bring out this commitments and see if this commitments aligns with the that of the OGP and see how much of that money was budgeted for and how we can be able to track them subsequently using the Kogi State House of Assembly in knowing the expenditures in this commitments areas.

“The OGP has four thematic areas which are fiscal transparency, access to Information, service delivery and extractive Sector Transparency. The five commitments under these thematic areas are to enhance citizens participation in the State budget cycle, strengthen public procurement processes in Kogi State, Improve Citizens Access to Government Held Information and Records.

“Again looking at the comparison between the amount of money that was spent on OGP which has to do with Citizens and their engagement, we are also comparing it with the amount of money that has been spent by the state as a whole and we are saying it is really small again.

“Citizens must be involved in the budget process and must increase the engagement capacity of citizens at all levels. This is a commitment we have seen that we are very happy with”.

In his paper presentation on analysis on the revised 2024 budget of Kogi State, the Chairperson, Kogi NGO- Network (KONGONET) Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina argued that the Kogi state 2024 approved revised budget offers promising signs regarding the state’s commitment to Open Government Partnership plans.

He opined that the allocation of N165,100,000 across key ministries, departments, and agencies (MDA’s) suggests a deliberate move by the Kogi State Government to focus on achieving positive results.

“The Kogi State 2024 approved revised budget indicates a positive step towards increased transparency and citizens participation. Continued efforts towards implementing these initiatives through fund releases and ensuring public access to information will be crucial for Kogi State to fully realize the benefits of OGP members” he stated.

Continuing, he said “A total of N165, 100,000 was budgeted across all the five commitments for the State. For us, we have done the analysis and we have given our own comment that we appreciate the fact that the budget is in line with all the thematic areas and commitments of the Government on OGP. What is left now is release of funds, and implementation”.

He expressed satisfaction with the level the Government has gone with OGP in Kogi State. According to him “This is a learning space for us. We are just starting up. We have not done anything of this nature before. For the State to say look in our reviewed budget, we want to reflect it, we are happy because we have started with a baby step, there is room for improvement.

Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Director, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolutions, (CHRCR) Comrade Idris Miliki lamented that citizens are not privileged to engage in a budget after it has been passed by the State House of Assembly.

He noted that budget is an important component of Government which should not be taken for granted, adding that, the Kogi State House of Assembly has failed to meet up to their expectations in engaging the Non-State actors on oversight function after budget has been passed.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Initiative, (CPI) Eunice Abimbola Agbogun while commending INGRA for the good work they are doing stressed the need for transparency and accountability in governance.

“The need for accountability, transparency, and engaging together is very key either for legislatures, executive or Citizens. I think this is the whole essence of what INGRA has been able to do through this project of letting the Citizens of the State participate in issues around budgeting” she added.

Highpoint of the event is the unveiling of Kogi State commitment to Open Government Partnership, (OGP), a review of the Kogi State 2024 budget approved revised budget, OGP-related budgetary allocations by INGRA and Nigeria Civil Society Room.