SFTAS/OGP conducts capacity building on citizens’ budget

The States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme for Results (P for R ) in collaboration with the Open Government Partnership (OGP) has conducted capacity building workshop on citizens’ budget and participation.

A statement by SFTAS Communication Specialist, Ibrahim Mohammed, said the objective of the workshop which held in Abuja was to improve participants’ understanding of the concept of Citizens’ Budget and Participation in order to further facilitate inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in governance in line with global best practice.

Mohammed said SFTAS programme was established by the federal government of Nigeria with a concessional loan from the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group.

According to the statement, the loan is designed to support states by the federal government through the provision of performance-based grants and technical assistance to implement the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) derived from the Fiscal Sustainability Plan and the OGP commitments aimed at strengthening fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability across all States of the Federation.

The World Bank-Assisted programme seeks to strengthen fiscal management at the state level so as to ensure effective mobilization and utilization of financial resources to the benefit of their citizens in a transparent and sustainable manner thus reducing fiscal risks and encouraging a common set of fiscal behaviors.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the SFTAS, National Programme Coordinator, Mr. Okokon Udo told participants that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning fully supports the citizens’ engagement and participation in the budget process believing that such engagement will increase sense of belonging and ownership, enable greater information sharing and transparency, and engender mutual trust and understanding between the government and the governed.

In his opening remarks, the National Programme Coordinator of Open

Government Partnership (OGP), Mr. Benjamin Okolo disclosed that the OGP

Secretariat is charged with the responsibility of providing technical assistance to the States to increase openness and citizens’ engagement in the budget process.

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