President Muhammadu Buhari has signed an Executive Order to institutionalize the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria and ensure its continuity beyond the present Administration, the Federal Government has said.
Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Chief of Staff to the President, disclosed this in a letter dated February 27, 2023 and addressed to Mr. Sanjay Pradhan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the multilateral initiative of 76 countries, 106 local governments and thousands of civil society organizations that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Prof. Gambari transmitted to the OGP CEO, under cover of the letter, Nigeria’s Third OGP National Action Plan (NAP III), to be implemented from 2023 to 2024, which he said had been approved by President Buhari.
He said: “In our drive to ensure continuity of OGP implementation in Nigeria, His Excellency, Mr. President has signed an executive order instituting OGP in the country, this will also ensure that the incoming government following this administration prioritizes the implementation of this very important document.”
Prof. Gambari explained in the letter that Nigeria’s NAP III was developed in close collaboration with citizens, who influenced and determined its priority commitments and content, describing it as a response to citizens’ demand for open governance operationalization, and therefore an answer to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.
Saying that the submission of NAP III underscores Nigeria’s commitment to OGP’s goals of transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in the governance process, he expressed hope that the plan would further accentuate the global OGP commitment towards national development and progress.
According to him, the document would build on successes made in the previous NAPs and deepen reforms in the governance process in Nigeria.
Prof. Gambari noted that the plan outlines 13 commitments in seven thematic areas including fiscal transparency, extractive transparency, environment and climate change, governance, access to information, improved service delivery, and civic participation.
Under the Fiscal Transparency thematic area, the Plan has the following commitments:
- To ensure more effective citizens’ participation across the entire budget cycle.
- To ensure an effective and participatory audit that completes the budget cycle and enhances transparency and accountability
- Full Operationalization of Open Contracting and Effective Deployment and Use of Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS)
Under the Extractive Transparency thematic area, it has the following commitments:
- Public disclosure of extractive sector contracts, licenses, permits, payment to government and revenue stream to improve transparency, fiscal terms and positively impact public finances
- Sustain implementation of the Petroleum Industries Act (PIA)
- Under the Access to Information thematic area, the Plan has the following commitments:
- Effective Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act by Public Institutions.
- Improve the ability of persons including disadvantaged groups such as women, persons with special needs, illiterate persons and youths to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information of interest or relevance to them.
Under Environment and Climate change, it has the following commitment:
- Strengthening the implementation of the Climate Change Act 2021
Under Governance, the Plan has the following commitment:
- To establish a public register of Beneficial Owners of Corporate Entities in line with Beneficial Ownership Data Standard
- Under Improved Service Delivery, it has the following commitments:
- Institutionalization of SERVICOM operations using legal, legislative or Executive Instrument
- To synergize and co-ordinate technology-based citizens’ feedback on programmes and projects to improve service delivery.
Under Civic Participation and Inclusion, the Plan has the following commitments:
- To sustain and improve the Permanent Dialogue Mechanism for citizens’ engagement and feedback on governance and service delivery.
- To create the space for citizens and citizen organizations, human right defenders and the media to thrive, express themselves and participate in the different stages of the policy making process without fear or intimidation.
Download the OGP Nigeria Third National Action Plan.
