Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has restated Federal Government’s commitment to the principles of Open Government and Transparency.
He stated this in his closing remarks, on Tuesday, at the public presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Act.
“We shall continue to implement Mr President’s mandate as regards a more transparent and open government, with the aim of publishing and making key relevant documents available to citizens proactively, and to allow for engagements and discourse,” Agba said.
He also stated that the economy suffered a set-back in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions, and slipped into a recession at the end of the third quarter.
“We believe that this will be short-lived, and will likely be a V-shaped recession as we have put measures in place to ensure that we exit the recession as soon as possible.
“The ‘2021 Budget of Recovery and Resilience’ which the Hon. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning has just presented has been carefully put together to ensure we recover swiftly in a resilient manner.
“The 2021 FGN Budget projects real GDP growth of 3.0%.
“As we progress work on the new Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP), we shall continue to ensure effective linkage between the annual budgets and the successor plan.
“The 2021 budget is based on the Economic Sustainability Plan, which is a transit plan between the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 and the successor MTNDP,” he added.
Agba said the public presentation provided breakdown and key highlights of the 2021 FGN Budget and informed the average Nigerian citizen on the content of the 2021 federal government’s budget.
He said it also outlined the key deliverables of the budget, with emphasis on completion of as many ongoing projects as possible.
He called on stakeholders to “visit websites of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to download the budget and take advantage of the opportunities it offers,” adding that it would also help to hold respective government agencies accountable during the course of the implementation of the 2021 Budget.
“I believe that this will not only improve the level of citizens’ participation but also our overall governance outcomes,” Agba said.
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