The Open Government Partnership (OGP) Nigeria has secured a more spacious and convenient office in the heart of Abuja from one of its active partners.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony that was held on Thursday, the National Coordinator of OGP Nigeria, Dr Gloria Ahmed, welcomed partners to the Budget and National Planning Building where the national secretariat had until now operated since its inception in Nigeria.
She further expressed appreciation to the leadership of OGP Nigeria, led by the Co-Chair, State Actors, Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, and members of the secretariat for working assiduously in making the dream a reality.
In his opening remarks, Prince Agba said every partner of OGP had a responsibility to support the initiative, urging other partners to take a clue from active partners.
“I joined the National Coordinator to welcome our partners to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which is an affirmation of the Corporate Affairs Commission’s commitment to the principles of open government in Nigeria and provides OGP Nigeria with a befitting property to be used as an office for its national secretariat.
“This achievement is also part of the recommendations made from the report of the NAP 11 Thematic Working Groups (TWG) progress report for the establishment of office space for the OGP, especially at the National and state levels in MDAs.
“We will ensure that the facility will be put to good use in fostering the institutionalization of openness,” he said.
Agba pledged his unwavering support to the OGP initiative which is set to kick-start its Third National Action Plan (NAP 111).
“We appreciate you for the collaborative partnership as we strive to make the OGP work in Nigeria, in fostering the resolution of accountability, transparency, citizens participation, technological innovation and responsiveness to citizens. I challenge other stakeholders to take a clue of others”, he said.
The OGP is an international multi-stakeholder initiative, centred on implementing developmental deliverables to Nigeria and her citizens through national action plans on various thematic areas.
The Action plans include various reports on issues of commitment, challenges, and recommendations.
In order to achieve the many objectives of the OGP, the Team made several advocacy visits to many MDAs to intimate them of the need to participate fully and efficiently in the last quarter of 2022.
Nigeria joined the global OGP family as its 70th member under President Muhammadu Buhari, as part of efforts to fight corruption in the country.
The NAP 111 of the OGP promised to address key issues that challenged the implementation of the OGP objectives observed in the TWG report in December 2022.
In furtherance to the implementation of the NAP 111, the National Steering Committee made several deliberations, discussions, and ratification, where draft documents were uploaded on the OGP website, to enable citizens’ feedback, with relevant copies sent to MDAs for their review and feedback.
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