The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has extolled Edo State Government for embarking on fiscal transparency.
Rev. David Ugolor, ANEEJ Executive Director, gave the commendation on Thursday in Benin during his welcome speech at a two-day workshop for Civil Society Organizations and journalists.
The workshop was funded by the European Union and the British Council as part of the implementation of the “Rule of Law and Antic-Corruption (ROLAC) “programme in Nigeria.
Ugolor said such effort in advancing fiscal transparency through implementation of Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments in Edo State would improve oversight, transparency and accountability in the management of resources.
The executive director said that the move would target corruption prevention measures.
“Recall that Edo State Government signed on to the Open Government Partnership in 2018 and is committed to a transparent, accountable and participatory government.
“The State Action Plan (SAP) has been developed and is currently before the government for approval. In the draft OGP State Action Plan, concrete commitment were proposed for the implementation across five thematic areas.
“These are fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, service delivery and inclusion, access to information and citizen engagement,” he said.
Mr Innocent Edemhanria, ANEEJ Programme Manager, said the state government had a vision to develop a modern and progressive society where every citizen would be empowered with opportunity to live life in its fullness.
According to Edemhanria, the state had launched some laudable initiatives as part of the effort to actualize the vision.
“Worthy of mention is Edo State Open Data Portal Initiative which is official data repository of the state government. This portal makes it possible for the public to access information on government activities undertaken in different MDAs.
“Since its launch, the portal has about 188 data sets obtained from the various MDAs in the state and has received 74,000 page views, 14,000 users and 5,000 users from 140,000 countries.
“Other key initiatives launched with the aim of ensuring an open government include the open contracting data standard portal, Edo State project monitoring system and the Edo internal revenue automation project,” he said.
Mr Imonitie Omokhadion, Benin ROLAC Officer said the workshop was designed to review Edo state OGP State Action Plan (SAP).
Mrs Abiola Daisy, President, Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations in Edo State said the body would intensify efforts to promote integrity and dignity of the state and country at large. (NAN)