The Enugu state government through the Ministry of Budget and Planning under the leadership of our proactive Governor, His Excellency Hon. Barr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has on Thursday reiterated his commitment towards budget transparency.
In a programme tagged “Nigerian States Transparency Survey Index 2022 South East Zonal Launch” organized by the Civil Resources Development and Documentation (CIRDDOC), Nigeria in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Planning, Enugu; the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Barr. Chris Robert Ozongwu stated that good governance is hinged on the pillars of transparency, participation, predictability and accountability.
Hon. Barr. Ozongwu noted that the survey launch was timely as most States in the zone are on the process of articulating their annual budget thus, it will accelerate the commitment to ensure budget transparency in governance reform process in South East and Nigeria as a whole. He further hinted that upon this, the administration of Governor Mbah is already on the right part to bringing Enugu state to a zero percentage rate in Poverty Headcount Index.
Also at the launch, the Civil Resources Development and Documentation (CIRDDOC), South East Zonal Coordinator; Dr. Cosmos Ohaka noted that the Survey, first of its kind is aimed at investigating budget transparency which is measured by three indices: State Budget Document Availability, State Procurement Index and State Public Participation Index. He noted that from the Survey, Anambra and Enugu states performed better than the rest of the southeast states in terms of budget transparency, however, “there is still need for improvement”, he added.
In a wrap, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Budget and Planning, Mrs. Clara Nwakaego Ezeh commended CIRDDOC for the roles they play in ensuring that budget transparency is maximally achieved in all the 36 states.
Present at the launch were some Members of the Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo State House of Assembly, Permanent Secretaries, Representatives of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Civil Society Organisation, the press among others.
