joshua
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice ( ANEEJ), has enumerated the achievements it recorded in the implementation of the Civil Society Advocacy to Support Anti-corruption and Rule of Law (CASARN) project which it has been implementing since 2019 as part of the the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme.
Briefing newsmen at a press conference at the ANEEJ head office in Benin City as part of the close out activities of the project, the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor noted that the project recognised the damage corruption has done to Nigeria adding that the present administration has also taken steps to address the menance.
According to him, “the project is expected to lead to; Improved oversight, transparency and accountability in the the management of resources and enhanced civil society public engagement and participation in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“We are glad to inform you that the project has largely achieved the purpose for which it was designed and has thrown up emerging issues that will require follow up actions by civil society organizations and the media.
Listing the achievements of the CASARN project as implemented by ANEEJ, Ugolor said: “in line with the goal and objectives of the project, ANEEJ has implemented a number of activities and has been involved in series of initiatives to advance governance and anti-corruption in Edo State and in Nigeria at large. ANEEJ has trained CSOs and journalists on several issues including Open Governance Partnership (OGP) and its commitments, open contracting, public procurement observation and contract monitoring in Edo State, FOI issues and advocacy, budgeting and budget/project monitoring
“The training on procurement and subsequent engagement with Edo State Public Procurement Agency has exposed CSOs to the reforms going on within the agency and how they can participate to monitor contracts and projects through the use of open contracting portal and the monitor-me portal. A number of CSOs have now been registered to observe public procurement process across Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Edo State through the implementation of the project, and more applications from CSOs are still being considered for registration by the procurement agency.
“ANEEJ has also worked with other stakeholders to develop an Integrity and Accountability Strategy for Edo State which has been validated by stakeholders. An implemention structure and implementation plan has equally been developed. To facilitate civil society Organisation’s involvement in the implementation of the strategy, a CSO monitoring and evaluation framework has been designed. This will support an independent monitoring of the implementation of the framework. It is expected that when this strategy has been finally approved by the Edo State govermenmet, it will contribute significantly to anti-corruption drive and improve CSOs participation in the fight against corruption.”
Ugolor also listed ANEEJ’s evolvement of innovative compliance ranking of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) as one of the achievements of the CASARN project adding that ANEEJ also provided the platform for CSOs to interface with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning on stakeholders’ imput into the 2021 budget proposal and thanked the RoLAC programme team for their support.
“Through the implementation of the CASARN project, ANEEJ has evolved an innovative compliance ranking of federal Ministries, Department and Agencies on the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO). This ranking is the first of its kind in Nigeria and has been acknowledged by the OGP national secretariat, open contracting partnership international, Bureau of Public Procurement, development partners and other key stakeholders.
“During the last post-election OGP stakeholders meeting, ANEEJ provided the platform for CSOs to interface with the Edo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and it was a good opportunity for stakeholders to mobilise ahead of the stakeholders’consultation on the 2021 budget, the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
“I appreciate the ROLAC programme team led by the National Programme Manager, Mr. Danladi Plang, the component managers and the Benin office team whose cooperation during the implementation of the project was wonderful. The funding from the European Union through the British Council was useful in the delivery of key project targets for which we are grateful.”
