As part of efforts to promote transparency in its budgeting processes with a view to blocking leakages, the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with BudgiT Information Technology Network.
This is also in line with its desire to open up its budget to members of the public and provide Nigerians with all the necessary information during its implementation. Managing Director of the authority, Ms. Hadiza Usman, who spoke during the official signing ceremony in Lagos, said that the MoU will assist the NPA in promoting transparency and accountability not in terms of budget implementation but also in all its operational activities.
According to her, the partnership was necessitated by the urgent need to evolve an open budget system platform and implementation of a public data dissemination programme that will help the agency in block leakages in its revenue channels.
While commenting on the competence of its partners, the MD disclosed that BudgiT has achieved similar feats in the areas of socio-technological advocacy towards opening up its budgets to the citizens and the global public for their comprehension and scrutiny.
Available records show that BudgiT commenced operations since 2011. It was also gathered that the MoU would be enable NPA to deliver on its mandate and also create more wealth for the Nigerian nation.
The MoU would in addition enhance the ability of the authority to ensure efficient and effective management of all its 24 terminals across the country as a critical segment of the nation’s economy, with a view to promoting competitiveness of the terminals.
The Managing Director also said that in addition to promoting transparency in public expenditure, the partnership would instill a framework for transparent budget provisions for the authority, allows stakeholders to make inputs, encourages participatory governance by way of feedbacks and creates an enabling environment to encourage foreign investment.
“The collaboration will bring about key researches; ensure that industry policies and innovations are effectively communicated.
It will also ensure that critical data are generated and made accessible for policy makers, private sector actors, stakeholders and the general public”, the MD had also said.
Meanwhile, Lead Partner of BudgiT, Mr. Oluseun Onigbinde, who also spoke at the event, said that the NPA was the first revenue generating government agency to make its budget public and assured that the management of the authority would not regret for keying into the programme.
“The collaboration, apart from promoting probity, transparency and accountability, would also restore the confidence of the government and the public in the management of NPA”, Onigbinde assured.
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