Business
Nigeria’s Poor Approach To Budget Worries NGO
Executive Director, Civil Resources Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), an NGO, Mrs Oby Nwankwo, on Sunday, decried poor approach to budget process in the country.
Nwankwo made the observation in Abuja at the West African launch of the 2010 Open Index organised by CIRDDOC and the International Budget Partnership (IBP) Washington DC in collaboration with ECOWAS.
She said that the launch was one of a series projected by the organisation aimed at achieving good governance as well as to seek for enthronement of transparent budget process at all levels in the country.
“The whole focus of the project is on the global assessment level of budget transparency in the 94 countries of which Nigeria is a member and also the group of 93 questions that member country researchers worked with to get information and response.”
“By the end of the day, the team of consultants in Washington will look at the information that we have and allocate marks or grade people according to a set criteria,’’ Nwankwo added.
The CIRDDOC boss said that Nigeria as at 2006 budget survey had scored 19 points out of a hundred while in 2008 budget process Nigeria stepped up to 20 points and stepped down to 18 with the loss of two points.
“It is obvious that Nigeria is not performing well from the way the budget process has been packaged and with the criteria used in arriving at the result,” she said.
She also said that there were minimum standards that a country must comply with in order to make her budget transparent, one of which was that eight of the budget documents must be produced and published.
Nwankwo said that Nigeria produced most of these documents but failed to publish them, saying that it was of no use if produced and left on the shelf.
She further said that another area the country had poorly faired in terms of budget process was the budget audit that was expected to be carried out at the end of every budget year in order to evaluate the impact and inform the citizens of her performance level.
She said that “though reports are audited but are rather kept in offices as official secret act and unless Nigeria meets certain minimum standards it won’t get to the future transparency level’’.
Nwankwo said that with the recommendations made by Transparency International, also an NGO, and CIRDDOC the country’s political will would be developed in order to achieve the budget transparency target.
The facility will be disbursed through participating Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), which will in turn extend the loans to their customers, particularly SMEs, as they directly interface with businesses at the grassroots level.
The Executive Director of COMCIN, Mr. Micheal Ogbaa who represented the Chairman, Dr. Iredele Oyedele (FCA, FCCA), said the initiative is designed to strengthen micro-lending institutions and expand access to finance for grassroots entrepreneurs, particularly women and youths in the informal sector.
Ogbaa explained that COMCIN does not lend directly to individuals but works through its network of microfinance and cooperative institutions, which in turn provide loans to end users.
“We came together to advocate for the microfinance ecosystem. Commercial banks often exclude people at the grassroots, but our members are positioned to reach them. This facility will empower them to do more,” he said.
He noted that the loan scheme offers low interest rates and flexible repayment plans, making it more accessible to small business owners.
According to him, about 90 percent of beneficiaries are expected to be women, who play a key role in sustaining families and driving economic activities at the local level.
“Our focus is on traders, service providers, and players in the informal sector. These are the real movers of the economy. By supporting them, we are strengthening families and contributing to national development,” he added.
Ogbaa disclosed that eligible SMEs with proven integrity and business track records could access up to N5 million each through participating micro-lending institutions. The rollout has commenced in Lagos and will extend to Abuja, Enugu, and other regions, including the South-West, South-East, and North-East.
He said 12 micro-lending institutions have already benefited from the scheme, while 85 applications are currently being processed under the pilot phase.
“Our target is to reach at least 100,000 SMEs nationwide. We are building a platform that connects funding partners with credible micro-lending institutions, creating a reliable channel for financial inclusion,” Ogbaa said.
He added that COMCIN is also working to attract larger funding pools from development finance institutions and private investors, noting that successful implementation of the pilot phase would boost confidence and unlock more capital for SMEs.
“We have seen encouraging testimonies from early beneficiaries. As we demonstrate transparency and efficiency, more institutions will be willing to channel funds through us,” he said.
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