ActionAid Nigeria has trained some media practitioners on public finance management and accountability.

Under a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA II), the three-day training highlighted the need for journalists to be concerned and be inquisitive about how the government manages generated revenue and loans, and was funded by its partner, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

The journalists were equipped with knowledge on budget, taxation, loans, and various forms through which the government generates its revenue.
Participants were also exposed to various loopholes and leakages through which some of the humongous revenues are dissipated, culminating in the hardship the citizens face.

Country Director, Action Aid, Andrew Mamedu, who declared the programme open, said the training was aimed at verifying the claim, indicating Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world despite every opportunity at its disposal to be one of the richest nations.

Represented by Head of Programmes, ActionAid, Celestine Okwudili, said in addition to the challenge of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFS) that are inimical to accountability, he decried the nation’s setback, which he blamed on the then military government’s romance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain the loan under the cover of the Structural Adjustment Programme.

“In the 70s, the naira was much stronger than the dollar until the then military government went ahead to take an IMF loan with its stringent conditions. The IMF itself used to borrow from Nigeria.

“It was put on public debate and the members of the public rejected and opposed it, but the then government went ahead to take it and since then, Nigeria has never been the same,” he lamented.

A public finance analyst, Dr Terfa Abraham, who spoke extensively on the Tax Reform Acts, among others, hailed the new tax law that would bring relief to low-income earners, with some categories completely absolved from paying tax.

Team Lead/Editor-in-Chief, Dev. Reporting, Mojeed Alabi, urged them to continue to uphold the highest ethical standards of their profession, bordering on fair and accurate reporting; avoid plagiarism, transparent and minimising harm, among others.

Programme Advisor, SPA II, Blessing Ifemenam, at the programme, spoke on the concept of Gender Response Public Service (GRPS), the ActionAid perspective.