The Federal Government says it is placing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at the centre of governance and national development, insisting that M&E is no longer merely a technical reporting function.

To this end, the government has entered a strategic partnership with the United Kingdom to strengthen the National Monitoring and Evaluation.

Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Doris Uzoka Anite, disclosed this while delivering a keynote during the closing ceremony and presentation of certificates to participants at the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Result-Based Management Capacity Development Workshop held in Abuja.

Anite, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Deborah Odoh, noted that meeting the citizens’ expectations of visible improvements on infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, education, housing, transportation and employment opportunities requires continuous monitoring of implementation progress, timely reporting and objective performance assessment across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

She reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda, which requires a governance culture anchored on accountability, measurable outcomes and citizen-focused service delivery.

She called on participants to recommit themselves towards building institutions that do not merely plan or report activities but deliver and measure impacts as well as remain committed to ensuring development across the country.

Economic Counsellor of the British High Commission, Mahesh Mishra, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for supporting the workshop through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

He said the workshop marked a significant phase for participants and urged them to deploy tools and skills acquired during the programme to their work and output.

He said the workshop, supported by the UK Government through the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF), was held for planning officers across MDAs.