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Kaduna, BudgIT to partner on open budget system

By Ajibola Amzat
26 June 2015   |   3:35 am
The Kaduna State government is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BudgIT, a Nigeria’s civic technology organization, to develop an open budgeting system. Placing premium on transparency and using civic tools to optimise efficiency, the state government has decided to work with BudgIT to design a platform, which allows citizens access to the policies,…
Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai

Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai

The Kaduna State government is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BudgIT, a Nigeria’s civic technology organization, to develop an open budgeting system.

Placing premium on transparency and using civic tools to optimise efficiency, the state government has decided to work with BudgIT to design a platform, which allows citizens access to the policies, budgets, procurement records and status of fund release in a single space. Through this platform, citizens will be able to verify and monitor the government’s progress using their mobile phones, and can report their feedback via the same platform.

Governor Malam El Rufai said: “We are delighted to be making this contribution to enhancing transparency, and shredding the veil of secrecy that often marginalizes the citizens from informed knowledge of how public finances are mobilized and utilised.”
Similarly, BudgIT co-founder, Oluseun Onigbinde, said: “This initiative is to deepen the interaction between citizens and government, in line with the current mood of the country for increased transparency and accountability.

According to Onigbinde, BudgIT also believes that with the intense focus on the national government and goodwill following the recent elections, which ended the 16-year rule of a dominant party, there is a rising level of civic consciousness that is now focused on the state governments. “Citizens through organized online and offline campaigns are demanding accountability from subnational government, and are asking deeper questions,” he noted.

He said the project is expected to kick off within the next three months, with a rigorous, forensic analysis of the Kaduna State budget and thereafter, infographics and online portals will be used to ensure wider dissemination of public data to the masses.

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