Nigeria’s South East zone is set for a new phase of development. This follows the approval of the N250 billion budget for the South East Development Commission (SEDC). The House Committee on SEDC approved the 2025 budget on Monday after the budget defence by the commission’s management. With the budget, various stakeholders expect improvement in infrastructures for the area. This includes roads, bridges, railways, as well as security and human capital development. The House of Representatives Committee Chairman on South East Development Commission (SEDC), Chris Nkwonta, is optimistic that the budget approval and its implementation will enable the area to experience government presence like never before. Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, in July 2024, signed into law the South-East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023. That was intended to fast-track development in the geopolitical zone. This includes “reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses, and other infrastructural damages suffered by the zone, as well as tackle ecological problems, and other related environmental or developmental challenges in South-East states.”, the State House press release said. SEDC Budget: Nkwonta Confident About Infrastructure Growth and Reduced Unrest House of Representatives Committee Chairman on SEDC, Chris Nkwonta, acknowledged President Tinubu’s role in establishing the commission. “We are grateful to the President that after six military heads of state and five democratically elected Presidents, attention has been given to the South East. “This budget is essentially going to target those areas where there is deficit in infrastructure, erosion and other areas of human capital development. “The Commission will be expected to build roads, bridges, railway and manpower development. “The commission also expect money to come in from federal allocation. I am told that money is also expected to come from the five southeastern states, from ecological funds coming into the country and from oil companies operating in the South East. “Even though this is not enough, we need to start from somewhere.” Representative Nkwonta told journalists. He envisions unrest in the area declining with the attention it now receives. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Even those boys that are causing trouble, when they see that the region is now being taken care of, what they are doing now will not continue. “If you want to develop the South East, there has to be leave. If there is no peace and Security, there is nothing we can do. “Some of the items in the budget is aimed at addressing insecurity, unemployment, and youth development”. The House Committee Chairman on SEDC believes the commission’s projects will help end agitations and youth unrest in the area. Many anti-corruption organizations, however, continue to emphasize the critical need for transparency and accountability in budget allocation and project execution. This ensures effective resource utilization. It also drives development across communities, states, geopolitical zones, and the nation.
Transparency International’s CPI 2024: Reactions Trail Nigeria’s Marginal Improvement
The recently released 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International (TI) continues to generate discussions and reactions. According to the organisation, the CPI, assesses perceived public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories worldwide, scoring them on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The report launched by the Nigerian of TI, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) shows that Nigeria recorded little progress in 2024. Just a week later, Nigeria’s Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT), organized a Public Presentation of the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (TI-CIP) Assessments in the country, which covers 6 Years (2019 – 2024). The Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative(NEITI), Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji at the public presentation of the Review, associated the marginal improvement to ongoing reforms in public financial management, increased enforcement actions by anti-corruption agencies, and Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening institutional frameworks for transparency. “Nigeria’s global ranking in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report signals progress in the collective efforts to combat corruption – civil society, media, and international partners to reinforce accountability mechanisms”. The NEITI Executive Secretary said. CISLAC and Nigerian NGOs’ Outlook on 2024 CPI Performance The 2024 CPI shows Nigeria improving slightly from 25 to 26 out of 100, moving up five places in global rankings from 145th to 140th out of 180 countries. Although this report indicates improvement, Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani while launching the report in Abuja, raised the issue of systemic corruption, particularly in the judiciary, security sector, oil industry, and government procurement processes. According to him, the situation translates to difficulties in daily living for citizens “We have every reason to worry about corruption in Nigeria, and that is why the Transparency International corruption Index should be seen as a wakeup call to block leakages, especially in our public system where citizens cannot even access public services without being extorted or forced to give bribe. In some instances, if you don’t agree to give bribe, you may lose your life.” Rafsanjani said Also, Friday Odeh, Country Director, Accountability Lab while applauding renewed commitment from anticorruption agencies in investigating corruption cases and bringing it to court, emphasized the need for effective monitoring and management of the recovered funds, with more attention paid to high-profile individuals. On their part, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), represented by Folashade Arigbabu, believes selective tax waivers need to be eliminated. Also, an enabling environment should exist for citizens to express their rights to freedom of information and expression. The Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) consists of over 20 anti-corruption, with NEITI as the Chair. On that basis, Executive Secretary, Dr. Orji, during the Public Presentation of the publication of the 6 Years Transparency International Corruption Perception Index Assessments in Nigeria promised to work with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria achieves a transformative improvement in future corruption perception rankings.
Tinubu Increases Proposed 2025 Budget to ₦54.2 Trillion, Citing Additional Revenue Sources
President Bola Tinubu has informed the National Assembly about an increase in the ₦49.7trillion proposed 2025 budget earlier presented