Policy Alert, a civil society organization working to promote social, economic and ecological justice, has announced plans for its 2019 Open Budget Forum (OBF) in Akwa Ibom State. The announcement, which was made yesterday in a statement signed by the organization’s Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Utibe Archibong, indicated that the event which is now in its fifth year, will hold in Uyo on Wednesday September 4, 2019 with the theme “Corruption, social accountability and the budget process in Akwa Ibom State.”
Archibong said: “Policy Alert’s work includes, among other things, promoting transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in public expenditure management. Over the years, corruption in Nigeria has grown into a cog in the wheel of effective budget making and implementation which in turn constrains the delivery of public goods and services to the citizenry.
“Citizens participation in budgetary processes is important for spotting corruption red flags and dissuading corrupt behavior by public officials. For five years now, the OBF has been providing an opportunity for diverse stakeholders to contribute their voices to the implementation of the annual budget in Akwa Ibom State. This year’s edition will focus on approaches for tackling corruption in the budgetary process. It will bring together policy makers, legislators, academics, media, business leaders, civil society representatives and other citizens to deepen engagement on the performance of the budget in the last fiscal year and generate inputs to the development of the 2020 budget.”
She added that “this year’s Forum is organized under the auspices of the Strengthening Citizens Resistance Against Prevalence of Corruption (SCRAP-C) project currently implemented in Akwa Ibom State by Policy Alert with support from Actionaid Nigeria.”
AKWA IBOM: POLICY ALERT ANNOUNCES 5TH EDITION OF ANNUAL BUDGET PARLEY
