By Tony Obiechina Abuja

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has called on the Civil Society Organizations and other Development Partners to sensitize citizens on the need to participate in the budgetary processes of government in order to ensure transparency, accountability and better understanding of governance.

The Minister made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, when members of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Support Unit, led by its lead person, Maureen Karuki, paid him a courtesy visit. Bagudu, who is also the in-coming OGP State Actors Co- chair, said President Bola Tinubu is determined to encourage transparency, through courageous reforms like, The HOPE initiative on Governance, Education and Health among others.He explained that in a constitutional Federalism like Nigeria, democracy, particularly, the preparation of budget, places a high demand on the legislative body with additional challenge of constituency prioritization of projects.He said, “The citizens could be judgmental when there is no clear understanding of why specific projects are placed at various locations during budget preparation. It is therefore important for OGP and other development partners to assist the country in sensitizing the citizens, through informed narratives, to ensure better understanding of the government, its structures and other countries willing to take difficult decisions to ensure higher revenue to GDP ratio”.He said advocacy could also encourage citizens to stress quality requests through their representatives to ensure their needs are given priority in the budget. “These are areas that can help to boost citizen participation in governance,” the minister emphasized. Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Support Unit Global lead of Partnership for Accountability OGP, Maureen Kariuki, announced that OGP was at its best when it was headed and coordinated by the Ministry.She also said that the visit was aimed at seeking the political will and leadership that the Ministry could bring to OGP, considering the fact that OGP enjoyed a significant leap when its office was located within the Ministry and to collaborate with the Ministry in strengthening Budget transparency.She supported the minister’s stance that citizens’ participation in their Budgetary processes should be encouraged. According to her, “I would like to see it demonstrated in the next Action Plan of 2025 – 2029. Fiscal transparency and citizen participation around budget processes ensure that budgets serve what benefits the citizens.”

By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja

The Senate yesterday passed into law a bill for the establishment of a Federal Medical Center, Adikpo in Benue state.The bill which was sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Udende (APC, Benue North East) was read for the third and final time during plenary with an unanimous approval by the legislatures when it was committed to the Committee of the whole.

The bill, according to Udende, seeks to establish a federal medical center in Adikpo which will not only cater for the health needs of the people of Benue North East senatorial zone but Benue state and Nigeria in general and beyond. ”The bill awaiting presidential assent seeks to bring medical care closer to the people, especially in times of emergency. The distance between Adikpo , a Nigerian boarder town and Makurdi, Benue State capital where a Federal Medical Center exists is over 300 kilometers, so patients who need medical care within the Adikpo axis are on a danger line, hence my resolve to use the instrumentality of the parliament to address the troubling health challenge”, senator Udende said.He explained that the people of Kwande who share boundaries with the Republic of Cameroon most often are required to seek medical attention outside their country and in most cases are frustrated or cannot afford the cost.According to senator Udende, the strategic location of the health facility will provide potential economic benefits of trade and cultural exchange, giving its proximity to the Republic of Cameroon.He stressed that the Federal Medical Centre will also trigger infrastructure development, healthcare and open up the locality in terms of education while expressing concerns that the absence of such institutions on the side of the Nigerian border town has grossly caused underdevelopment.The senator however commended the senate Committee on Health and Tertiary Institutions for conducting a public hearing which gave rise to the final parliamentary journey of the bill.

From Ayinde Akintade, Osogbo

Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, through the Deputy Controller of Corrections and Public Relations Officer, Umar Abubakar, has said that an investigation had been launched into seven inmates that escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa, Osun State on Tuesday.

According to the PRO, “The service is working closely with Sister Security agencies as well as community leaders to recapture the escapees and bring them back to custody”. The agency appealed to the public for assistance in the ongoing manhunt, urging citizens to provide any information that could lead to the re-arrest of the fugitives.”The service also solicits the cooperation and support of the public in providing information that may lead to the recapture of the fleeing inmates” he added.Local residents expressed concern about the security breach, though there have been no reports yet of any encounters with the escapees.The agency further informed of the security personnel that have been deployed across strategic locations in Ilesa and surrounding areas as part of the efforts to track down the fugitives.The Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa has previously experienced structural challenges, with authorities calling for upgrades to meet modern correctional standards.Recall that seven inmates escaped from the Medium Security Custodial in Ilesa in Osun State on Tuesday due to heavy rainfall that compromised the prison’s perimeter security, enabling the inmates to flee.