The House Committee Chairman on Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), Hon. Alhassan Doguwa has called on the Coordinating Minister of
the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to
promptly release funds for MDGs development programme.
The lawmaker urged the Minister to make the funds available stressing
that Debt Relief Fund was statutory and its timely disbursement was
imperative to achieving the MDGs by 2015.
He spoke at a Sensitization Workshop on 2013 Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) for States, held Wednesday in Abuja.
Doguwa said: “MDGs fund is statutory and the programmes are
pro-people so for us to achieve our goals, this fund should be released
in time. We can only be proud of her if she can release the money
promptly because we are of the same MDGs family.”
In September 2005, the country successfully negotiated debt relief
from the Paris Club which translated into annual gains of about $1
billion to Nigeria. The Federal Government decided to use its portion of
the gains to support pro-poor investments needed to achieve the MDGs
and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs
was subsequently established to coordinate the efficient utilization of
the additional funds.
He observed that President Goodluck Jonathan has been committed to
actualising the goals through timely approval of the 2013 CGS.
On effective utilisation of the fund, the lawmaker tasked State
governments which are performing well to intensify their efforts while
those doing otherwise should rise up to the challenge in order to
achieve the development goal.
He advised State governors to liberalise every procedure and
procurement processes rather that hoarding the fund to their executive
offices. “And ultimately if any state continues to lag behind, we as
members of the presidential implementation committee we will have no
option but to recommend to the president that we should sanction States
that are not performing. We get them out from the program and use the
funds for other purposes that will be useful and that will carry Nigeria
forward.
“Some governments tie down the program under their office. This is
not supposed to be so. The MDGs should be allowed a free hand to
operate. The procurement process should be operated under a separate
structure so that everything will be faster but a situation whereby a
governor is tying everything to his office or subjective everything to
its own approval then certainly you cannot talk of achieving the MDGs,”
Doguwa said.
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