Nigeria Implementation Report 2017-2019

Nigeria’s first action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... initiated open government reforms such as civic engagement in the budget process and open contractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... More. Ongoing civil society support often drove commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... implementation. Meanwhile, limited lead agency engagement and lengthy legislative processes inhibited the implementation of some commitments. Resultantly, 10 of 14 commitments will be continued in Nigeria’s ambitious second action plan.

The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. Nigeria joined OGP in 2016. Since, Nigeria has implemented one action plan. This report evaluates the implementation of Nigeria’s first action plan.

General overview of action plan

Nigeria achieved an “involve” level of participation during implementation of its first action plan. Frequent Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... and thematic working group meetings facilitated communication on the progress of commitment implementation between the government and civil society.

Nigeria gained notable open government achievements in the areas of open budget processes, open contracting, and ease of doing business. Important open government reforms include the creation of the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal and the first transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More portal for extractive-sector beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... More in the region. Nigeria also laid groundwork for access to information and comprehensive beneficial ownership transparency in the second national action plan.

However, most commitments were not completed. Lead agencies’ failed engagement stalled implementation of commitments. Additionally, slow-moving legislative processes inhibited several commitments that required the passage of new laws. The multistakeholder forum should prioritize collaboration with lead agencies and legislators in facilitating Nigeria’s ambitious second action plan.

Table 2. Noteworthy commitments

KEY IRM Recommendations

The IRM key recommendations are prepared in the IRM Design Report. They aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan. In Nigeria’s 2017−2019 Design Report, the IRM recommended the following: