The African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for African Development (AUDA-NEPAD) has begun a five-day training for implementers of the second National Programme of Action (NPoA).
NPoA, which is part of recommendations of the second national peer review, addresses challenges in the Second Country Review Report (CRR) and carries out national capacity building on monitoring and evaluation framework for its effective implementation.
Speaking at the training in Abuja yesterday, National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD/African Peer Review Mechanism Princess Gloria Akobundu said the programme would harmonise and finalise the second NPoA framework.
She noted that NPoA would guide and mobilise Nigeria’s efforts to improve governance and accelerate its economic development.
Akobundu said it was critical implementers were better informed for effective implementation, adding that public sectors, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), civil organisations, private sectors, states and local government’s should take advantage of the workshop.
She said: “If you don’t understand what you are to implement, you will not be able to drive it properly, we work with the MDAs, including civil societies and the private sector to produce the country’s assessment, we produced a report and it was validated.
“The workshop is important, it includes experience sharing with other member states that have undergone first and second peer reviews and have implemented or are still implementing their national programmes.
“So, we learn from them how they were able to conduct their implementation, and we also look at what Nigeria has.
“We have the Agenda 2063 policy document, we have the Agenda 2030 and we have the ECOWAS Agenda 2050, and Nigeria is developing a national plan to help in guiding governance for the next 10 years, so we are not coming up with a national programme of action”.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed said African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) recorded great milestones in providing a platform for AU member states that have acceded to the protocol to share information, knowledge, and experience as they review one another’s performance within the framework established by the institution.
Ahmed, represented by Adeosun Peter, said the initiative places the people at the centre of the development discourse for the benefit of Africans in line with AU Agenda 2063.
The APRM, she said, promotes best practices that will lead to sustainable economic growth, infrastructure development, political stability and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration.
She added that the government would promote good governance practice enshrined in the ideals and vision of NEPAD, which gave birth to the APRM.