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Tag: Oluseun Onigbinde

  • Minister’s aide Onigbinde resigns amid social media backlash

    TECHNICAL Adviser to the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Oluseun Onigbinde, has resigned his appointment.

    This followed public outcry against his appointment.

    Onigbinde, a Co-founder of BudgIT, announced his resignation on Monday.

    Prior to the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, he had tweeted that whoever planned to vote for the President in 2019 did not love Nigeria.

    He wrote: “I will say this for the last time, if you plan to vote for Buhari or you encourage him for another term, you really don’t love Nigeria. You are either a closet ethnic jingoist or someone who worships mediocrity.”

    His acceptance to work under the same administration he had vehemently criticised backfired.

    Many users of the social media blasted him for taking up the job and described him as a man “without integrity”.

    He announced his resignation on his Medium page, a link he shared on his official Twitter handle.

    Onigbinde said recent reports about his appointment had created a complex narrative, “which I believe would engender an atmosphere of mistrust, as I planned to proceed”.

    Read Also: BudgIT seeks end to fuel subsidy

    He added: “Upon further reflections on the furore that has been generated by my new role as the Technical Adviser to the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, I humbly resign the appointment.”

    “I am very grateful to the Minister, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, for believing in my expertise and I also thank everyone who sent his or her congratulations to me in the short period. I have also been humbled by the faith and belief that numerous persons have expressed in me,” he wrote.

    Onigbinde said his sincere interest is to see a Nigeria that grows and optimises resources for the benefits of all Nigerians, adding: “My loyalty to the good cause of our nation, Nigeria compelled me to accept the call to provide technical skills and this experience has more than strengthened it.

    “I also want to wish the Nigerian Government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, well. I will always be of help to the federal government in my capacity as the Director of BudgIT, a critical fiscal transparency group, as I have been to several agencies. I would also work to ensure that BudgIT continues to build civic awareness on the right of every Nigerian to know how public resources are managed. Thank you all.”

     

  • Nigeria loses N2.5bn annually to gas flaring, says BudgIT

    A civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria, said on Thursday that Nigeria loses N2.5 billion annually to gas flaring.

    The organization which is interested in entrenching transparency in government budgets, disclosed this in a statement issued by its Communication Lead, Abiola Afolabi, and made available to reporters in Abuja.

    The statement called on the Federal Government to take action against the effects of gas flaring which it said continued to contribute to Nigeria’s environmental degradation while posing hazards to human health and loss of revenue to the government.

    While commending the government on some progress made in the fight against routine gas flaring in the last 20 years, the organization revealed that an analysis carried out by its Extractives Team showed that the volume of gas produced increased by 91.13% while the volume of gas flared reduced by only 38.06% between 2001 and 2016.

    “This implies that oil companies invested more money in gas production activities and are less concerned about sufficiently investing in technologies and infrastructure to control gas flaring.

    “What Nigeria has at the moment is potential for the consumption of un-flared gas. Therefore, the supply framework, infrastructure and market systems necessary for un-flared gas to reach its end users’ needs must be collectively and sustainably developed by all stakeholders,” the statement said.

    BudgIT called on the government to explore existing technologies and strategies to reduce the amount of gas flared into the atmosphere.

    “Although, some irresponsible oil companies are unwilling to make the investment necessary to deploy the right technologies and infrastructure in Nigeria.

    “Also, the guiding legal framework for deterring gas flaring must be reviewed to prevent companies from taking advantage of inherent loopholes,” the statement noted.

    The statement said BudgIT Team visited communities in the Niger Delta in April 2017 and observed several cases of gas flare near residential neighbourhoods, specifically Polaku and Ogu communities in Bayelsa and Rivers States respectively.

    “The effects of gas flaring are not limited to deformity in children, lung damage, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, blood disorders and a host of other fatal health conditions,” the statement added.

    BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde said: “BudgIT is calling on the Federal Government to muster the political will necessary to execute Nigeria’s gas master plan and to enforce regulations aimed at tangibly achieving Zero Routine Gas Flaring.

    “Also, proceeds from gas flare penalties can be channeled towards funding health-related research in the Niger Delta region, to protect the residents and improve their living conditions.”

  • Police brought me to Abuja in chains, handcuffed my hands -BudgIT staff

    Police brought me to Abuja in chains, handcuffed my hands -BudgIT staff

    A worker with civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria, Moses Motoni, on Wednesday narrated how he was chained, handcuffed and driven to Abuja by police officers.

    He was arrested by the police in Kaduna for sensitizing some Niger state residents on budget tracking.

    Motoni, who spoke to journalists in Abuja on his experience, explained that he was not informed about his crime or the complainant.

    According to him, the policemen simply said he was being arrested for “inciting the populace and trying to impeach the Emir of Bida.

    Motoni’s troubles began when he visited the Bida, Niger State last Friday to sensitize residents of the Niger South Senatorial District on the zonal intervention projects awarded to their constituency in the 2017 Budget.

    The exact project was the “installation of transformers and electrification of the following communities: Nowanya-Tawadzuru tiffin-Emitswachi-Tawadzuru Tako in Gbako LGA, Niger South Senatorial District, Niger State-N25m,” as stated in the 2017 Appropriation Act.

    Moroni was however arrested on Monday after he was tricked into visiting the DHL office at Markafi market, Kaduna to pick a parcel where he was forcefully taken into a vehicle and brought to Abuja by policemen who disguised as DHL personnel.

    The BudgIT worker explained that he simply enlightened the people about constituency projects in their communities and how to track the budget for it.

    Motoni said he was surprised by allegations that he wanted to incite the public and impeach the traditional ruler in Niger.

    He said: “I was arrested in Kaduna and being driven from there to Abuja was hell for me because I was handcuffed in both legs and my elbows were handcuffed to a chair which dislocated my joints.

    “I wasn’t actually sitting down, I squatted from Kaduna to Abuja which was a journey of about two and a half hours.

    “It was when I got to Abuja that I was properly debriefed about the reason for my arrest.”

    Motoni denied that his engagement with the Bida community would lead to a breach of the peace, noting that the idea of budget tracking was to encouraged the community members to engage their representatives at the National Assembly and ensure the budgeted projects  are implemented.

    “They (policemen) said they got a complaint that I was trying to incite the public, create a breach of trust and impeach the Emir. But this is not true, I went to the community to educate the people on how they can engage their representatives on the implementation of the projects,” he stated.

    He said he was not cowed by the police, noting that he would still visit Niger State to continue his advocacy work.

    “With my experience with the so far, I am still going to go to Niger State, because I love doing this job, I love encouraging the community about the projects because they go a long way in stardardising the community’s standards of living,” he noted.

    The Team Lead, BudgIT Nigeria, Oluseun Onigbinde explained that the budget tracking project was meant to simplify the budget and create citizens awareness about the fiscal document so they could demand accountability.

    He condemned Motoni’s arrest which he alleged was instigated by the National Assembly representatives from the area.

    He explained that Senator Sani Mohammed had put a phone call to Motoni, inviting him to a meeting in his house which he declined because BudgIT tracking personnel were not allowed to meet with public officials privately.

    Onigbinde said, “After this, we believe the senator reached out to the Nigeria police and accused Motoni of plotting to topple the Emir of Bida following which he was arrested, handcuffed and taken to SARS’ office in Abuja. We condemn this abuse of power by the police and we plan to take up the issue with President Buhari, the and the Senate President; We would also reach out to the United Nations and the United States on this issue.”

  • ASFL conference starts tomorrow

    Co-founder of BudgIT Oluseun Onigbinde, and an, equal rights activist, Olumide Makanjuola, will join speakers at the West African regional conference of African Students For Liberty (ASFL), which starts tomorrow.

    It will hold at the Conference Centre Hall of the University of Ibadan (UI) in Oyo State.

    The two-day conference, with the theme: “Creating wealth through free markets”, will host students from various tertiary institutions in West Africa.

    ASFL is a campus-based organisation, which promotes the ideas of individual liberty and economic freedom. It has membership  of over 6,000 young people across Africa and over 200 trained leaders committed to a year-long engagement.

    ASFL has its presence in 22 African countries, thus making it the largest libertarian organisation in Africa that identifies, develops and supports the next generation of entrepreneurs and freedom advocates.

    The Conference Director, Oluwafemi Ogunjobi, said: “The weekend will be a period of inspiring lectures, insightful knowledge, and beneficial networking for students and young professionals, who will attend the conference from the sub-region.” He added that there would be a prize for early comers.

    Other speakers will include award-winning Nigerian-American journalist, Chika Oduah; African Consultant for International Drug Policy Consortium, Maria Goretti-Ane; a Mandela Washington Fellow and a technology lawyer, Timi Olagunju, and founder of African Christians For Liberty, Chukwemeka Ezeugo, among others.

     

     

  • States owe N3.89tn internal, external debts – BudgIT

    States owe N3.89tn internal, external debts – BudgIT

    A civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria has said the total debt profile of states from both internal and external borrowing has increased from N3.03 trillion in 2015 to N3.89 trillion in 2016.

    BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde said this at the launch of the organization’s state of state report in Abuja, on Thursday.

    According to him, Lagos state has 24.2 percent of the total debt stock of state governments with N500.8 billion debt profile in 2015 to N734.7 billion in 2016.

    Onigbinde expressed worries over the increasing debt profile of states and their inabilities to generate revenues.

    He said the high debt profile had made it difficult for most states to meet their recurrent expenditure obligations.

    Onigbinde said: “Total debt profile of states in 2015 and 2016 was N3.03tn and N3.89tn respectively. Lagos state’s total debt stock rose from the 2014 level of N500.8bn to N734.7bn in 2016 – accounting for 24.2 percent of the total debt stock of the state governments.

    “Lagos debt is becoming really worrisome for us. Lagos debt is also entering some uncharted territory which needs to be watched carefully.

    “Many state governments are confronted by rapidly rising budget deficits as they struggle to pay salaries and meet contractual obligations and overheads due to a dip in oil price from its peak price of about $140 per barrel to about $56 per barrel.”

    He urged state governments to expand their internally generated revenue while cutting down on their debt accumulation.

    Onigbinde also called on the state governments to cut their “unreasonable” overheads bill while freeing up more spending for social infrastructure.

    He said: “Over the last few months, many state governments have been devising policy changes with a strong focus on improving internally generated revenue and reining in expenditure.

    “State governments need to tremendously embrace a high level of transparency and accountability, develop workable economic plans, take haircuts-especially on overheads-expand their internally generated revenue (IGR) base, and cut down on debt accumulation without a concrete repayment plan.

    “The states need to look beyond the rhetorics and commit to a reduction in its operating costs, including significantly slashing its unreasonable overheads bill while freeing up more spending for social infrastructure.

    “States will need to link future borrowing to sustainable projects, which can pay back the capital cost of its current loans and improve the overall income profile of the state.

    “Improve spending is also critical for value-added tax revenue, manufacturing, trade, logic and tourism abound across states but it seems states lack the rigour and foresight to explore them.

    Earlier in her remarks, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, Yewande Sadiku, said all states are competing for investment from the Federal Government, forgetting that what the government gets was insufficient for Nigeria’s economic development.

    According to her, if state governments consider investing in their states the rate of debt would drop.

    She said: “Our work at the federal level will not achieve anything if we don’t work along with the state governments

    “It is certain that if states governments work more on investing in their states, the rates of debts will drop.”

    She urged Nigerians to invest more in their country instead of going out to invest, noting that Nigeria’s economic potential would be converted to its economic wealth.

  • BudgIT: Debt profile of states rise to N3.89tn

    BudgIT: Debt profile of states rise to N3.89tn

    A civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria has said the total debt profile of states from both internal and external borrowing has increased from N3.03 trillion in 2015 to N3.89 trillion in 2016.
     
    BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde said this at the launch of the organization’s state of state report in Abuja, on Thursday.
     
    According to him, Lagos state has 24.2 per cent of the total debt stock of state governments with N500.8 billion debt profile in 2015 to N734.7 billion in 2016. 
     
    Onigbinde expressed worries over the increasing debt profile of states and their inabilities to generate revenues.
     
    He said the high debt profile had made it difficult for most states to meet their recurrent expenditure obligations.
     
    Onigbinde said: “Total debt profile of states in 2015 and 2016 was N3.03tn and N3.89tn respectively. Lagos state’s total debt stock rose from the 2014 level of N500.8bn to N734.7bn in 2016 – accounting for 24.2 per cent of the total debt stock of the state governments. 
     
    “Lagos debt is becoming really worrisome for us. Lagos debt is also entering some uncharted territory which needs to be watched carefully.
     
    “Many state governments are confronted by rapidly rising budget deficits as they struggle to pay salaries and meet contractual obligations and overheads due to a dip in oil price from its peak price of about $140 per barrel to about $56 per barrel.”
     
    He urged state governments to expand their internally generated revenue while cutting down on their debt accumulation.
     
    Onigbinde also called on the state governments to cut their “unreasonable” overheads bill while freeing up more spending for social infrastructure. 
     
    He said: “Over the last few months, many state governments have been devising policy changes with strong focus on improving internally generated revenue and reining in expenditure. 
     
    “State governments need to tremendously embrace a high level of transparency and accountability, develop workable economic plans, take haircuts-especially on overheads-expand their internally generated revenue ( IGR ) base, and cut down on debt accumulation without a concrete repayment plan.
     
    “The states need to look beyond the rhetorics and commit to a reduction in its operating costs, including significantly slashing its unreasonable overheads bill while freeing up more spending for social infrastructure. 
     
    “States will need to link future borrowing to sustainable projects, which can pay back the capital cost of its current loans and improve the overall income profile of the state. 
     
    “Improve spending is also critical for value-added tax revenue, manufacturing, trade, logics and tourism abound across states but it seems states lack the rigor and foresight to explore them. 
     
    Earlier in her remarks, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, Yewande Sadiku, said all states are competing for investment from the Federal Government, forgetting that what the government gets was insufficient for Nigeria’s economic development.
     
    According to her, if state governments consider investing in their states the rate of debt would drop.
     
    She said: “Our work at the federal level will not achieve anything if we don’t work along with the state governments
     
    “It is certain that if states governments work more on investing in their states, the rates of debts will drop.”
     
    She urged Nigerians to invest more in their country instead of going out to invest, noting that Nigeria’s economic potential would be converted to its economic wealth.
  • BudgIT: Nigeria needs N712bn to bridge healthcare delivery gap 

    BudgIT: Nigeria needs N712bn to bridge healthcare delivery gap 

    Nigeria needs about N712 billion annually to bridge healthcare financing in the country, a civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria has said.
    BudgIT, which is interested in ensuring transparency in government budgets, said this at the presentation of a report on Health financing analysis in Ebola affected countries: the readiness of primary healthcare centres ( PHCs ) to tackle diseases, in Abuja on Thursday.
    The report looked at financing of healthcare in five Ebola affected countries. The countries include; Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone.
    BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde, said Nigeria can achieve tangible investments if it increases its budget for the health sector.
    He said the 15 per cent budgetary provision for the sector was not enough to cater for the health was not big enough.
    Onigbinde said: “The budgetary allocation to health should be increased to cater to the needs of Nigerians as the health per capita is relatively low when compared to other African countries.
    “If Equatorial Guinea could do $663 per citizen, then Nigeria can improve from $118 to at least $300.
    “If the health budget is made to attain at least to 15 per cent of the national budget, as declared by the African Union, an additional sum of N712 (USD 1.9bn) will be needed to give the goal sum of N1.09 tn (USD 3.03bn), and Nigeria can achieve more tangible investments in the sector.”
    He urged the Federal Government to spend more money on capital expenditure.
    Onigbinde called on state governments to equip PHCs to cater for the needs of citizens in rural areas.
    “The federal government should spend more on capital expenditure, as the difference between recurrent and capital is wide. If Nigeria seeks to fund the health sector through borrowing, then transparency and accountability should be adopted.
    “Primary Health Centres should be adequately equipped, as these centres are often visited by citizens in rural communities. This will also help to reduce congestion in the tertiary health institutions.
    “State governments should strengthen primary healthcare to build resistance.. More advocacy in states because they are responsible for primary health care.
    “Teaching hospitals should be equipped with modern equipments to meet the needs of medical practitioners to tackle diseases,” he said.
    Onigbinde called on the National Assembly to activate the law which says one per cent of consolidated revenue fund should be allocated to the health sector.
    “The National Assembly should put an end to the power play by unreservedly activating the law stipulating that 1 per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund must be allocated to the health sector.
    “The political will to end health tourism will help the nation grow,” he said.
  • Group sensitize Lagos residents on budget matters

    Group sensitize Lagos residents on budget matters

    BudgIT, a civic organization committed to raising standards of transparency and citizens’ engagement in public finance has held a Budget Engagement Programme across six communities in Lagos state. The exercise which commenced last week sensitized residents on the 2017 Lagos state budget whilst seeking their input for the 2018 budget.

    The BudgIT team visited communities in Bariga, Shomolu, Mushin and Ikorodu with the support of the Ford Foundation, reaching over 4,000 residents through town hall meetings. Budget pamphlets with infographics showing the breakdown of the 2017 Lagos state budget figures in simple and accessible formats were shared among residents present at the event.

    According to BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde; “in the six communities visited, we observed that very few residents have minimal knowledge about the budget and the budget process as well as projects implementation which affects development in the communities. Lagosians pay taxes but ask too few questions on service delivery.”

    During the course of the meetings, some residents of Ikorodu community expressed dismay on the part of their representatives for their non-participation in the budget formation process. They disclosed to the BudgIT team that most of their needs are not captured in the budget and also complained about lack of access to information on the state’s budget. Mr Rabiu Akeem, a LCDA chairman in Ikorodu complained about the dilapidated state of government-owned schools and roads in the area.

    Declaring the engagement as an eye-opener that has empowered them with a tool for advocacy, the community members commended the BudgIT team while also promising to engage their representatives to demand information about the budget that affects them directly.

    BudgIT further encouraged the residents to always pay their taxes and also demand the budget documents in order to enable them to follow up on capital projects in their communities and also ensure their needs are captured in every annual fiscal plan.

  • 20 states yet to make budget details public – BudgIT

    20 states yet to make budget details public – BudgIT

    About 20 states have failed to publicly disclose their proposed 2017 budget, a civic technology organisation, BudgIT Nigeria, has said.

    The organization, which is interested in ensuring transparency and accountability in government budgets, said only Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna and Kogi States released the details of their budgets.

    BudgIT, in a statement issued by its Co-founder and Team Lead, Oluseun Onigbinde, in Abuja, said only 14 states had posted details of its budgets online.

    The states, according to Onigbinde, were Akwa Ibom, Edo, Ekiti, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ondo, Abia, Plateau and Yobe.

    The statement reads: “This   reveals  that   Lagos,   Rivers,   Osun,   Oyo,   Anambra,   Benue,   Borno,  Cross   River,   Delta, Enugu,  Imo,  Kebbi, Niger, Ogun,  Sokoto, Taraba, Zamfara  and  Adamawa  States  have  not made their detailed approved budget available online.

    “It is also found out that certain states such as Lagos published summaries online that provide no project details that citizens can effectively track.

    “Contrary   to   the   conditions   tied   to   the   N90bn   bailout   fund   provided   by   the   Minister   of Finance, none of the 36 states have made their budget implementation report available to the public.”

    Onigbinde said making budget document public by publishing it online was central to ensuring transparency and good governance.

    According to him, while huge emphasis had been placed on the Federal Government, radical transparency was needed at the sub-national level if Nigeria hopes to curb corruption.

    “We believe that making budget document public, mostly through online means, is central to transparency and good governance. It is important to understand in clear terms what the government at the sub-national level is doing with public funds. While huge emphasis has been placed on the Federal Government, radical transparency is needed at the sub-national level   if Nigeria   hopes   to   curb   corruption.

    “Our   research   showed   that   most   states   require citizens to either pay for hard copies of the budgets or go through a lengthy application process for what is meant to be a public document and can be posted freely online.

    “While Nigerians pay little attention to state finances, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, out of the N50tn spent between 2011 and 2015, 36 state governments and the FCT cumulatively spent over N18.89tn, representing 38 per cent of entire expenditure.

    “Advocacy to ensure the public knowledge of how and what states spends taxpayers funds on will not cease. We believe that a functional society is that which takes into highest regards citizen engagement and participation in all areas. Without budget information, it is near impossible   to   participate   in   government,   thus   defeating   the   concept   and   essence   of democracy altogether.

    “We implore the citizens to also continually demand accountability from those in charge of their funds and keep them on their toes to improve on the current governance structure,” the statement added.

  • N78.3m Website: BudgIT defends tweets

    N78.3m Website: BudgIT defends tweets

    Nigeria’s foremost civic technology organization, BudgIT, Tuesday denied any political interest in the controversy trailing the award of N78.3 million used to upgrade the website of former Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola.

    BudgIT, in a statement by its Team Lead/ Co Founder Oluseun Onigbinde, said that the organization only called for openness, accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.

    He said that the organization has come under threats over its tweets in the past few weeks over the amount awarded for the website.

    Onigbinde said that as a data-driven institution, it will continue to ask questions on projects carried out with tax payers’ money.

    The statement reads: “In the last week, a lot has been said about the work BudgIT does. Our motives have been questioned, our support from trusted partners queried, accusations made against our staff – and now we have received new information about threats. These threats directly reference our Tweets about information published on the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency website for the “Upgrade of www.tundefashola.com website post May 29, 2015 Handover.”

    “We are disheartened that in a democracy, threats are being made over the mere fact that a civic organisation highlighted public finance data to none other than the public.

    “We reiterate that the information was, and (at the timing of this statement), still is on the website, and therefore in the public domain, and therefore legally open to scrutiny by BudgIT. http://www.lagosppa.gov.ng/awarded-contracts/details-contracts-award-2014 .We have made no accusations, neither have we published any (secret) document or violated any government rules.

    “We are at a loss as to why these threats should be made, as our actions were motivated by nothing more than our role as an institution respected for data-driven advocacy for accountability, transparency and openness in the management of public funds in Nigeria.

    “We state once more that we have no political interest as we don’t take funds or seek untoward favours from government officials or politicians. Our relationship with government institutions has always been on intersecting civic engagement with institutional reform and this is mainly funded by international donor support.

    “We also want to state that we are not interested in any timing as regards the motives of this as we have only highlighted a public document published on May 13, 2015. We advise other Nigerians to interrogate the document and ask questions as responsible tax-paying citizens.”