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Revenue Transparency: Delta State's "Facts Behind The Figures" Report Blazes The Trail!
PRESS RELEASE
November 10, 2005Revenue Transparency: Delta State's "Facts Behind The Figures" Report Blazes The Trail!
The disclosure of the monthly allocation to States and Local Governments, by the Federal Ministry of Finance, through publication in all major newspapers and the Ministry's website has contributed in reducing the opportunity for government officials to steal public funds.
It is against this background that we applaud the decision of the Delta State Government to launch the report titled "Facts Behind The Figures" tomorrow at Asaba, Delta State. The "Facts Behind The Figure" report represents a response to the call for accountability to the people and we are encouraged by the commitment of Governor Ibori and the state Commissioner for Finance to publicly present the report.
The release of this report should provide opportunity for public debate on how Delta State government has managed the state resources in the last six years. The challenge now is for the opposition parties, the civil society organizations and the oil producing communities to scrutinize the report to ascertain the facts behind the figures.
According to Rev. David Ugolor, the President of African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Campaign, Nigeria "The decision of Delta State Government to publish what they earn from oil revenue and how they are spent, through "Facts Behind the Figure" places her on the upper rung of leadership on transparency in the Niger Delta states."
Along the same line, Barrister Innocent Adjuenughure, the Coordinator of Niger Delta Budget Monitoring and Transparency Network [1] noted that, "Certainly this initiative will provide the incentive of trust for the Ibori government and enable Delta citizens to ask the right questions that will aid sustainable development in the state".
Further, Zik Igbadi, the Programme Director of the "Public Eye on Oil Revenue" [2] project noted, "Transparency and accountability are twin towers of good governance that ought to be imbibed as a national practice. The report 'Facts Behind the Figures' by the Delta State Government is a welcome development. This will undoubtedly aid our fight against corruption, through the 'Public Eye on Oil Revenue' project."
The facts behind the figure report provide an entry point for oil producing communities in the Niger-Delta to demand that other states within the region follow the footstep of Delta State Government.
[1] The Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Transparency Network was born out of the lack of development in the Niger Delta region, considering the amount of resources flowing into the region. Which prompt ANEEJ with the support of Heinrich Boell Foundation to organized a two-day advocacy workshop in Warri, where about 53 participants resolve to form the Network which is expected to serve as a platform for coordinated civil society budget monitoring transparency related activities within the region.
[2] "The public Eye on Oil Revenue in the Niger Delta" is an ANEEJ Project, funded by Heinrich Boell Foundation, was born out of the development challenges of the region, which accounts for over 80% of Nigeria's foreign exchange earned from oil since its discovery in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in 1958 which have not translate into improved standard if living for the people in the region.
http://www.earthrights.net/nigeria/revenuetransparency.html