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Nigeria may miss $400bn global support fund

By on August 27, 2015

The South-West Coordinator of the Department for International Development, Dr. Adesina Fagbenro, has warned that Nigeria may not benefit from the $400bn global fund support set aside by international financing agencies if the country fails to align with global agenda.

Fagbenro, who spoke at a meeting with the Oyo State House of Assembly members on gender based violence prohibition bill, which was organised by New Initiative for Social Development, with support from National Endowment for Democracy at the Ibadan Business School, Ibadan on Monday, said the fund was set aside after the global goals were set.

He, however, said that Nigeria could miss out of the fund if the government failed to understand the technical issues associated with accessing the money.

He said, “The $400bn is a commitment that is set aside by international finance agencies like the World Bank, Asia Bank, Africa Development Bank and so on, after the global goals have been agreed. The fund is meant to assist countries in meeting the global development goals.

“To access it, you need to familiarise yourself with the goals. A number of the goals have to do with gender protection, global partnership and others. We may not pursue all the goals, but we must identify the ones that concern us as a nation.”

Fagbenro said that in Oyo and many other states in Nigeria it was difficult to access data from ministries and other agencies, adding that without data evidence, it would be difficult to present a planning proposal to the international funding agencies in order to access the money.

He said, “We have to track the indicators and measure our performance on such issues. Lagos is now enjoying the status of being able to receive budget support. It is only when progress is noticed that international financing agencies will come around to support you. If you don’t get it right, you cannot get the needed support.

“We also have the non-governmental organisations and huge private sector-owned foundations like the Bill Gate, Dangote, Elumelu, and Mike Adenuga foundations that put money aside for development. The idea is to seize the opportunity to engage with them.

“We can get technical support from some of these international banks and agencies, if we position ourselves to receive international development support. Government should be familiar with global development goals so that they don’t ask for what is not available. Everything we do must be guided by data and planning, not just asking.”

 

[Punch]