No Due Process in Project Implementation -Niger State Commission Laments

The Permanent Secretary of the Niger state Planning Commission, Alhaji Mustapha Mohammed has lamented that due process is not being carried out in the implementation of a lot of programmes and projects in the state adding that a lot of funds are being sent to Ministries, Departments and Agencies without the commission’s consent.

According to him, most of these programmes are being carried out without the knowledge or input of the planning commission.

The Permanent Secretary made this observation during the Validation Meeting of the Niger state Aid Coordination Strategy organized by the United Nations Development Programme in Minna.

He bemoaned the fact that counterpart funds are usually being collected by some group of people without their knowledge adding that this development have making the Commission to look like a rubber stamp commission.

“Things are changing now, a lot of money are being sent to Ministries, Development and Agencies (MDAs) without the knowledge of the Planning Commission, some people collect counterpart find without our knowledge. Dealing with these problems have not been easy”, he said.

Mohammed called on the state government not to totally change all the reforms of the former administration but to look at ways which the reforms can benefit the state.

“The current administration do not see merit in the reforms of the past administration, that is why we are facing some challenges now. I suggest that all the good reforms that the old administration formulated should be considered and left to be.”

In her presentation, Coordination Development Assistance at state and local government levels, the consultant, Grace Okechukwu noted that the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) can only pay 6 per cent of salaries of workers in the state because the state solely depends on Federal Allocation.

She stressed on the need of exploring other opportunities of getting fund apart from international donor partners adding that individual philanthropists can be sourced to support the state.

Okechukwu further said that a mechanism needs to be put in place to track resources going into the state.