By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has observed that the governance structures of any nation lacking adequate security architecture are vulnerable to collapse, thereby undermining sustainable development.
The Minister who made the observation when the leadership and participants of the National Institute for Security Studies (Executive Intelligence Management Course-EIMC 14) visited her at Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday said security and good governance are fundamental to the attainment of sustainable development.
In her presentation titled, “Governance, Security and Sustainable Development in Africa: Nexus, Challenges and Prospects”,
According to the Minister stated that “they form a critical part of the super-structure on which economic growth and development can be achieved in any country”.
Mrs Ahmed pointed out that fragile and conflict-afflicted states lag behind on most development indicators, experiencing higher levels of malnutrition, child mortality and school completion rates.
She said, “as we all know, insecurity discourages investment, lowers productivity, and destroys livelihoods. Progress on the Millennium Development Goals was found to be slowest in fragile and conflict-afflicted countries and for this reason, human security is viewed as essential to the attainment of the SDGs.
“A consensus has emerged recognising security as a precondition for sustainable development. Security agencies are an intrinsic and essential element of the governance structure of any nation with the level of security determining the sustainability of development”.
Quoting the African Development Bank, the Minister disclosed that the annual global cost of conflict is estimated at $100 billion.
Against this backdrop, she said the Buhari Administration has demonstrated strong commitment to sustainable development, governance and security, not only through global commitments, but also by the allocation of financial resources.
“The security agencies are prioritised in the allocation of our limited revenues and as an example, about 86 percent of the 2021 Supplementary Budget was dedicated to the capital and recurrent expenditure needs of the security agencies to supplement the allocations in the 2021 Amended Budget.
“Several initiatives to promote good governance are also funded through the Federal Budget supplemented with the assistance of development partners”, she stated, listing key governance and security initiatives spearheaded by the Finance Ministry and its agencies to include the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The Minister said, “the implementation of the TSA has generated enormous savings for Government and significantly improved our cash management capabilities.
“Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS)
GIFMIS is an IT based system for budget management and accounting being implemented to improve Public Financial Management processes and enhance accountability and transparency across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
“It has the capability to cover the entire financial management cycle, end-to-end and additional modules are being activated on an ongoing basis”.
The Minister explained that ‘Project Lighthouse’ is a data driven artificial intelligence engine that provides the ministry with an intelligence and profiling platform to aid in policy formulation, implementation and impact assessment.
“It enables the aggregation of data from a variety of sources to give us the capability to develop an intelligent data-driven revenue mobilisation model”, she added.
She disclosed that the second phase of implementation of Project Lighthouse has been approved by the Federal Executive Council adding that “far, we have been able to aggregate N5.2 trillion worth of debts owed to Government by third parties, of which N49.7 billion of this amount has been recovered”.
Noting that the constraints imposed by insecurity and misgovernance on sustainable development are multi-faceted and require an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach, the Ahmed said her ministry “plays a critical role in ensuring the funding requirements for the various MDAs involved in achieving this objective, including the security agencies, are met in a timely and predictable fashion.
” However, at the Ministry we envision our role as extending beyond facilitation to actively engaging in the design and delivery of initiatives which directly contribute to building the superstructure of good governance and security in Nigeria, all within the mandate of our Ministry and its agencies.
“Although good governance and security are instrumental to sustainable development, I believe that causality also runs in the other direction with growth and economic development creating a safe and secure environment where all Nigerians can pursue their livelihoods.
“The most recent GDP data which reports real GDP growth of 5.01% in the second quarter of 2021 is very encouraging news as it indicates the Nigerian economy is on a solid path to recovery. It is important to note that much of the growth was driven by the expansion of the non-oil sector of the economy where most Nigerians are employed.
“We recognise there is still much to be done and will continue to work closely with all the relevant stakeholders in Nigeria, including the officers of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 14, who are representative of our brave and valiant security forces, to make Nigeria a safe and secure environment conducive to sustainable development”, she added.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation and Commandant of the Institute, Alhaji Ayo Adeleke commended the Minister for all the measures put in place to turn the economy around despite the challenges the country is presently facing.
He appealed for financial support from the government to enable the institute actualize its permanent site and to embark on its planned world tour which will expose the participants to other parts of the world.
The National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Abuja is the foremost security training institute in Nigeria. The institute prepares high-level security intelligence professionals, as well as senior level managers for critical roles in the sustenance of national security.
About 66 participants, some of them from Ghana, The Gambia and Liberia are currently are undergoing the 10-month
Executive Intelligence Management Course-EIMC 14.
