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From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria has again been reminded to sign the 2026 edition of Action Plan for the implementation of Open Government Participation (OGP) program to avoid an international blacklist by the 30th of June.
The Open Government Participation Program (OGP) was internationally designed to open up the national and state budget cycles to enshrine transparency in governance, which Nigeria became a signatory to in 2016.
Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Monday, to kick-start activities marking ten years of Nigeria signing the pact, a spokesperson to a coalition of civil society organizations, Mr. Uchenna Arisukwu, appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quickly sign the OGP National Action Plan 4 and begin implementation of commitments to avoid being blacklisted by the international community by the end of June 2026.
The coalition further urged the present administration to be deeply committed to providing adequate and sustainable funding for the OGP process and related reform activities in Nigeria.
It also urged the administration to emulate late President Muhammadu Buhari in demonstrating a stronger political will to ensure full implementation of OGP commitments across relevant ministries, departments, and agencies.
It highlighted that strengthening coordination, monitoring, and accountability mechanisms for tracking implementation progress will enshrine transparency in the country.
However, it demands creating more inclusive spaces for citizens and civil society organizations to participate meaningfully in governance processes.
Meanwhile, the coalition had stated that it joins the global community of reformers to celebrate the power of co-creation and open governance in building trust, strengthening democracy, enhancing sustainable development while delivering better services to citizens.
“The Open Government Week is a global initiative led by the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a multilateral initiative aimed at securing concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and fight corruption.
“Since Nigeria joined the Open Government Partnership in July 2016 and committed to enhancing transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and improved public service delivery, the country has developed and implemented three National Action Plans with progress in the areas of fiscal transparency, beneficial ownership, digital governance and civic engagement, however the implementation of some of the commitments under the OGP framework continues to face major challenges”.
As the global community commemorates the 2026 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week,
The coalition calls attention to the slow pace of implementation of open government reforms in Nigeria and the urgent need for stronger government commitment to the OGP process.
This underscores key implementation gaps that remain evident in weak institutional coordination, inadequate funding, slow execution of commitments, poor monitoring mechanisms, and inconsistent political support across government institutions.
“These challenges continue to limit the impact of OGP reforms and weaken public trust in governance processes.
We are particularly concerned that despite the importance of the OGP process in strengthening democratic governance, many commitments contained in previous national action plans have either witnessed partial implementation or suffered delays due to a lack of sustained political will and inadequate resource allocation.
“As Nigeria marks the OGP Week 2026, we call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to 4-yearly demonstrate renewed commitment to open governance reforms”.
Also speaking, Director of The Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, said this year’s OGP week, is to create awareness and also to draw government attention to signing the action plan 2026-29.
Mrs. Lucy Abagi, Director center for Transparency Advocacy, decries non- compliance of about 9 states of the Federation in domestication of the OGP program. These states, including Rivers State, Bayelsa State, Benue State, Borno State Ebonyi State Katsina State Ogun State Osun State, and Yobe State, are yet to comply with the international transparency program. So far, 27 states have been reported to have complied with the international transparency program.
