The Senate on Wednesday urged the National Planning Commission (NPC) to develop a policy framework that creates financial mechanisms for development cooperation and aid effectiveness in Nigeria.
The upper chamber counseled its relevant standing committees to monitor and oversee Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that are beneficiaries of developmental aid and grants across Nigeria.
The Senate further asked States’ Planning Commissions and Houses of Assembly to domesticate and implement federal policies and laws to enable states to achieve aid effectiveness.
The resolutions were reached at Wednesday’s plenary following consideration of a motion titled: “The need to make development aid more effective to work for Nigerians.”
The motion was sponsored by Senator Yahaya Ibrahim Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central) and co-sponsored by 52 other Senators.
Read also: Forex earnings: Accelerate diversification of economy, Senate tells FG
Senator Oloriegbe said, “Nigeria as a developing country receives aid from bilateral countries and multilateral organizations; despite not being an aid-dependent country, as the support to it is about five percent of the national budget.”
He bemoaned the failure of the National Planning Commission to effectively perform its role of ensuring the monitoring of donor assistance with national priorities in all sectors of the economy.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said the true application of aid for the benefit of Nigerians will form part of the legislative agenda of the ninth Senate.
“Giving aid to Nigeria should not be treated like it is treated in other countries that are lesser than Nigeria. We must be able to know exactly what the aid is for, and then streamline the aid with our national developmental objectives.
“The Chairman of Diaspora and NGOs Committee has the task of engaging the National Planning Commission together with the Chairman of the Committee on National Planning to ensure that that we know what the processes and procedures are and the regulations and guidelines and if we are not satisfied, then we have to come up with the legal framework that will ensure that if there is any aid to us as a country, our people benefit from the aid,” Lawan said.
