A civil society organisation working to promote economic and ecological justice in West Africa, has called on the Government of Akwa Ibom State to make fiscal and policy transparency a core driver of the ARISE Agenda, the state’s development blueprint.
Speaking at the two-year review of the ARISE Agenda held on Thursday at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, the organisation commended the government for undertaking an independent mid-term evaluation of the blueprint and creating a public platform to share findings.
“This is a timely opportunity to reflect on the state’s development trajectory and conduct an honest self appraisal,” said Policy Alert Executive Director, Tijah Bolton-Akpan.
“It signals a shift from ARISE as a socio-political mantra to ARISE as a measurable development framework.”
Policy Alert noted that the ARISE Agenda has significant potential to transform Akwa Ibom State, but that potential can only be fully realised when anchored in transparency, participation, and accountability.
The organisation expressed concern that the draft ARISE Agenda, developed with citizen input during the 2023 Akwa Ibom Dialogue, has still not been formally published.
“We actively contributed to the process and celebrated it as an expression of the government’s commitment to participatory governance.
However, two years after the draft ARISE Agenda, the outcome document from that process has not been formally published or made accessible to the public.
Without public access to the document, citizens cannot effectively track performance or provide informed feedback. Inviting stakeholders to discuss a document they have not seen reduces participation to mere tokenism,” the organisation stated.
Policy Alert urged the government to publish the ARISE Agenda on its website and institutionalise its review as an annual activity.
The organisation also decried a sharp decline in fiscal openness, pointing to budget implementation reports now reduced to three-page summaries without capital expenditure details, making it difficult to track projects or align spending with ARISE priorities.
“International investors and development partners need to see credible fiscal data. Without it, the ARISE Agenda will struggle to attract the financing it needs,” Policy Alert warned.
While welcoming the State Bureau of Statistics’ data-driven approach, Policy Alert noted that the metrics and methodology used for the evaluation have not been disclosed, falling short of both international quality standards and Nigeria’s National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.
The group called for public involvement in the evaluation process to enable third-party or “shadow” reporting that can highlight gaps and strengthen accountability.
Policy Alert reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Akwa Ibom State Government and other stakeholders to ensure the ARISE Agenda delivers on its promise for inclusive and sustainable development.
The ARISE acronym stands for Agricultural Revolution, Rural Development, Infrastructural Maintenance and Advancement, Security Management, and Educational Advancement, representing the sectoral focus of the Governor Umo Eno-led state government.
The Agenda was launched during a four-day Akwa Ibom Dialogue in 2023 that brought together citizens and experts to make inputs into the administration’s medium-term policy direction.
