CBIAMEC Inaugurates New Executive, Vows Stronger Budget Monitoring, Accountability

The Civil Society Budget Implementation Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (CBIAMEC), Nigeria, has inaugurated its new executive members, with a commitment to inten-sify monitoring of government budgets and strengthen transparency, accountability and effective utilisation of public resources.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja, the newly elected National Coordinator of CBIAMEC, Comrade Patrick Ogheneyero, described his mandate as a call to service and pledged to ensure that public budgets translate into measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
Ogheneyero said the effectiveness of a budget should not be assessed merely by the amount appropriated but by the extent to which funds are released, projects are implemented as ap-proved and intended beneficiaries receive the expected impact.
He said the new leadership would prioritise evidence-based budget assessment, grassroots mon-itoring, citizen participation, transparency, accountability, capacity building and the strategic use of technology and data.
According to him, CBIAMEC would scrutinise whether appropriated funds were properly re-leased and utilised, whether projects were executed according to approved specifications and whether government programmes delivered value to citizens.
“These are not political questions. They are questions of responsible citizenship and good gov-ernance,” he said.
The National Coordinator stressed that budget monitoring must extend beyond government offices, conferences and reports to communities where projects and programmes are being im-plemented.
“Budget monitoring must not remain confined to offices, conferences, or reports. We must take monitoring to the communities where government projects and programmes are being implemented,” he said.
He added that the organisation would strengthen collaboration among civil society organisa-tions, community leaders, professional bodies, the media, academia, development partners and relevant government institutions to improve public finance accountability.
Addressing CBIAMEC’s relationship with government, Ogheneyero said the organisation was not established to confront or undermine public institutions but to promote accountability and improve governance.
“CBIAMEC is not established to fight government. We are established to strengthen accounta-bility and improve governance,” he said.
He explained that the committee would acknowledge good performance, objectively identify implementation gaps and make constructive recommendations while maintaining its independ-ence.