The Federal Government, on Friday received outcomes of validation of the Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR), carried out by the African Union (AU) Team on African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
The primary purpose of the APRM is to foster good governance by the adoption of policies, standards and practices, leading to political stability, high economic growth and sustainable development.
It is also to accelerate sub-regional and continental integration through sharing of experiences, among others.
Receiving the report, Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), thanked the AU team for its successful mission in Nigeria, noting that the mission was commendable in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mustapha said the AU was committed to its assessment mission in Nigeria to fulfill the aims and the expectations of APRM on CSAR.
“The team has been very committed to the completion of this exercise, and I think your sacrifices to ensure the completion of the report will truly be rewarded,” he said.
The SGF assured the AU team of Federal Government’s implementation of the National Programme of Action, arising from Nigeria’s Second Peer Review report, as presented by the AU team.
Earlier, Princess Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator, African Union Development Agency/New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA/NEPAD), expressed gratitude to Mustapha and President Muhammadu Buhari, for their support.
“I respectfully express my unreserved gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his support and approval, and the conduct of the Second Peer Review process of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I immensely thank the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha for your guidance, overwhelming support, encouragement and leadership quality that led to the successful process of the exercise,” Akobundu said.
Also, Prof. Abdoulie Janneh , the Lead Panelist on AU Country Review Mission (CRM), thanked Buhari and Nigerians for the support the team had received in the course of its work in Nigeria.
Janneh, however, appealed to the government to pay attention to all the observations made by the team for sustainable development in Nigeria.
According to him, during their visit to all the six geopolitical zones of the country, the team identified some challenges which are not only peculiar to Nigeria, but also affecting other African countries.
The review report, Janneh said, would address the four thematic areas of democracy/political governance, social, economic development and corporate governance.
He said their report would serve as a guide to the Nigerian government, as well as other countries in Africa to share in their experiences.
The AU team was in Nigeria to further review the CSAR on activities of the APRM following approval of the report by the president for validation earlier this year.
