President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja restated the commitment of the Nigerian government to the enthronement of democracy and good governance in the African continent.
The president stated this at the Virtual Support Mission and Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Committee of Heads of State and Government participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APR Forum) and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the on-going Second Peer Review Process.
According to him, Nigeria has consistently supported the strengthening of democracy and good governance throughout the African continent, including under the umbrella of the African Peer Review Mechanism.
“We remain fully committed to promoting the good governance practice enshrined in the ideals and vision of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, which gave birth to this review mechanism. Nigeria will continue to support Africa’s renewal and rebirth evident in the collective commitment to this review in order to consolidate Africa’s path to healthy Democracy and sustainable growth”.
The president lauded the progress made so far in the Africa Peer Review Mechanism as a self-monitoring tool to address governance deficit in Africa, “as we conform to our shared values in the areas of democracy and political governance, economic governance, corporate governance and socio-economic development”.
The Nigerian leader recalled that Nigeria had the first Peer Review in 2008 and since then, had covered appreciable ground in the implementation of the National Programme of Action.
He said: “Our Administration has continued to vigorously pursue security, economic diversification and anti-corruption as the main thrust of national change agenda. The totality of this strategy is premised on the promotion of democracy, respect for the Rule of Law and Human Rights, gender equality and by far the largest investment in social change in Nigeria’s post-independence history”.
He expressed the readiness of his administration to submit to the review exercise, saying “Nigeria is keen to join the league of African Union Member States which will undergo the second peer review exercise. This is a firm demonstration of our belief in the dividends of democracy through this unique peer review system”.
According to him, Nigeria has learned valuable lessons and gained a wealth of experience in its journey to entrenching democracy and good governance in all manifestations since the restoration to democracy in 1999.
“We must stay the course and continue on this pathway to a peaceful, secure and more democratic Nigeria”.
The Chairperson of the APRM National Governing Council, Senator Abba Ali, said the benefits of the second review include among others; the invigoration and institutionalisation of the APRM process in Nigeria and entrenchment of good governance.
In her remark, the Chief Executive Officer, African Union Development Agency (AUDA) – NEPAD/APRM Nigeria, Gloria Akubundu, said this review under the leadership of President Buhari, was the second for Nigeria since the adoption of NEPAD in 2001.
