The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has praised the Federal Government’s recent move to promote transparency in university budgeting but is urging the government to expand the initiative to cover all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure comprehensive financial accountability.
In a statement released on Monday, the MRA expressed strong support for the federal government’s decision to make university budgets publicly accessible, describing it as a crucial step in improving the management of educational funds. However, the organization emphasized that this effort should not be limited to universities alone, as it believes that transparency should be a fundamental principle applied across all government institutions.
“MRA welcomes the government’s initiative to improve budget transparency in universities, but we believe this should be just the beginning,” said MRA Executive Director, Mr. Adebayo Folarin. “For true accountability, the government must extend this transparency to all MDAs. Only by doing so can we ensure that taxpayer money is being spent wisely and in the best interest of the public.”
The MRA has long been an advocate for increased transparency in government financial activities and has regularly called for more robust measures to track the allocation and use of public funds. The group pointed out that university budgets represent just a small portion of the government’s overall spending and that a broader application of these transparency measures would have a more significant impact on curbing corruption and improving governance.
“Transparency is key to preventing mismanagement and ensuring public trust,” Folarin said. “We urge the federal government to take this opportunity to set a national precedent by making budget information from all MDAs easily accessible to the public.”
The move by the government to make university budget details publicly available has been largely welcomed by the academic community and other stakeholders who see it as a step toward better resource allocation and accountability in the education sector.
While the government has not yet responded to MRA’s call for extending the initiative to MDAs, observers are hopeful that the success of the university transparency framework could set a precedent for broader reforms in public financial management.
source: guardian.ng
