BudgIT frontman, Seun Onigbinde, has been trending since morning. Why? After years of being one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s critics, he’s now part of the government. And below is his reason for joining Buhari’s train, according to him:
“Friends, I have accepted to take up an
advisory role underwritten by an
international development agency for
an initial period of six months . I
believe that to guard the reputation of
BudgIT, I need to take an operational
break and make my new position
public.
“In a technical advisory role, I shall be
supporting the Minister of State for
Budget and National Planning, Prince
Clem Agba, along the issues of budget
reform, development planning, and
revenue growth. It is similar to a task
Joseph Agunbiade (my BudgIT co-
founder) and I worked on in 2013–14,
under the DFID-FEPAR program for
the National Assembly Budget and
Research Office.
“I see this as an adventure considering
an accepted steep curve on public
sector structure. I wish to state I
remain loyal to my values — of
appreciating the right of every citizen to
ask the hard questions; that public
resources must be accounted for; and
that civic spaces and individual rights
must be keenly protected.
“I have spoken to our partners,
advisory board, and mentors, and I
believe this is part of multi-pronged
approach towards accelerating the
long-term objectives of BudgIT and
exploring new experiences. I will
constantly review the objectives that I
have set for this period and provide
updates as I proceed.
“My belief in the capacity of BudgIT, led
by Gabriel Okeowo, to do great work in
demanding effective transparency and
accountability remains unshaken.
-SEUN ONIGBINDE.”