The Acting Permanent Secretary of Budget, Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Sarah Ocheja, on behalf of the Commissioner, Hon. Asiwaju Idris, warmly welcomed a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning to Kogi State. The team is in the State to conduct a system compliance assessment focused on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practices.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Ocheja emphasized the critical role of Monitoring and Evaluation in driving the development agenda of the state. She described the visit as a welcome development and expressed optimism that the exercise would aid the state in identifying areas of strength and as opportunities for improvement.
“I believe your visit will help the state identify key areas for growth and ensure that stakeholders are technically equipped to track and achieve set objectives for programmes and projects. This, in turn, will contribute meaningfully to both state and national development,” she stated.
She further assured the visiting team of the state’s commitment to continuous improvement and encouraged stakeholders to fully utilize the opportunity for enhanced collaboration. “I pray your mission here will be fruitful, and I urge our stakeholders to take advantage of this engagement as we work collectively to move Kogi State forward.”
Leading the delegation from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Hajia Fatima Dauda expressed sincere appreciation to the Kogi State government and all participants for their warm reception and active engagement. She noted that the system assessment exercise is part of a broader effort to institutionalize evidence-based decision-making and improve accountability for results across all tiers of government.
“Our mission is to assess the current state of M&E structures, processes, and capabilities within the state. This will help us identify existing strengths and capacity gaps while promoting robust M&E practices to support effective governance and improved service delivery,” she explained.
She highlighted that the assessment aligns with the National M&E Policy, established and enacted into law in 2022/2023, to support the implementation of national development plans focused on transparency, accountability, and results-driven public service.
Hajia Fatima listed the key focus areas of the assessment to include:
Structural and organizational alignment with M&E
Integration of M&E with sectoral plans
Human resource capacity for M&E
Partnerships and collaboration
Existence and application of M&E frameworks and tools
Costed M&E work plans
Advocacy and communication strategies to promote M&E culture
Routine monitoring practices, research, and data management
Use of geospatial tools and information systems
Utilization of M&E data for learning and results improvement
She noted that the assessment will involve structured interviews and evidence-based evaluation, with ministries rated based on completeness, objectivity, and availability of supporting documentation.
“We will commend areas of excellence and encourage improvement where there are gaps,” she added. “This is a collaborative and constructive process to strengthen M&E functionality across the subnational level.”
Responding on behalf of the state, the Director of M&E, Mr. Joseph, thanked the federal team for their commitment and visit. He noted that Kogi State is steadily strengthening its M&E systems despite some challenges.
“One of our significant milestones is the development of the Kogi State Performance Indicator Tracker (KPIT). I encourage all stakeholders to download the KPIT app from the app store as a tool to support effective tracking,” he said.
Mr. Bello Joseph, acknowledged capacity building and funding constraints as major setbacks and called for sustained collaboration between the federal and state governments. He emphasized the need to institutionalize M&E across all sectors and appealed for increased support to enable the state to achieve its development goals.
Princess Funsho Sumanu
Public Relations Officer
Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning
