pgfconsolidated policy brief

PROGRESSIVEGOVERNORS

FORUM

PGF POLICY DOCUMENT

PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF

VOLUME 1, 2015

PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE SESSION1ST QUARTER, 2015

THEME: MARCH FOR A NEW NIGERIA

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P G F P O L I C Y D O C U M E N T


FORUM

PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF

PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE SESSION1ST QUARTER, 2015

THEME: MARCH FOR A NEW NIGERIA

VOLUME 1, 2015

DATE: Monday, 23rd March, 2015.

VENUE: Banquet Hall, Government House, Owerri, Imo State.

TIME: 10am prompt

PGF POLICY DOCUMENT

“MARCH FOR A NEW NIGERIA”

- HE Owelle Rochas Okorocha, at the Progressive Governance thSession held on Thursday, 19 March, 2015 in Ikeja, Lagos State

Chairman of the occasion,

APC Presidential Candidate and his Vice

Governors of the Progressive States and their representatives,

Members of the Executive Council of the All Progressives Congress,

Distinguished Senators,

Members of the House of Representatives,

Gentlemen of the Press,

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to welcome you to a very unique Governance Session of the

Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). The timing of the Session, coming at the

cusps of the first ever democratic alternation of political power from an

incumbent party to an opposition party, is historic. We are confident about this

given the groundswell of support by millions of Nigerians who have shown

solidarity with APC's message of “change” across the length and breadth of our

country. There is no hiding the fact that our people are ready for change. Our

interaction with diverse spheres of the Nigerian society during our recent

campaigns presents this Session as a very important intellectual hybrid space that

challenges us as the government in waiting to collectively re-examine our policy

thrusts in line with the expectations of the Nigerian people.

The commitment of the APC to meeting the aspirations of the Nigerian people is

eloquently amplified by the establishment of the Progressive Governors Forum as

a think tank policy institution of the APC. Beyond politics, the PGF is primarily

concerned with the facilitation of better governance processes through the

generation of ideas, articulation of development briefs and mainstreaming of policy

recommendations into the working apparatus of government.

Consistent with our commitment to engender ideas driven leadership and

participatory governance, APC Governors have held three Progressive

Governance Lecture Series. As you may recall, the first Progressive Governance thLecture was held on the 24 of February, 2014 in Ibadan, Oyo State with the theme

“Unemployment and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria: The Way

Forward”. The second Progressive Governance Lecture was held in Kano, Kano

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thState on 12 May, 2014 with the theme “Crisis in the Education Sector:

Addressing the Connect between Unemployment and Insecurity”. The

third Governance Lecture was held in Owerri, Imo State on September 1, 2014. It

was focused on the health sector under the theme “Dealing with the

Challenge of Building a Physically Healthy Nation through Preventive,

Protective and Innovative Medicare”.

The three Progressive Governance Lecture Series were followed up by Policy thDesign Sessions. The first Policy Design Session was held on 18 March, 2014 in

Abeokuta, Ogun State. The second Policy Design Session was held on July 15, 2014

in Port Harcourt, Rivers State while the last Policy Design Session was held on

November 4, 2014 in Sokoto; Sokoto State. The Policy Design Sessions provided a

veritable platform for field experts, technocrats and policy drivers at state level to

discuss extensively on the proceedings of the Governance Lectures and come up

with finer policy recommendations. The outcome of the three Policy Design

Sessions is what we are presenting today as PGF Consolidated Policy Briefs. Our

expectation is that progressive states and even PDP states who want to move

forward will adopt the whole, or a part of these briefs as is relevant to prevailing

circumstances in their states.

As has been aptly themed – “March for a New Nigeria”, there is no doubt that this

event resonates with the mood of the entire country. The 2015 general election

will mark a series of firsts in the modern annals of Nigeria. For the first time, a

national party that was the product of merger of different political parties will be

contesting for elective positions at both federal and state levels. For the first time

in our political history, the ruling party, weeks to elections, has assumed the

position of an opposition political party. Curiously, the People Democratic Party

(PDP) has become the main opposition party in a very absurd manner - opposing

every move for the conduct of free, fair, peaceful and credible elections. My fellow

compatriots, for the first time in our motherland, the wind of change is poised to

sweep out an anti-people ruling party and usher in a pro-Nigerian people party

poised to work for the emergence of a New Nigeria. This is March! Our date with

destiny was only postponed, it can never be denied. On March 28, 2015, by the

grace of God Almighty and the votes of the Nigerian people, we will march General

Muhammadu Buhari into the precincts of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa!

We are confident of new beginnings that destiny holds in view for Nigeria. We are

confident because we are prepared to take over political power from a string of

PDP governments that have failed in the past 16 years to address daunting crisis of

corruption, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and decaying public infrastructure.

We are confident because majority of Nigerians are poised to entrust APC with

their mandate. At the risk of sounding immodest, I must say that the excellent

performance of APC State Governors boldly underlines our commitment to

bequeath to Nigerians born and unborn a legacy of good governance. The APC has

never taken for granted the role of our dear compatriots in making a new Nigeria

happen sooner than later. Unlike those who only come to you on election eve, APC

Governors have shared in your pains, labored with you in your struggles and

continuously sought your opinion on how best we can collectively steer the ship of

our nation to the Promised Land.

It was not by accident that the first three PGF Progressive Governance Lecture

Series dealt with issues of unemployment, education and health. As a social

democratic party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) believes that these three

governance concerns are not only crucial to national development but are the

pillars for a people-centric government and therefore sine qua non to the

evolution of a truly democratic modern nation state. Given very robust and

practical recommendations made in the policy briefs, we are confident that we

have outlined policy recommendations that will assist our party keep its covenant

with Nigerians. We must, however, point out that recommendations made in the

Policy Briefs are not cast in stone. Our Policy Briefs are living documents. They will

continue to be subjected and adapted to the best wishes and aspirations of the

generality of Nigerians whom we seek to serve.

In conclusion, it is not lost on us that having a well thought out Policy Brief does not

instantly translate to sustainable development. Sustainable development can only

be harnessed in an ecosystem of good governance and deepening of the

democratic culture. Our promise to Nigerians is that APC government at all levels

will show unflinching commitment to security of lives, the rule of law, property

rights, freedom of speech and the media, freedom of worship, open political choice,

access to justice, and responsive, responsible, effective and efficient public

institutions. We will roll back years of physical, economic and social insecurity. We

will put an end to the days of “justice only for the rich and powerful”. We will not

zip our lips when government officials and their spouses corrupt the sensibilities of

our young ones with the use of the most ill-mannered, violent, provocative and

despicable slurs. We will not lay supine and watch our jobless youths scammed and

stampeded to untimely graves all in the name of job hunting. We will not indulge in

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clueless expedition in empty glossaries when our common patrimony is frittered

away in the most callous and unconscionable manner. An APC Federal

Government will simply halt the slide and put in motion the advancement of - A

New Nigeria! As our dear country marches to an epochal moment at the ballot

boxes come March 28 and April 11, 2015, we solemnly enjoin you to keep those

dates with us. Nigeria will flourish again!

Thank you! God bless you!

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PGF POLICY DOCUMENT

(Policy Outcome of Progressive Governance Lecture Series)


FORUM

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Foreword –

It is fulfilling that the Progressive Governors Forum which was established about a year ago has blossomed into a respectable Governance Think Tank and Policy Development Institution. The Progressive Governors Forum Secretariat has been able to organize a number of epochal activities geared towards amplifying the commitment of APC Governors to charting a new paradigm of accountable and progressive governance in Nigeria. In the past one year, the Progressive Governors Forum through its Governance Programme has been able to organize three Progressive Governance Lecture Series (PGLS). The 1st PGLS was hosted by the Oyo State Government in Ibadan on February 24, 2014. The 2nd PGLS was hosted by the Kano State Government in Kano on May 12, 2014. The most recent PGLS was hosted by the Imo State Government in Owerri on September 1, 2014. Each PGLS was subsequently followed up by a Policy Design Session (PDS) in Abeokuta, Port Harcourt and Sokoto. Ogun, Rivers and Sokoto State Governments hosted the successive PDS. The Consolidated Policy Brief of the Progressive Governors Forum is an excellent documentation of the robust intellectual engagement with policy drivers at state level and expert technocrats at afore-mentioned Policy Design Sessions. The crux of the policy design sessions was to address core developmental challenges presented at the PGLS and to articulate commensurate innovative responses. I and my colleague Governors are optimistic that the policy recommendations contained in this publication will go a long way in achieving our collective passion for accelerated development and improvement in the lives of Nigerian citizens.

Owelle Rochas Anayo OKOROCHAGovernor, Imo State and Chairman, PGFJanuary, 2015

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Acknowledgment:

The Secretariat of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) wishes to appreciate

the sterling contributions of APC Governors to the success of the PGF activities

particularly the Governance Programme. The success of the three Progressive

Governance Lecture Series (PGLS) and the successor Policy Design Session (PDS)

which has culminated in the development of this Policy Brief was as a result of the

uncommon commitment of APC Governors to sustainable development.

We also want to acknowledge the unstinting commitment of Policy Drivers in APC

states particularly APC Commissioners of Economic Development and Planning,

Education and Health and their team for enriching our Policy Design Sessions with

their competences. To our resource persons – Dr. Ayo Teriba, Dr. Abdu Husseini,

Dr. Modupe Olateju, Dr. Jibo Ibrahim, Prof. Ifeoma Joy Okoye, Prof. Oyewale

Tomori, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, Dr. Sam Ibeneme, Dr. Anas Sabir, Mr. Aminu Yakubu

and their staff, we say “thank you for a great partnership”.

Furthermore, we wish to commend members of PGF Governance Programme

Steering Committee – Professor Okey Onyejekwe, Ambassador Fatima Bala, Dr.

Usman Bugaje, Mr. Wale Ajadi and Mr. Innocent Chukwuma - for their sense of

dedication and sacrifice in ensuring the success of the work that we do in PGF.

Finally, it is only worthy to appreciate the efforts of the entire members of staff of

PGF Secretariat especially the Governance Programme team – Mr. Egghead

Odewale (Director – Planning and Strategy), Mr. Salisu Suleiman (Head, Media and

Communications), Comrade Asuzu Echezona (Technical Adviser, Governance) and

Ms. Maryam Abubakar (Technical Assistant, Governance) for their editorial efforts

towards the development and packaging of this report.

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Executive Summary

In pursuit of the organizational mandate of the Progressive Governors Forum, three Progressive Governance Lecture Series were held in 2014. The Lectures were followed by Policy Design Sessions. The PGF Policy Design Sessions are aimed at developing concrete Policy Recommendations as a way of addressing challenges identified during the Progressive Governance Lecture Series.

So far, three sets of Policy Recommendations have emerged from Policy Design stSessions organized by PGF. The 1 Policy Session, held on March 14, 2014, in

ndAbeokuta, Ogun State, addressed the issue of Unemployment. The 2 Policy Session was held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on June 14, 2014. It addressed challenges in Nigeria's education sector and linkages to unemployment and

rdinsecurity. The 3 Policy Session took place in Sokoto, Sokoto State on November 4, 2014 with focus on challenges in Nigeria's health sector.

During engagement with policy drivers from APC States and a consortium of development experts who facilitated the different Policy Design Sessions, a number of cross cutting challenges emerged. One is the dearth of political will to deal with intractable issues bedevilling Nigeria's social services sector. Another is the challenge of poor governance especially as exemplified in resource mis-management. The last major cross cutting issue identified during Policy Sessions was poor ownership of government policies by different strata of stakeholders and the general citizenry.

It is our expectation that this Policy Brief will be useful in forging effective responses to the challenge of improving the quality of governance and commensurately the standard of living, generally in Nigeria and particularly in all the APC States. It is also hoped that Policy Recommendations contained herein will rub off on the campaign manifestoes of APC candidates and general governance directives in Nigeria.

Salihu Moh. LukmanDirector General

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Foreword..............................................................................................................................2

Acknowledgment................................................................................................................3

Executive Summary.............................................................................................................4

Policy Recommendations on Unemployment..............................................................6

Policy Recommendations on Education......................................................................13

Policy Recommendations on Health............................................................................20

Appendix............................................................................................................................27

- List of Participants

CONTENTS

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Policy Recommendation on

Unemployment:

Policy Brief

March, 2014

“Unemployment and the Crisis of

Governance in Nigeria: The Way

Forward”.

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BACKGROUND

Concerned about the escalating unemployment situation in Nigeria, Progressive Governors approved a course of action by PGF to work with experts and develop policies to tackle the problem. Consequently, a lecture was held on February 24, 2014 at Ibadan Civic Centre, Oyo State with the theme, “Unemployment and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria: The Way Forward”.

As a follow-up to the lecture, a Policy Expert Design Panel (PEDP) was set up to harvest the views of policy drivers at state level on practical steps to tackling unemployment in APC states and the country in general. The PEDP held its first session on March 17-18, 2014 in Abeokuta, Ogun State. At the end of sessions, the PEDP identified the following contexts for the crisis of unemployment and governance and agreed on several key policy recommendations:

A. Nigeria's Unemployment and Governance Crisis in Context:

1. From 8% in 1999, Nigeria's unemployment rate increased to an annual average of 13.3% in 2000 to 2008, and then increased again after the global crisis to an annual average of 21.66% in 2009, to peak at 23.9% by 2011. The 2012 and 2013 figures were yet to be released as of March, 2014.

2. Unemployment is escalating in the face of high growth due to three reasons: (1) The growth character is 'jobless' (2) Existing jobs are being destroyed in the face of growth (3) Escalation in other “non-economic” variables associated with unemployment.

3. Elected officials have been unable to translate growth to increased employment, largely because they have left the task of budgeting, fiscal and monetary policy management in the hands of appointees who have inadvertently made policy choices that have weakened growth, constrained domestic demand, and worsened unemployment rate.

4. The structure of Nigeria's growth is commodity based, rent-seeking, fragile, non-competitive, poorly industrialized, regionally and sectorally concentrated. 90% of economic activity and growth come from 3 or 4 sectors (oil, crops, trading, and real estate). The remaining 29 or 30 sectors account for only 10 - 20% of economic growth and activity - telecoms, manufacturing, banking, insurance, construction etc.

5. Nigeria's growth has weak linkages. The sectoral structure of Nigeria's nominal GDP in 2012 in which oil contributed 37%; agriculture, 33%;

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services, 28%; but manufacturing contributed only 2% underscores the urgent sectoral linkage problem that Nigeria must address. Strong backward and forward linkages from high growth sectors to other sectors are required for Nigeria's growth to be more inclusive and therefore more employment-intensive.

B. Causes and Dynamics of Unemployment in Nigeria

Some of the key issues behind the surge in unemployment include:

1. Job Destruction and poor macroeconomic management; Currently in Nigeria, job destruction in the range of 1.5 million to 3.3 million jobs per year since 2008 is very alarming. 23.9 per cent unemployment rate in 2011 in the face of average annual real GDP growth of 6.5 percent is something that calls for urgent policy actions.

2. Fiscal Tightening and Constraints in real Activities: Huge first line deductions from the federation account have ensured a decline in net revenue available for distribution to the three tiers of government. This has placed a huge constraint on public spending, especially for job creation, at different tiers of government. Net revenue available to the three tiers of government has declined from 23.3 percent of GDP in 2004 to 16 percent of GDP by 2012.

3. Arbitrary Oil Benchmarking and Savings Management:The arbitrary manner in which oil benchmark is set and savings accruing from the benchmark is managedcreates problems for Nigeria's fiscal situation: arbitrary selection of some historical average oil price (heavily focused on the past) as benchmark has made government's net revenue to decline steadily as a fraction of GDP, thus constraining employment.

4. Monetary Policy Constraints on Real Activity: Our monetary policy has been largely about fiscal stance and liquidity of banks to the exclusion of the dynamics of real output growth, employment, consumer spending, household sector balance sheet, business spending and corporate sector balance sheet, which should determine monetary policy.

5. Population, Urbanization and Climate Change:Populations, climate change and urbanization are major contributors to unemployment that our economic managers are not taking seriously. With a growth rate of about 2.5%, Nigeria has a youth population structure and could remain so for another 30 years or more. Only about 36% of the population is urbanized.

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6. Poor Economic Governance: Development practitioners and growth economists, as diverse as they are, believe that there is a huge relationship between governance and inclusive economic growth. Governance has therefore become the single most important issue in economic management.

7. Poor Infrastructural Development: Nigeria continues to battle with huge deficits in infrastructural development especially in the power, communication and transport sector: with 170 million people, Nigeria generates less than 3000 megawatts.

8. Institutional Failure: The increasing energy crisis, poor industrial interest and failure of different states institutions including the governance structure has been a major cause of unemployment and economic decline. The legislature is not asking the right questions andrelevant state institutions are failing in their responsibilities.

C. Policy Response to Nigeria's Unemployment and Governance Crisis:

From the foregoing, two major Policy Responses are recommended at Federal and State levels;

i) Engaging the Federal Government:

1. State governments need to engage the Federal government on macroeconomic policies that have continued to create unemployment and job losses. Specifically on this, there is need to work with the legislature to strengthen constitutional provisions to make the meetingsof the National Economic Council more periodic and predictable and its decisions more binding.

2. The Office of the President should be made to present an annual report on the state of the economy to the National Assembly and the Nigerian People.

3. The Preparation of Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual Budget should be guided by job creation projections. Reduction of Recurrent Expenditure in favour of Capital Expenditure, to a ratio of 50:50 for a start, will be useful in this regard.

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4. The Progressive Governors and members of the National Assembly need to demand for a rule-based oil revenue management process, and adopt a rule based excess crude account management process. This will entail a fixed percentage (e.g. 10% or 20%) of oil revenue each year, and also set clear rules about where the proceeds will be domiciled, when the savings can be used, by whom, and what the savings can be used for.

5. Demand the development of strong economic data management system and support for the NBS. Late data readings create problems for those willing to monitor and manage the unemployment ssituation in Nigeria. For instance, figures for 2011 became available in the middle of 2013, figures for 2012 are not out yet in February 2014, and figures for 2013 are not likely to be out until mid-2015. Serious efforts to tackle unemployment must start with a shortening of the time lag from occurrence to readings.

6. PGF should demand for the re-structuring of Nigeria's economy in such a manner that stimulates real growth in other sectors. This can be done through improvement in backward and forward linkages especially through a robust commitment to infrastructural development in rail system, communications and the power sector.

7. Under monetary policy, unemployment rate should be a critical factor for interest rates

8. The National Assembly and the Federal Executive should work towards adopting a rule based, realistic and predictable oil benchmark as a basis for a more transparent management of federation account revenue and excess crude account

9. The current Pension Scheme should be reviewed to make funds therefrom available for some form of insurance and unemployment benefits for the jobless.

10.Invigorate existing cooperatives in various sectors and encourage new ones as they act as effective ways of government- citizen engagement

11.The Corporate Affairs Commission should be decentralized to ensure that state level agencies are able to help various informal sector businesses formalize, obtain access to credit, grow, employ and even pay taxes.

ii) State Specific Policy Recommendations:

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1. Need for legislation to back up various state development initiatives and employment programmes for continuity and sustainability. An Act to guarantee up to 100 days of job at minimum wage for every unemployed is important (details to be developed to guide implementation).

2. State Governments should invest in the generation of baseline data that captures peculiar state job demographics. This can be done through the strengthening of States Bureau of Statistics and Departments of Research, Planning and Economic Development

3. State Governments should carry citizens along in policy formulation to engender policy public ownership of government initiatives and programmes especially on job creation

4. States should address challenges of skills mismatch - skills not meeting the 21st century labour market. Even less skilled sectors have problems – for instance, inadequate strong artisan labour in the construction industry in Nigeria has led to huge dependence on expatriate skilled workers from other countries of West Africa.

5. State Governments need to identify, engage and empower citizens in the informal sector and or those who are engaged in different artisanal occupations. Three approaches should guide this engagement: Recognition, Reward and Protection of artisanal jobs.

6. State Governments should pay more attention to social security benefits for the vulnerable especially the aged, disabled and the unemployed.

7. As a stop gap measure to unemployment, State Governments should prioritize provision of direct jobs in quick-win sectors.

8. State Governments should, where possible, establish regional cooperation in areas of comparative advantages. Synergy among relevant MDAs would be useful in this regard.

9. States should develop effective need mapping and developmental plans, which should be mainstreamed into a State Strategic Action Plan Document. Infrastructural, agricultural and power generation initiatives should be priority in such development plans.

10.State Governments should embark on extensive value sensitization campaign aimed at re-orienting Nigerian youths on available (entrepreneurial) opportunities and benefits of self-employment

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11.Prepare and respond to urbanization and climate change through appropriate adaptation and mitigation actions

12.Award of contacts and consultancies at all levels must be determined by the number of jobs competing firms would create, and states must institute ways of ensuring compliance through project monitoring

13.Governments at all levels should promote ethical re-orientation by institutionalizing good governance practices to show that hard and honest work pays.

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Education:

Policy Brief

August, 2014

Crisis in Nigeria's Education

Sector: Addressing the

Connect between

Unemployment and

Insecurity

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1. Background

In April 2014, the Progressive Governors' Forum organized a lecture on education which was the second in a series of thought leadership events focusing on social development. This lecture was aimed at addressing critical issues in the education landscape, with particular emphasis on the relevance of education and the undesirable disconnect between education, employment and security. Following from the high-level policy imperatives that were established at the lecture, a policy expert design session (PEDS) was convened in July 2014 aimed at supporting policy makers at the state level to identify actionable priorities, which would strengthen the ability of the education sector to improve the relevance and effectiveness of education.

2. Executive Summary

The two education-sector events organized by the PGF highlight three interrelated areas of challenge which should be addressed expediently. First is the reality that a large number of school age children have never attended school or have dropped out. The second is that children who make it to school, on average learn little. The third is that policy-planning and public finance administration systems are often weak and insufficiently accountable. In spite of these challenges, there are examples of good practice observable across states. These practices represent opportunities for greater learning and sharing at state level. For the education sector in Nigeria to fulfill its mandate of preparing children for sustainable livelihoods and productivity at the national and global level, the planning, implementation and evaluation of education policies must be approached via a short, medium and long-term view. This brief outlines actionable priorities which if considered, can pragmatically address some of the challenges identified in the sector.

3. Challenges in the education sector

a) A vast number of children are out of school Nigeria currently accounts for a fifth of the estimated 60 million children out-of-school (OOS) globally - 10.5 million Nigerian children are not enrolled in school. Those that make it to school record relatively low primary completion rates, and there are persistently high levels of pupil dropout at primary level. This situation presents two serious concerns. First, given the well-established link between years of education and economic productivity at the level of the individual and society, it is safe to say that OOS children represent a vast share of potentially valuable human resources whose educational trajectory will see them become economically unproductive (or at best, minimally productive) in the future. The second issue of concern is the risk of OOS children becoming disenfranchised, radicalized and lured into illegal livelihoods, which again has socioeconomic consequences for the society.

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b) Children in-school learn littleRecent senior school leaving examination results in Nigeria reveal disturbingly low achievement levels. 4 million pupils sat for the national West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 2009. Of these, only 26% obtained in one sitting, the minimum number of credits (in Mathematics, English Language and at least three other subjects) to gain consideration for entry into tertiary institutions. In 2010, this figure sunk to 24.9% and in 2011, stood at 30%. The 2014 results indicate that only 31.3% of WASSCE candidates passed the examination. These results highlight the perverse reality that outcomes expected from 12 years' worth of education investment are not being met. This necessitates questions about the relationship between education inputs (investments in the sector) and education processes (what actually takes place in education ministries, departments, agencies and how pedagogy is practiced in classrooms).

Fundamentally embedded in the issue of low achievement levels are concerns about teachers, who constitute the most important school-level determinant of learning. A set of recently conducted teacher development needs assessments highlight the low levels of capacity that many practicing teachers have. In one state, only 0.03% of teachers were fully competent to teach Mathematics and English Language at primary level. Besides teacher quality, teacher shortages are rife, with projected estimates suggesting that several thousands of additional teachers are needed annually in order to realise Universal Basic Education targets. Given that no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers, it is apparent that to position

stNigeria for global leadership in the 21 century, radical approaches to strengthening teacher competencies need be explored whilst concurrently attracting the best and brightest minds into the profession.

c) Policy-planning and public finance systems are weakFor policies to be effectively implemented, they must be strategically planned. Poorly planned policies have negative implications for sector efficiency, teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes. The recently introduced senior secondary education curriculum is a case in point. The implementation of this curriculum - which prioritises entrepreneurship through the introduction of trade subjects - is currently facing several challenges, with a real risk of failure to achieve its main objective which is to equip students with skills that will enable them to become gainfully employed. At the national level, planning the design and implementation of this curriculum would have benefitted from a number of strategic measures. For example, it would have been useful for teachers to have been trained in advance of rollout, for budgetary provisions for resourcing to have been established, and for sufficient consultation to have been carried out with teachers and the organized private sector.Secondly, whilst all stakeholders are in agreement that additional financial investment is required in the education sector, it is apparent that public finance administration (PFA) systems require strengthening so that funds released to the

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sector are efficiently and effectively utilised. Embedded in any effective PFA system is a sound monitoring and evaluation function which aids sector planning and increases accountability within the system.

4. Good practices at state level

In spite of the various challenges that currently beleaguer the education sector, there is evidence to show that examples of good practice are available in all states. Several of these practices are highly innovative and offer opportunities for policy learning, sharing and adaptation. Several examples of how states are engaging in good practice in the education sector are highlighted below.

To provide access to out-of-school children whilst ensuring that those in school persist, a number of initiatives are being carried in different states. These include:

·Introduction of free school meals to encourage children to attend and stay

in school

·Provision and improvement of infrastructure, as well as the introduction of

state-of-the-art facilities

·Introduction of sustainable model schools using a mix of public and private

funding

·Establishment of security services to ensure that children do not drop out

due to concerns about security

To address low learning levels, a number of initiatives are observed at state level:

·Strengthening of teacher recruitment systems and improvement in

incentives for rural teachers

·Introduction and utilisation of digital and e-learning technologies at

classroom level

·Adaptation of international best practice in establishment of model centres

for early childhood care and development education (ECCDE)

·Increased engagement with the private sector and civil society

organisations to strengthen the implementation of vocational and technical

education curricula

To address challenges of weak policy planning and public finance administration, a number of good practices are observable in various states:

·Development and utilization of strategic plans for the education sector

·Engagement with other states for the purpose of policy learning, with states

adapting good practices from other states

·Strengthening of interaction between policymakers, and parents, teachers

and students

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·Strengthening of evidence-based planning through improved Education

Management Information Systems (EMIS)

·Prioritisation of legacy and policy continuity in the sector

These progressive practices can be further strengthened by well-designed public-private partnerships (PPPs). Such partnerships between the government and non-

ststate sector are needed to ensure that 21 Century teaching, learning and administrative models are introduced and sustained. Some of the most effective PPPs involve strategic and seamless policy design and implementation which persist beyond political incumbency. Such partnerships should therefore not be politicized. Corporations, international development partners, non-governmental organisations, communities and parents remain valuable resources that need to be harnessed and partnered.

5. Actionable priorities

In order to consolidate Nigeria's position as the largest economy in Africa, it important that its human capacity is properly harnessed. Education is universally considered as an important driver of sustainable livelihoods and national development. It is therefore critical that adequate attention be paid to developing, implementing and evaluating the short, medium and long-term goals of the sector.Discussions at the PGF Lecture and the subsequent PEDS suggest that the following actionable priorities can pragmatically address challenges faced by the ailing education sector and bring about a re-alignment with the country's development agenda:

·Establish or strengthen of school feeding programmes in states with high percentages of out-of-school children

·Strengthen and expand Early Childhood Care And Development Education in all states

·Strengthen community participation in school management through mechanisms such as School Based Management Committees (SBMCs)

·Create opportunities for focused public-private discourse on strengthening content and quality of learning at basic and post-basic education levels

·Empirically determine the economic value of education as a rationale for discourse on increased education investment

·Establish centres of excellence for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education to fast-track Nigeria's contribution to knowledge products in a digital age

·Establish teacher communities of practice at school level whilst attracting the best and brightest into teaching

·Continue to leverage digital technologies for education quality and access•Institute formal mechanisms for policy learning and best practice sharing

amongst states

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Health:

Policy Brief

November, 2014

“DEALING WITH THE

CHALLENGE OF BUILDING

A PHYSICALLY HEALTHY

NATION THROUGH

PREVENTIVE, PROTECTIVE

AND INNOVATIVE

MEDICARE”

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BACKGROUND

Concerned with the poor health situation in Nigeria, All Progressive Congress

(APC) under the auspices of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) approved a

course of action to work with experts to develop policies to tackle challenges in

Nigeria's healthcare system. Consequently, a lecture was held on September 1,

2014 in the Banquet Hall of the Imo State Government House, Owerri on the

theme, “DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGE OF BUILDING A

PHYSICALLY HEALTHY NATION THROUGH PREVENTIVE,

PROTECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE MEDICARE”.

As a follow-up to the lecture, a Policy Design Session (PDS) was set up to harvest

the views of policy drivers at state level on practical steps to tackling identified

health issues in APC states and the country in general. The PDS was held on

November 4, 2014 at Giginya Hotel, Sokoto, Sokoto State. At the end of sessions,

the session identified the following contexts for the crisis in Nigeria's health sector

and agreed on relevant key policy recommendations:

I. LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

Challenges:

a. Lack of Political Will

b. Poor framework for sustainable health Policies

Recommendations:

a) Governors and relevant policy implementers should have a health

sector retreat on assumption of office to understand policies on

health and mechanisms of implementation. This will also help foster a

buy-in into the developmental agenda by relevant stakeholders, thus

making implementation of health policies collective and seamless.

b) All States should allocate 15% of their budget to Health to match the

international recommendations.

c) Governments at all levels must not politicize issues of healthd) A disciplined governance system that ensures implementation of

nationally agreed legislations/policies/guidelinese) The following leadership and governance principles/commitments

should be considered:

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- Development and support for implementation of policy and strategy that promotes UHC using PHC as the basis

- Commitment to peer review of the performance of state health systems

f) To mandate specific social services, especially in health and education,

as part of the Local Government Elections Manifesto.

g) To redefine free health services as only preventive health care

services

h) States to implement policy on monitoring and evaluation(M&E) of

programs and projects

i) Implement public service reform and mission driven public service

j) Appointment into high end positions in the health sector should

be based on relevant qualification and experienced experts in

healthcare delivery system

k) Key Stakeholders should be part of policy formation and review at

every level.

II. HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY

Challenges:

a. Unavailability of Essential Medicines

b. Focusing on Curative than Preventive Health Care

c. Lack of Quality Assurance System

d. Unavailability of Essential Local medicine

Recommendations:

a) States must establish a functional Primary Healthcare Board/Agency with

primary healthcare under one roof

b) 30% of the Capital Budget of the Ministry of Health should be earmarked for

the upgrading of the health facilities management, infrastructural upgrade,

equipment servicing and replacement at the health facilities

c) The State Drug Revolving Fund should be made functional and the

Supervising Directorate or Agency should be clearly indicated, including

their terms of reference.

25


d) Processes to standardize, procurement and distribution of drugs to health

facilities.

e) Implement Minimum Ward Healthcare Package in each PHC facility.

f) Give priority to primary healthcare components of the service delivery in

PHCs through implementation of LGA PHC strategic development plan.

g) Essential institution of measurable Quality Assurance System using a

functional Monitoring and Evaluation System

h) Foster development and implementation of policy to encourage adoption

of traditional/alternative medicine in the health service delivery system

i) Resuscitate and foster good environment health and hygiene through the

work of environmental health workers

j) Strengthen locally appropriate community health systems to foster uptake

of KHHP

k) Revitalize the PHC by strengthening the PHC development Agency

l) Use of ICT/Technology to reach healthcare service providers in real time

by consumers through mobile health consult on mobile phones

m) Screening for NCDs at regular intervals

n) Funnel traditional healers and faith-based organizations into the formal

health sector arena for easy supervision and wider reach viz Lagos

model

o) Establish drug revolving scheme with particular focus on making available

special drugs in rural areas for emergency health crisis

p) States should adopt and implement Clinical Governance

q) Reward system for hard work to motivate others

r) Implement full compliments of PHC focusing on the core principles

III. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH

Challenges:

a. Poor Volunteer System

b. Poor Manpower Development

c. Inequality of Human Resources for Health especially in rural areas

26


d. Poor Skills Mix

e. Mal-Distribution for Healthcare Workers (HCWs)

Recommendations:

a) Develop a comprehensive human resource for health policy

b) Encourage Volunteerism at all levels of the Healthcare System especially by

engaging volunteers as public health educators in the rural areas

c) Periodic review of the curriculum for medical schools, at least every 3 years

is recommended in order to meet up and match the international growth in

medicine.

d) Encouraging the concept of task shifting and task sharing at all levels of

service provision - clinical and administrative.

e) Improve the training capacity of schools of health technology and health

institutions in the states

f) Incentivize the training of locals and bond them to work at their places of

origin on graduation

g) Training and retraining of existing health care workers

h) Strong regulation and capacity building schemes to promote task shifting

i) Institutionalize incentives for mandatory rural posting for health care

workers

j) Ensure curriculum for training of lower cadre HCWs keeps pace with latest

evidence of best practice

IV. FINANCING FOR HEALTH

Challenges:

a. Non Sustainable Healthcare Financing Mechanisms

b. Coordinated Funds of 3 tiers of government

c. Limited Universal Health Population Coverage with inappropriate

risk pooling schemes

27


Recommendations:

a) Suitable financing mechanism that is applicable to all citizens of Nigeria

should be instituted.

b) Review of the current financing mechanism to identify the multi-factorial

and multi-sectoral challenges causing the gaps leading to inequities and lack

of access and health coverage.c) States to pass legislations to promote mandatory health insurance d) States to commit to progressively achieve allocation of 15% of TGE to

Healthe) States to develop and implement a comprehensive health care financing

policy and strategy

f) Institutionalize health safety nets for the poor and vulnerable including the

aged using mix of government revenue and innovative health care financing

(VAT, mobile phone, interests on unclaimed dividends etc)

V. HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM

Challenge:

a. Data Management

Recommendation:a) Foster utilization of digital technology including appropriate application

of m-health to improve access to real-time datab) Implement bottle neck analysis - UNICEFc) Establish M&E units in all health organization and train staff

VI. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Challenges:

a) Poor Community Mobilization

b) Poor Environmental Reform

c) Cultural-religious Barriers

Recommendation:

a) Facilitate and support community systems to promote ownership of

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health development in their settings

b) Implement ward health system and Minimum Health Care Package

–MPHCDAc) Scale up training and employment of VHW/TBAs as community based

workers/volunteers- MDG,Tship

VII. PARTNERSHIP

Challenges:

a. Infrastructural upgrade challenges

b. Weak inter-sectoral collaboration

Recommendation:

Develop and implement health policy for sustainable public private participation

and improve on inter-sectoral collaboration

VIII. RESEARCH FOR HEALTH

Challenges:

a. Poor Health Surveillance

Recommendation:a) Operation researchb) Clinical research c) Service Delivery/M&E;d) Implement PHC review methodology- NPHCDA

29


Appendix

30


1. Hon. Mrs. Ijezie Adaora - Imo State Commissioner for Planning and

Economic Development

2. Hon. Bode Ogunleye - Commissioner for Planning and Economic

Development, Kwara State

3. Mr. Adeosun David - Senior Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on

Budget and Economic Planning

4. Mrs. Aluko Iyabowale - Special Assistant on Economic Planning Bureau

5. Hon. Oluwande Muoyo - Commissioner for Budget and Planning

6. Mr. Akinsanya Seun - Director, Economic Planning, Lagos State

7. Njoku John O. – Director of Planning Imo State

8. Olatunbosun Yetunde – Director of Planning Ogun State

9. Ambassdor Fati Balla Abubakar – Nigeria's former Ambassador to

Botswana

10. Prof. Okey Onyejekwe – MD, Sustainable Governance, Addis Ababa

11. Dr.Ayo Teriba – CEO Economic Associates, Lagos

12. Dr. Husseini Abdu – Country Director, ActionAid, Abuja

13. Mr. Innocent Chukwuma – Country Director, Ford Foundation, Lagos

14. Mr. Lukman Salihu – Director – General, Progressive Governors Forum

15. Ms. Nancy Onoh – Director, Strategy and Planning, PGF

16. Mr. Salisu Suleiman – Communication Officer, PGF

17. Mr. Asuzu Echezona – Technical Adviser, Governance, PGF

18. Ms. Maryam Abubakar – Technical Assistance, Governance, PGF

STATTENDANCE AT 1 POLICY DESIGN SESSION:

31


1. HE PRINCE EZE MADUMERE – Imo State Deputy Governor

2. Mr. GEORGE FEYI – SSG, Rivers State

3. WASHINGTON OSA OSIFO- EDO STATE COMMISSIONER

4. TAJUDEEN GAMBO- KANO STATE COMMISSIONER

5. PROF. OLANIYONU SOA- OYO STATE COMMISIONER

6. JOHN OLUSEGUN ODUBELA – OGUN STATE COMMISSIONER

7. OLUSOLA OTESILE – OGUN STATE SA

8. DR MRS UCHE EJIOGU – IMOS STATE COMMISSIONER

9. BARR. SANI YAKUBU HAUWA – NASARAWA STATE COMM

10. JIBRIN DAN OGAJI – DPRS- NASARAWA STATE

11. ALICE LAWRENCE NEMI – RIVERS STATE COMM.

12. MINABELEM MICHAEL WEST – RIVERS STATE PERM SEC.

13. AMASA .O. ABDULSALAM – KWARA STATE DPRS

14. KAYODE OGUNYEMI – EKITI STATE DPRS

15. ABDULKADIR HAMZA- YOBE STATE DPRS

16. SALIHU MUHD. DOGONDAJI – SOKOTO STATE DIS

17. EVANG OGBUGO EMMANUEL – RIVERS STATE DIRECTOR

18. MRS. MAE. SOLOMON – RIVERS STATE DIRECTOR

19. WIGWE STELLA – RIVERS STATE DIRECTOR

20. OKPARA OLU CHUKS – RIVERS STATE DIRECTOR

21. MEKELE N.J.A – RIVERS STATE DIRECTOR

22. Nneka Eze – Project Consultant

23. MODUPE ADEFESO-OLATEJU – MD (TEP CENTRE)

24. UTIBE HENSHAW- TEP CENTRE AST. (TEP CENTRE)

25. ADEWALE AJADI – PGF STEERING COMMITTEE

26. AMB. FATI BALLA – PGF STEERING COMMITTEE

27. SALIHU LUKMAN- DG PROGRESSIVE GOVERNORS FORUM

28. SALISU SULEIMAN – COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER PROGRESSIVE

GOVERNORS FORUM

29. ECHEZONA ASUZU – TECHNICAL ADVISER, GOVERNANCE PROGRAM,

PGF

30. OLANREWAJU AKANDE – ADMIN OFFICER- PROGRESSIVE GOVERNORS

FORUM

31. MARYAM ABUBAKAR- TECHNICAL AST. GOVERNANCE PROGRAM, PGF

32. SAEED HUSSEIN- VOLUNTEER PGF

NDATTENDANCE LIST FOR 2 POLICY DESIGN SESSION

32


rdAttendance at 3 Policy Design Session:SN

NAME

DESIGNATION

PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL

1

Dr. Sam Ibeneme

Consultant/Senior Lecturer

07038138435

[email protected]

2

Abdulrasheed Munir

Ministry of Health Sokoto

080655995704

3

Amb. Fatima Balla

Governance Steering Committee Member, PGF

08033092009

[email protected]

4

Ibrahim M. Iya

PRO Sokoto MOH

07034796754

5

Dr. Kalada Dick Iruenabere

Rep. Rivers State Com.

08033113402

[email protected]

6

Dr. Edward

O. Ihejirika

Hon. Commissioner for Health, Imo State

08037241437

[email protected]

7

Bello A. Bello

TA-PHC/HMDG

SPHCDA Sokoto

08035185471

[email protected]

8

G.M. Maishanu

DCOD/TSHIP

08035928769

[email protected]

Dr. Habib Yalwa

Dir. Publ ic Health

08105009888

[email protected]

Dr. M.S. Labaran

Executive Secretary,

SPHCDA Sokoto

08035072940

[email protected]

11

Dr.

Maichede

Danmalan

DCHS SPHCDA, Sokoto

08032264321

[email protected]

12

Dr. A.A Sabir

Rep of CMD UDTH

08038065163

[email protected]

Dr. M. Lawan Gana

DPH Yobe State

08069555209

[email protected]

M.K. Janyau

Hon. Commissioner for Health, Zamfara State

08082666692

[email protected]

15

Dr. Yewande Adeshina

Lagos State Min. of Health

08055329229

[email protected]

16

Maryam Oladipupo


08082083781

[email protected]

17

Oyinlofe Shola


08007238126

18

Dadi Adare

Sokoto State, MOH

08036283313

[email protected]

Abdullahi Sadik

Sokoto State MOH

08036991292

20

Hadiza Galadima

Sokoto State MOH

08065692252

[email protected]

Shehu Tureta

Sokoto State MOH

08036251303

[email protected]

Alhaji

Ahmad Aliyu

Hon. Commissioner for Health, Sokoto State

08032893195

[email protected]

23 Dr. Buhari B.K MOH Sokoto 08035074731 [email protected] Alhaji Malami Ladan Sokoto 08065961088 [email protected] Dr. Yakubu Ahmed CMD Nasarawa State 08037015339 [email protected] Dr. Ibrahim A. A. MOH Nasarawa 08036018579 [email protected] Mr. Aminu Yakubu Federal Min. of

Health08065479926 [email protected]

29 Professor Okey Onyejekwe

Governance Steering Committee Member, PGF

08024395565 [email protected]

30 Mr. Wale Ajadi Governance Steering Committee Member, PGF


31 Egghead Odewale Director, Planning and Strategy, PGF


32 Asuzu Echezona Technical Adviser, Governance, PGF


33 Maryam Abubakar Technical Assistant, Governance, PGF


34 Lanre Akande Head, Admin and Accounts


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