PEP Policy Conference on « Pro-poor Public Spending and Policies in Nigeria »
Ekpoma (Edoma State), Nigeria
February, 16-17 2011
A team of PEP researchers - in collaboration with the Departement of Agricultural Economics of Ambrose Alli University - organized a policy conference in Ekpoma (Nigeria) to communicate their research findings on the incidence of public spending on inequality and poverty in Nigeria. Indeed, their results entailed important policy implications and recommendations on how to make public spending pro-poor in Nigeria.
Overall reactions were in favour of immediate take-up of the project’s findings and recommendations in actual policy orientation.
Among key attendants, the leader and spokesman of the African Network for Environment and Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, made a strong case of advocacy for such take up and publicizing of scientific assessments regarding poverty-related incidence of national public spending. The Reverend openly stressed out the importance of such research projects to produce the evidence on which NGOs can rely to promote better-informed and pro-poor policymaking in Nigeria. PEP project leader, Dr Alabi, was then invited to contribute to ANEEJ future advocacy initiatives, and speak at a soon-to-come policy forum on the national “Petroleum Industry Bill”.
Furthermore, important media coverage of the event (e.g. from the National Television Authority and The Guardian Newspaper) contributed to dissemination of research findings to the general public.
