The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said that Federal Government in the coming weeks will set up Donor Coordination Unit to chart a roadmap for setting up a multi-donor trust fund.

The fund would ensure best value for all donor assisted activities in the country.

She said the DCU would be co-chaired by herself and the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba.

A statement from the Director, Information in the ministry, said the finance minister said this at a High-Level Roundtable meeting on National Donor Coordination held in Abuja on Wednesday.

She said, “We will be engaging towards setting up a Donor Coordination Unit to be chaired by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and co-chaired by the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, and the Chair(s) of the Donors Coordination Committee.

“We will task the DCU to develop a road map toward setting up a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to be managed by the World Bank, which will pool donor funds to enhance transparency and accountability.

“Aid is most effective when it is well-coordinated, with mutual accountability mechanisms for government and donors. Above all else, it must be aligned with government’s strategic development priorities.

“While we have made some progress in coordinating aid in specific areas such as in the North East intervention and the Social Investment Programmes, we still have a long way to go in ensuring a government-led mutual accountability framework for aid coordination in Nigeria.”

She also said the preparation of the 2020 budget had begun, adding that the Federal Government would at the end of September send the proposal to the National Assembly.

Ahmed said, “The 2020 Budget preparation process is well-underway, and we intend to finalise and submit the 2020 appropriation bill to the National Assembly by the end of this month.”