The Tetra Tech-delivered NPFF programme, under the Public Finance Resource Centre, hosted a two-day workshop that brought together a diverse group of stakeholders committed to unblock Nigeria’s PFM reforms. This gathering marked a significant milestone in fostering inclusive, transparent and accountable governance, with a key focus on political economy analysis and gender equality.
About the Nigeria Public Finance Facility
Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and delivered under the Public Finance Resource Centre, NPFF provides targeted technical assistance to the Government of Nigeria to design, support, and implement substantive economic and PFM reforms.
NPFF seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s public finance systems in ways that promote economic stability and inclusive growth by supporting the Public Finance Resource Centre’s objectives of achieving more effective and equitable tax policy and administration, as well as more effective public financial management.
The programme contributes to raising tax revenue and broadening the tax base, while also increasing equity in how tax revenues are raised. It aims to reduce fiscal deficits, develop a more credible, policy-oriented budget system, and improve Nigeria’s debt sustainability risk rating.
At the heart of the NPFF is a simple but powerful idea: reforms succeed not only when technical systems are strong, but when citizens trust those systems and feel ownership of their outcomes.
Dr. Otive Igbuzor, NPFF Civil Society Lead
Reimagining reform through collaboration
Over the course of two days, the workshop brought together key stakeholders – NPFF delivery team, technical advisors, government counterparts, and civil society organisation partners – to build a shared understanding of Nigeria’s PFM reform landscape, central challenges and further steps.
The initial sessions focused on orienting the technical advisors on the reform context and equipping them with Political Economy Analysis (PEA) and Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) approaches for the Quick Wins engagements. Subsequent discussions expanded to include government officials and civil society representatives, fostering alignment on strategies and collaborative design of practical, inclusive interventions.
Part of the reasons reforms don’t work or work sluggishly – anywhere in the world – is that there is no political support … What is it that’s blocking political support for it? We need to understand it so that we can weave it into that reform effort.
Moving forward with purpose
The workshop’s outputs, ranging from political economy insights to GESI-sensitive strategies and preliminary intervention designs, will directly inform the roll-out phase of NPFF’s Quick Wins support. By integrating these perspectives, the programme aims to enable reforms that resonate with citizens’ needs and foster trust in public financial systems. As NPFF moves into the implementation phase, the emphasis remains on ensuring each intervention is operationally ready, politically informed, and gender-responsive.
The idea is to reaffirm the strong commitment of the UK government to reform initiatives in Nigeria. And talking about tax reform and public expenditure management in Nigeria, that is exactly what the Nigeria Public Finance Facility is designed to do.