President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the African Peer Review Mechanism, saying the mechanism impacted the continent effectively.

Mr disclosed this during the 30th Summit of the Forum of Heads of State and Government of Member States of the APRM.

Mr Buhari, represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said the mechanism sought to attain the pan-African vision of a prosperous, peaceful and integrated Africa respected globally for its good governance.

“It has, therefore, been providing a platform for AU member states that have acceded to the protocol to share information, knowledge and experience as they review each other’s performance within the framework established by the forum.

“As a self-monitoring mechanism in all aspects of governance, the initiative places the people at the centre of the development discourse for the benefit of Africans in line with AU Agenda 2063,” stated Mr Buhari.

He noted that the APRM process, in its participatory model, engaged stakeholders to facilitate the exchange of information and national dialogue on good governance and socio-economic development programmes.

This, the president, added increased transparency in the decision-making process and building trust in pursuing the national development goals.

He stated further that in preparing the peer review process, “we have ensured that the review structures are put in place.”

The structures include the National Focal Points, National Governing Council, APRM National Secretariat, Technical Research Institutes and other technical review teams.

“In line with the AU – APRM Review guideline and Road Map, commendable achievements have been attained on COVID-19,” Mr Buhari said.

The APRM was established in 2003 by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) as an instrument for the AU member states to voluntarily self-monitor their governance performance.

APRM is a voluntary arrangement amongst African countries to systematically assess and review governance at the head of state peer level to promote political stability, accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration, economic growth and sustainable development.

(NAN)