THE Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Oil and Gas Matter Princess (Mrs) Ikuoyemwen Erediauwa Aimiuwu has called on the civil society group to improve their capacity and positively engage Niger Delta Development Agencies to make them more accountable and transparent in their dealings.
She made the call while declaring open a 2-day workshop organised by Africa Network for Economic and Environmental Justice (ANEEJ) in Benin City.
Princess Erediauwa said the goal of the project is to strengthen good governance by increasing the capacity of civil society organisation’s to influence the development and implementation of key democratic reforms at Local, State and National level. I believe that the CSOs, host communities and citizens of this country need to hold these agencies accountable in the delivery of their mandate”.
Delivering a paper titled “citizens report card on Niger Delta Institutions” the programme officer of ANEEJ Mr. Innocent Edemhanria said the Citizens Report Card (CRC) is an advocacy tool which provides a basis for interaction among citizens and the institutions which is hoped to result in enhanced administrative planning and coordination to ensure appropriate and functional development projects.
“The CRC report shows that development interventions in the Niger Delta need to be refocused to meet the needs of community residents”. He said CRC serves as an accountability tool, which provides community residents feedback on the effectiveness, mandate, policies and activities of the Niger Delta Institutions (NDIs).
Presenting a paper titled “Issue Based Advocacy and Engagement Strategies for civil society organisations and community actors/stakeholders in the Niger Delta region” Mr. Kentebe Ebieredor said advocacy encompasses raising the awareness of the public, creation or reform of policies, but also effective implementation and enforcement of policies.
He called on the CSOs to get focused on the issues they are planning to advocate, research and understand the facts and details, identity the potential allies and opponents, outline and study the potential risk factors as well as costs, and get focused on the ultimate goal changing government policies for the good of all.