Politics
DEVELOPMENT Integrity Goal (DIG) Foundation, a non-governmental organisation ,says that holding leaders accountable requires greater access to public information.
Chief Oliver Aja, the Executive Director of DIG Foundation stated this on Friday in Abakaliki ,at a zonal town hall, with the theme:’Strategic Civic Education for Accountability and Good Governance.’
Aja said that accountability and good governance were twin ingredients needed for democracy to thrive in any society .
He,however, noted that leaders could be hardly held accountable when people lacked basic information.
According to him, the stakeholders’ engagement is designed to impact civic knowledge that will enable citizens to assess and evaluate government programmes and policies.
“You know, holding leaders accountable needs information and you can’t hold people accountable if you don’t have information.
“So, this programme is designed to enable them to have information that will make them hold their leaders accountable.
“DIG is implementing Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room grant under the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) while the town hall meeting is to help assess and evaluate the various government social intervention programmes (SIP).”he said.
The director further emphasised the need for openness in governance and access to public information.
He said that the town hall engagement would strengthen partnerships between citizens, civil society organisations and government for accountable governance.
Dr Uduma Udu, the state’s Auditor-General, who commended the foundation for organising the workshop, said that civic education was essential in getting the people to understand the workings of government.
According to him,civic education equips the people to better understand how the programmes and policies of the government are executed.
He said that his office was always disposed to availing citizens of any information on the financial expenditure of the government and urged the people to use proper channels to obtain credible information.
“So, anything you want to know; each of the flyovers, if you want to know the cost of each of them, it’s only on my table you will find it; any contract done by the government, it’s only on my table you will find the figure,
” Whatever information you want to know about fiscal transactions, you come to my office and we shall give you though not on the current year,” he said
He said that the government had religiously implemented the various social intervention programmes introduced to cushion the harsh effects of the fuel subsidy removal especially on the poor and vulnerable citizens.
Some of the participants ,who spoke at the programme, applauded the government for initiating the various intervention programmes, stressing that the palliatives had helped many families to cope with the harsh economy.
They, however, frowned at the implantation, noting that most of the palliatives aimed to bring succour to the poor were allegedly diverted by government officials.
Chief Sunday Echem from Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state urged the state government to pick men of integrity to oversee the implementation of the programme.
” The social intervention programmes are very good, but where we frown at is the implementation process, while His Excellency is coming up with these intervention programmes, he should pick men with integrity that will go into implementation,” he said.
Ezeogo Nwite Ngele, traditional ruler of Oriuzor community in Ezza North LGA, called on the government to ensure transparency in the implementation of the SIP programme.
“I’m aware of the intervention programmes and the people that benefitted but, my concern is the method of implementation because we see people who are rich and not supposed to benefit receiving the palliative,” he said.
NAN reports that the zonal town hall meeting will be held in the three senatorial zones of the state, comprising Ebonyi North, Ebonyi Central and Ebonyi South respectively. (NAN)
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-January 20, 2024 @ 7:17 GMT|
Tags: Oliver Aja
