Ishaq Dan-Imam, Lokoja
KONGONET, a coalition of Non-governmental Organizations in Kogi State has commended the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Aliyu Umar Yusuf, for appointment of a civil society advocate, Mr. Abdulrazaq Inubaiye Ibrahim, as a Special Assistant to the State Assembly Speaker On civil society engagement.
At a civil society and media roundtable in Lokoja, KONGONET expressed gratitude to the speaker for establishing an office to facilitate civil society and engagement for improved legislative advocacy in the state.
The Chairman of KONGONET represented by the Secretary, Mr. Ben Reuben Joshua, said the appointment being the first of its kind in the state, would promote the relationship between the government, especially the legislative arm of government, and the civil society in the state.
“It’s a recognition of the civil society in the state. For every government that is ready for transparent, accountable, and participatory governance, we are ready to support it.
“We are interested in supporting policies that benefit the public, and determined to collaborate with government towards good governance in Kogi State, as the state assembly Speaker has demonstrated the political will for deeper collaboration and engagement for the betterment of the state; we are ready to talk together,” Joshua said.
Expressing appreciation to the speaker for being the first Speaker in the history of the Kogi State House of Assembly to appoint an SA on CSOS, Mr. Hamza Aliyu, Executive Director of the Initiative for Grassroots Advancement in Nigeria (Ingra), said the speaker had extended hand of friendship that will build a sustained partnership for a closer relationship that would move governance forward in the state.
“This particular Speaker has shown some kind of progressive thoughts on protecting the interest of the underserved in terms of how he feels about citizens’ right to good governance.
“We understand that to have good governance, we must all share the same vision. We want a state that is governed properly, accountable to the citizens, and resources well-managed and distributed to the larger population in the state.
“For us in the civil society space, that is what we see as the objective of governance. But we need more of this kind of government-civil society engagement that promotes partnership.
“Whatever we feel is not in the best interest of citizens, we will raise our voice against it and whatever is in the best interest of citizens, we will praise the government as we have done in the past.”
According to the advocate, citizens are watching the policy actions of the state actors in governance with a keen interest in public sector expenditure as Government revenues from the federal government have increased substantially.
“The quantum of money that is coming to the state from the federal government is something that we are saying the government can make citizens of Kogi State live better; have better transportation and water supply,” Hamza opined.
The newly appointed SA to the speaker on civil society, Abdulrazaq Inubaiye Ibrahim, said the speaker was working with other state legislators to adopt the bottom-top governance style of the state Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, to implement citizens-friendly policies that would provide for the citizens, a sense of ownership of government projects and programs through needs assessment and citizens engagement in governance.
“Mr. Speaker recognizes this, and is quite aware that oversight function, law-making, and legislative governance responsibilities must be in line with the shared spirit of development vision and transformation goal of Governor Ododo’s administration in the state.”
Highlighting the achievements of Governor Ododo in the last seven months, Mr. Abdulrazaq Ibrahim said there has been sustained security in Kogi State, fiscal discipline in spending, increased internally generated revenue, and reduction of debt among other salient achievements of the current administration in the state.
“The 25 state legislators in the state assembly have also keyed into the bottom-top approach of government to inclusive development. Part of my plan is to take an inventory of existing CSOs and Community-Based organizations in the state to encourage the formation of the Kogi Community-Based Organizations Network, towards expanding engagement between Speaker Aliyu Umar Yusuf and the CSOs, CBOs, and the media to achieve a harmonious engagement with the civil society with regular interface.”
Mr. Inubaiye commended the mainstream media in Kogi State for the professionalism in news reporting, while calling on the KONGONET to sustain its commitment to good governance and consistency in critiquing policy actions in the state where necessary to engender public accountability and participatory democracy.
