Politics
Group Tasks Govs-Elect On Open Govt
The Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), an NGO, last Saturday urged the newly elected governors across the country to adopt the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative.
Programme Coordinator of the Centre, Mr Uchenna Arisukwu,made the call in an address to mark the global celebration of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week on Saturday, in Abuja.
Arisukwu said the call had become imperative because since Nigeria joined the OGP process as its 70th member globally, and 12th in Africa, not much had been done to ensure effective implementation.
He said the OGP initiative was launched in 2011 to provide platform for governments to be accountable and responsive to citizens and assist in achieving the desired governance goals.
The coordinator, however, said that so far only 10 states namely, Kaduna, Kano, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Adamawa and Jigawa, out of 36, had signed up and domesticated OGP in the country.
“Since the country signed into the OGP in 2016, Nigeria has recorded appreciable successes in open budget, open procurement, assets recovery, access to information, citizens’ engagement and open technology.
“The national budget is now accessible online through the citizens’ budget portal, where citizens can engage the budget and also get involved in the entire budgetary cycle.
“The procurement portal established by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) provides citizens the access to engage the procurement process, making it open and transparent.
“In spite of these modest achievements and others not listed here, much is left to be achieved with OGP in Nigeria as we begin the second term of the partnership implementation in Nigeria,’’ he said.
Arisukwu said that the two years of OGP’s National Action Plan, which contained 14 commitments, with four areas of concentration; namely, fiscal transparency, access to information, anti-corruption and citizens’ engagement and empowerment, would be achieved by December.
He urged governments to demonstrate political will to the process, ensure access to information and use of technology to minimise discretion and deepen citizen’s engagement in anti-graft war in order to achieve set targets.
Also speaking, Acting-Executive Director of the Centre, Mr Monday Osasah, urged governments and stakeholders of the OGP to also exercise the political will to fast-track the project implementation in the second phase.
He said that it was imperative for government to make deliberate policy to include OGP in its Federal Executive Council discussion to encourage MDAs to implement the policy objectives.
“Government talking from their end to citizens also will help. Look at what OGP represents, it approximates good governance which happens when government policies and programmes meet the expectations of citizens.
“To achieve that, government requires citizens’ partnership, openness and transparency, it also makes it important for citizens to be part of the documentation of the second National Action Plan,” Osasah said.
He urged states yet to sign up to OGP to do so in order to bring about a holistic fight against corruption in Nigeria.
National Coordinator, Open Alliance, an NGO, Ms Ayomide Faleye, In her remarks at the event, called on stakeholders of OGP to ensure that the second phase of the plan reflected issues that affected citizens.
According to Faleye, the most important step is to ensure that citizens’ engagement is being captured to reflect inclusiveness as the 2019 theme for celebration of the week globally implies.
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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