Stakeholders in Kogi stresses importance of government, citizens engagement through townhall meetings

By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja

Stakeholders at a one-day round table discussion has advocated the introduction of Townhall meetings with community members on a quarterly basis in Kogi state, with the Ministry of Finance budget and Economic Planning, and the Ministry of Information and Communications and other relevant MDAs coordinating the process, noting that this could be made more impactful if the Governor is present at such meetings.

This was part of the Communique issued at the end of a round table discussion on good governance organized by Stallion Times Media Services on 27th june 2024 at Edgedrive Hotel event hall, Lokoja, Kogi State.

The communique which was jointly signed by Isiyaku Ahmed, Project Coordinator, G-DRIP, Stallion Times,
Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina, Chairperson, KONGONET and Co-Chair, NSA, OGP Kogi State and
Hamza Aliyu, Interim Chairman, Kogi Accountability Platform (KAP), said Government should expand services in water, roads, electricity and agricultural input provision to citizens, saying that these should be given priority in the Budget formulation and implementation based on quality data.

The communique added that Citizens and Civil Society Organizations must continue to engage consistently and strategically with Government and the private sector for effective governance in the state, saying that this can be achieved through effective capacity building and increased orientation.

It stressed that Governments and Citizens, led by Civil Society Organizations in Kogi State, must continue to engage using Permanent Dialogue Mechanisms (PDM) such as the Kogi Accountability Platform (KAP) and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) for improved Accountability and Transparency in Governance.

Participants also said that there is need for improvement in the revenue generation capacity of the State from the current N23.5 Billion, to provide for sustainable service provision and insulation from economic shocks

The group also noted that the Amendment of the Disability Office Law to ensure that only qualified Persons with Disability heads the Office is crucial, saying this would give PWD an enhanced sense of belonging in the affairs that concern them.

The project is in collaboration with the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism under the Collaborative Media Project with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

The event was attended by civil society organizations, Faith based organizations, women groups, persons with disabilities, Kogi State Open Government Partnership (OGP), state actors, and the media.

THE COMMUNIQUE IN FULL

A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ON GOOD GOVERNANCE ORGANIZED BY STALLION TIMES MEDIA SERVICES ON 27TH JUNE 2024 AT EDGEDRIVE HOTEL EVENT HALL, LOKOJA, KOGI STATE

In a bid to encourage accurate active citizens’ participation in governance and push for quality service delivery Stallion Times Media Service organized a Round Table Discussion on Good Governance in Kogi as one of its activities in Year 3 of the 3-year Participatory Governance and Media Literacy project tagged “Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve (G-DRIP)” in Kano and Kogi states.

The project is in collaboration with the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism under the Collaborative Media Project with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

The event was attended by civil society organizations, Faith based organizations, women groups, persons with disabilities, Kogi State Open Government Partnership (OGP), state actors, and the media.

OBSERVATION:

Governor Usman Ododo committed to organizing townhall meetings during the 2023 November Governorship elections, however 1 year into the administration, there is no documented evidence of these meetings at the Local government and community levels.

As a sign of its Transparency, Accountability and Participatory focus, Kogi State has now joined the league of States that have joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative

That with increased openness and transparency in management of resources, Kogi State, like other states, has witnessed increased investment and resource mobilization (increased IGR) from slightly over N6.5 Billion in 2016 to over N23.5 Billion in 2023.

The State Government has consistently made open its Budget and other financial instruments since 2016 to date. This is commendable.

Citizens engagement with government is still sub optimal due to low awareness on role of citizens in governance.

Public sector infrastructure Service provision (water, education, health, Agriculture) to Citizen has been below expectation, and is often not targeting the most vulnerable beneficiaries due to weak data management. This is a key factor in the increasing poverty and poor economy growth in the State.

The limited meaningful inclusion of persons with Disability in governance is manifest with the poor implementation of the Disability Office Law which has led to the head of the Office been a person without Disability.

This has negated the proposed gains from the 2019 state disability law. During the presentations and plenary sessions participants resolved that;

Townhall meetings with community members should be organized on a quarterly basis with the Ministry of Finance budget and Economic Planning, and the Ministry of Information and Communication and other relevant MDAs coordinating the process.

This could be made more impactful if the Governor is present at the meeting.

Government should expand services in water, roads, electricity and agricultural input provision to citizens and these should be given priority in the Budget formulation and implementation based on quality data.

Citizens and Civil Society Organizations must continue to engage consistently and strategically with Government and the private sector for effective governance in the state.

This can be achieved through effective capacity building and increased orientation.

Governments and Citizens (led by Civil Society Organizations) in Kogi State must continue to engage using Permanent Dialogue Mechanisms (PDM) such as the Kogi Accountability Platform (KAP) and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) for improved Accountability and Transparency in Governance.

There is need for improvement in the revenue generation capacity of the State from the current N23.5 Billion, to provide for sustainable service provision and insulation from economic shocks

The Amendment of the Disability Office Law to ensure that only qualified Persons with Disability heads the Office is crucial. This would give PWD an enhanced sense of belonging in the affairs that concern them.

Signed:

Isiyaku Ahmed Project Coordinator, G-DRIP, Stallion Times

Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina Chairman, KONGONET/Co-Chair, NSA, OGP Kogi State

Hamza Aliyu Interim Chair, Kogi Accountability Platform (KAP)