Yiaga Africa, a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), says it has esablished People’s Assembly in Lagos and Sokoto States to promote public deliberation in Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The Director of Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the People’s Assembly was an initiative of Yiaga Africa under its Turn Up Democracy project.
She said that the Turn-Up Democracy is supported by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
According to her, the Assembly is a democracy tool to promote public discourse.
Mbamalu said that the Assembly’s establishment was part of efforts to reignite faith in democracy and bridge the gap between citizens and the government as well as to empower citizens with information and tools for civic engagement
According to her, the Assembly promotes equal participation of diverse groups through debates and consensus-building on issues affecting respective communities to inform governmental actions and policies in selected local governments.
She said that this was because Nigeria’s democracy was increasingly experiencing a decline in citizens’ trust in elected officials, political leaders and political parties.
“This has raised issues around the value of democracy, its ability to deliver the expected dividends and if governmental actions and policies truly reflect the interests of the people.
“This has further widened the gap between the government and the people.
“In addition, it is the constant questions from the people on the value of their vote, the “we voted” and “so what” questions which further impact the quality of citizen’s participation.
“Thus, the commencement of this initiative at the local government level is borne from the recognition of the importance of democratic governance at the level of government closest to the people.’’
Mbamalu said that the People’s Assembly leveraged on existing structures representing different interest groups in the LGA which deliberated on issues and present their recommendation to local government officials for implementation.
According to her, Yiaga Africa began its people’s Assembly engagement in three LGAs each in Sokoto and Lagos States.
She listed the LGAs in Sokoto to include : Bodinga, Sokoto South and Wamakko, while the LGAs in Lagos include Surulere, Kosofe and Ikeja.
Mbamalu said that for each LGA, interest groups were randomly selected including Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs), youth, persons with disabilities and women groups to deliberate on selected issues affecting the people in their LGA.
She said that the Peoples’ Assembly began with the training of the different interest groups to inform the quality of participation of the people in the deliberative process.
“This initiative operates as a direct democracy tool aimed at fostering direct public participation in decision-making.
“The feedback from stakeholders and representatives of the three LGAs in both states was immense and overwhelming.’’
Mbamalu said that Yiaga Africa established active communication channels with members of the communities and their representatives.
She said the communities pledged to engage their local government on the outcomes of the deliberation and adopt the Peoples’ Assembly to enable their unified voices influence the policies in their LGAs.
(NAN)