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Social Mobilisation Manager for Actionaid Nigeria, Mr. Adewale Adeduntan has said that the essence of governance is to ensure dividends of democracy are delivered to the people.
Adeduntan said this recently in Lagos during
a quarterly stakeholders meeting facilitated by Actionaid Nigeria and it’s partner, the Humanity Foundation For Peace and Development (HUFFPED)
on a project titled, Inclusion Forum for Accountable Society (IFAS).
Featuring Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and grassroots communities in Lagos State, the meeting provided a robust engagement as the stakeholders brainstormed on issues bridging the gap between the government and the grassroots.
The meeting was the second of its kind by the partnering organisations bringing MDAs and other stakeholders under same roof to engage on issues bothering on accountability and government’s response in the grassroots.
Presiding over the meeting, Adeduntan told participants that IFAS is not about confronting the government but bridging the gap between the government and the grassroots to ensure development.
“IFAS is not to be confrontational with government. The idea is to see the possibilities and participation among community people, government and stake holders so that we can collectively take decisions that will be impactful on people,” he said.
Stating further, Adeduntan said the essence of governance is to benefit the people and deliver the dividends of democracy.
“IFAS being Inclusive Forum for Accountable Society is to ensure that we lay our cards on the table and where citizens are having challenges, they know the people to talk to.
He said, the forum is to create the provisional platform for people to bring to bear what they are going through and having representative of government also responding to issues to have outcome that will be both beneficial to the government and the people.
“Lagos is truly the centre of excellence; how things are done in Lagos is peculiar and the people here deliver on purpose even when it is least expected. I am so excited because we have been looking forward to this meeting for six months and it was as if it will not hold,” he said.
He also said the IFAS prgramme is running in Kaduna and Delta States as well and the organisation has been able to create robust engagements to foster development.
“It is a way of giving voices and recognition to the unheard and unseen people. This is the aim of IFAS, so we establish framework for accountability and transparency in such a way that ownership and inclusion is also permitted in governance,” he said.
Comparing Lagos to other states where the program is running, Adeduntan said, “Lagos is in a world of its own. Lagos is a peculiar mega city, so listening to what I have heard from Ministries Departments and Agencies, you can’t compare the biggest population in Sub-Saharan Africa to other states that are struggling.”
On the lifespan of the project, Adeduntan said IFAS is an ongoing program that intends to be organic and domesticated in the grassroots.
“It is ongoing, we will be having quarterly meetings and that is why we want members who are here to take ownership and make it organic. So that if Actionaid Nigeria is not in Lagos, then they can continue it, we want to ensure people take ownership and run with the vision,” he said.
In his own remark, Executive Director of the Humanity Foundation for Peace and Development (HUFFPED), Mr. Henry Adedigba said IFAS is a project that intends to create engagement between the grassroots and the government on accountability.
“We have chosen the course and that course is the project. What we need is to see it through by getting in touch with the necessary MDAs, follow them up to ensure their commitment,” he said.
Adedigba added that, the meeting has formed an executive committee with members drawn from the MDAs, the civil society and members of the community all in a bid to ensure accountability.
“Now the exco has been formed and we are to follow up to work so by the next meeting we would have achieved set goals and taken other issues to work on.”
Representatives of the MDAs took turns to explain their operations in the grassroots.
Participants at the meeting include: the National Orientation Agency, Lagos civil social organization partners, Ministry of Agriculture,
Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government and Comminity Affairs, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Smallholder Women Famer of Nigeria (Lagos Chapter), Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board SUBEB, Lagos State Healthy Service Commission, Wesere and Aivoji as Local Right Programme communities and Badagry West Local Council Development Area.
