From Esther Akaa, Lafia
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media in Nigeria have been urged to monitor and track government budgets at every stage to ensure that projects meant for young people and women are handled properly for shared prosperity.
Lead Consultant with ActionAid Nigeria, and public policy analyst, Dr Terfa Abraham, gave the charge on Wednesday at a one-day Policy Dialogue on Public Accountability with CSOs and Media organisations, held at Nasarawa Luxury Hotel, Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The programme, organised by ActionAid Nigeria, in collaboration with Global Peace Development (GPD) and Beacon Youth Initiative (BYI), with funding from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), is in pursuance of the System and Structure Strengthening Approach Against Radicalisation to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) Project being implemented in Nasarawa and Kogi states.
Speaking on the topic, “Presentation of Nasarawa State 2021 Budget Analysis and Advocacy Options to Stem Violent Extremism,” Dr Abraham said media coverage of budget process should go beyond the ceremonies leading to its presentation at the state legislature and assent by the governor of the state.
He revealed that projects in the Nasarawa State 2021 budget did not address the direct needs of young people, women and girls and called on the government to do budget that will meet the direct needs of the people.
“The projects are mostly for construction, establishment and rehabilitation of centres, thus engagement with state legislators and the executive arm of government on how the public procurement process of the state will be engendered will therefore, serve as a useful advocacy and stakeholders’ engagement activity.
“The prioritisation of projects in rehabilitation/repairs is vital for addressing dilapidating structures that are suggestive of neglect and abandonment. The construction of new projects is also vital to create an inclusive space for activities that will address the developmental needs of young people, women and persons with disabilities,” he said.
Dr Abraham however, said that details on where those budgeted projects will be located were not contained in the budget, noting that the vital omission was capable of creating suspicion among neglected groups in a manner that can fuel new crisis, rounds of protest and agitations.
He, therefore, called on government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to create communication platforms where information can be transmitted to public for transparency and accountability.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Global Peace Development, Mr Esike Ebruke, stressed the need for government and the private sector to put more resources to create space of influential participation of youths in government.
“We have also looked at the state budget and found that there are some budget challenges, particularly with the Ministry of Woman Affairs and Ministry of Youth and Sports Development which are the key pillars of our intervention. If you look at the state budget, it has only 0.58% of the total percent of the total budget from the ministry of Woman Affairs and Ministry of youths,” he said.
He called for collaboration between the CSOs and media organisations to hold government accountable, in order to address youths restiveness and vulnerability violent extremism.
On his part, the state Programme Officer, ActionAid Nigeria, Mr Aliyu Adamu, while giving an overview of the SARVE II Project said ActionAid alongside her partners was working in communities in Nasarawa and Kogi to addressing vulnerability of at risk young men and women, through various forms of empowerment, aimed at preventing violent extremism.
He said the SARVE II project has established Community Action and Response Team (CART), built women and girls safe spaces, established peace clubs, empowered about 1,500 women on livelihood and skills acquisition among others.
Participants who spoke to The Voice include Barr Abigail Musa who represented the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Nasarawa State chapter and the Coordinator, Silifat Abdullahi Sule Foundation (SAS Foundation), Mr Emmanuel Dangana, who both said the meeting was timely, considering the current security challenges in the country.
They promised to utilise the lessons learnt and ensure that they engage government, most especially for the youths and women so that their participation in budget planning and implementation will be felt to bring about progress in the state and country at large.