Yiaga Africa harps on democratic principles for grassroots development
Published By: Paul Dada
By Oluwatope Lawanson
A non-governmental organisation, Yiaga Africa, has emphasised the need for local government councils to uphold democratic principles to foster growth and development in communities.
Yiaga Africa’s Programme Officer, Mr Olaniyan Sanusi, made the emphasis at a one-day workshop on: “People’s Assembly: Tool for Deliberative Democracy”.
The event held in Lagos on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the People’s Assembly is designed to provide more direct participation of citizens in governance and decision-making, particularly at the grassroots.
Sanusi stressed that adherence to democratic principles was crucial for community development and growth.
He added that there was need for a platform to amplify the voices of the people at the local level.
“The People’s Assembly is a forum where the various local government executives meet with the residents to deliberate on issues affecting their communities, debate on issues and agree on priority issues.
“This is a workshop to evaluate how the People’s Assembly has fared as a tool for deliberative democracy.
“We started the People’s Assembly in 2022 and established it in three local governments at the time, but we have now extended it to six local governments.
“We know that the government has a lot of responsibilities.
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“We are here to have regular deliberations on issues affecting citizens within a particular local government where resolutions are expected to be generated on the way forward,” he said.
Sanusi said that outcomes of previous resolutions would be looked at in terms of what had changed and its values to the citizens.
In his remarks, Mr Oluwole Sosanya, the Vice Chairman of Kosofe Local Government Council, said the workshop would go a long way in bridging communication gaps in local governance.
“This is a workshop that brings the people and elected officials together to have a face-to-face interactions.
“This will go a long way as we will be hearing directly from the people, and we also get to know their needs and work on them.
“In my local government, we are actually very accessible because the local government is the closest to the people,” he said.
On his part, Mr Ayotunde Adenuga, a leader of the legislative arm of Ikeja Local Government, urged elected officials to encourage feedbacks from residents.
According to him, feedbacks help to make informed decisions.
“This can help to provide input through surveys, public hearings or contacting your local representatives directly,” he said.
(NAN)