The Lagos Civil Society Participation for Development (LACSOP), a network body for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos, has launched its Citizens-Led Accountability Mechanism (CLAIM) intervention on social protection.
The measure is as part of the “Building an Inclusive Citizen-led Engagement and Accountability System for Social Protection” Project of the European Union Agents for Citizens-Driven transformation (EU-ACT).
The project, which commenced with a four-day training for CSOs with the aim of enhancing an accountability system for social protection in Lagos State, attracted representatives from specific Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Lagos State Government.
The project, supported by EU-ACT, is implemented by LACSOP in partnership with LEAP Africa, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Women Liberation and Transformation Group (W-LIT) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of LACSOP, Barrister Ayo Adebusoye, while addressing CSO partners at the training session reiterated the need for Civil society leaders to work in collaboration with the Lagos State Government to ensure an effective inclusive accountability mechanism is in place where citizens can give feedback on progress on the implementation of the social protection policy which was approved in 2020 and launched earlier this year.
Adebusoye explained that the project is aimed at “sustaining the impacts of the social protection programmes in the state and ensuring that the social protection policy in the state is fully implemented towards eradicating poverty.”
The General Manager of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), Mr. Dare Dairo, commended LACSOP for building the capacity of members of the disability community on how to engage state actors on promoting their rights.
Dairo, who shared that the Lagos State Government has shown its commitments to improve the wellbeing of PWDs in the State with the passage of the disability law over 10 years ago, noted that the State would continue to advance the rights of PWDs.
Mrs Oluwakemi Adedeji, Director Social Protection Coordinating Department, of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, who was represented by Mrs Ayodele Fajemibola, said the State Government is onboarding poor and vulnerable households in 5 local government areas of the state into the social register, to enable them to access cash transfers and relevant social protection programmes.
The four-day training which held in Ikeja, Lagos had in attendance CSOs working on Social Protection issues in Lagos State.