The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CIVIL SOCIETY

  • U.S. Embassy awards $404,553 in grants to civil society groups

    The United States (U.S.) Mission to Nigeria has awarded $404,553 in grants to civil society groups in response to applications for its 2017 annual programme, it was learnt yesterday.

    The grant is expected to be used to address 23 projects of concern to the country and its citizens.

    A statement issued by the embassy in Abuja yesterday said projects that will be executed are aimed at promoting women entrepreneurship and economic growth.

    The statement reads: “The grantees include civil society organisations, arts companies and alumni of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Programme.  Grantees will execute projects to promote women’s entrepreneurship and economic development; increase disabled and non-disabled students’ access to primary and secondary education; mitigate farmer-herder conflict and support anti-corruption efforts.”

    Already, a one-day workshop has been conducted to ensure effective management of the funds.

    U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria W. Stuart Symington, who spoke at the workshop, underscored the key role the grantees could play in “solidifying Nigeria’s democratic gains, creating economic opportunity and ensuring a united Nigeria”.

  • Labour, civil society seek change in governance

    The organised labour and members of civil societies have advocated change, peaceful revolutions and governance overhaul.

    According to the groups, which cut across human rights activists, community-based organisations, students, academics, doctors, internationalists and artisans, these would provide solution to Nigeria’s problems.

    They noted that the wrong use of the country’s resources had inflicted hardship on the masses, adding that 57 years after independence, there were no good roads, healthcare structures, electricity, employment, and security. They stated that the country was ridden with economic crises.

    Speaking at the National Discourse titled: “Economic crises and ethnic secession, restructuring or system change,” organised by the Joint Front Action (JFA), at the NLC Lagos secretariat in Yaba, Lagos, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Lagos State University (LASU) Chairman Isaac Oyewumi said labour needed to be prepared if it was truly in need of change.

    He said: “We need to sit down and ask ourselves questions and determine way forward on how to solve our problems. What we need is continuous non-violence agitation until we achieve our dream.

    ”In terms of mismanagement of our resources, it is the common man that suffers the hardship. The ordinary man on the street, workers, community members, artisans, among others, need to feel the impact of the government. Today, there is no steady electricity supply in the country and many other problems; so, I believe it is time for us to take our destiny in our hands.”

    Mr. Ikechukwu Ikeji of the Constitutional Right and Peoples Development Advocacy Initiative (CRAI) said what Nigerians needed was change and not restructuring, lamenting that because there were no healthcare structures, political leaders travelled abroad for medication.

    He called for a new code of conduct for elected officials, where they would be compelled to patronise local services and public utilities, such as medical and educational facilities, among others, instead of going abroad.

    “We call for a new law to make it compulsory for every public officer, elected or appointed, to use hospitals in Nigeria for all ailments and to send their children and wards to only Nigerian schools.”

    Ikeji noted that there was high level corruption in Nigeria among the so-called cabals, who have been sharing, the collective patrimony and commonwealth among themselves.

    “We therefore, insist on equitable distribution of same among Nigerians,” he said.

    Ikeji stated that the 1999 Constitution, even as amended, was fraught with irregularities.

    “We insist that any genuine change in Nigeria will have to start from correcting the fraud inherent in the constitution, such as not being autochthonous and lacking the imprimatur of the people it seems to constitute. We call for a pure and adulterated people constitution that will be subject to a genuine process of referendum”, he said.

  • Leadership crisis rocks Yobe network of civil society organizations

    A leadership crisis has erupted in Yobe Network of Civil Society Organizations over purported dissolution of the executive council in the state.

    Some civil society organizations converged on Damaturu Friday to dissolve the Executive Council, led by Mr Zabu Buba. The aggrieved organizations claimed that the tenure of the council had elapsed seven years ago in 2012.

    Dr Mohammed Machina, pioneer chairman of the network and chief convener of the meeting said “the present executive council was elected in 2010 for two-year tenure as provided by the constitution of the network.

    “The tenure was supposed to have elapsed seven years ago but they have remained in office till today, 21 April, 2017, which negates the provisions of the constitution,” he said. The congress then passed a resolution dissolving the executive council and constituting a five- man committee to oversee the affairs of the network, pending the election of a new executive council within two months However, Mr Zabu Buba, Chairman of the Network, who spoke to newsmen, described the dissolution as null and void because there was no quorum representing the various organizations to take such a decision.

    “It was an exercise in futility because the same people, who kicked against an earlier proposed election, hurriedly met to execute the hatchet job without due process. “Conveners of the meeting deliberately refused to invite me as chairman and other executive council members, as well as other civil society organizations outside Damaturu, who constitute a good percentage of our membership,” he said.

    He urged the public to disregard the said dissolution of the executive council adding that “those parading themselves as members of caretaker committee are simply impersonating the Network.

  • Xenophobia: UN okays civil society groups’ intervention

    The United Nations has endorsed the intervention of civil society groups in the quest to forge a lasting peaceful coexistence between Nigerians and South Africans.
    This came in the wake of several attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
    At a meeting with members of the African Youth Initiative on Crime Prevention (AYICRIP) at the United Nations Information Centre, UNIC Director, Rowland Kayanja noted that the violence had aggravated to racism.
    He also said the crisis was one of the major problems the UN was facing and had gone far worse from what the name xenophobia connotes to hatred that is closely related to racism.
    “It took a violent turn and this can cause a breach of peace between the two countries that are very important member states in UN negotiations.
    “There was no use for the intolerance and violence. It is not good for African understanding especially now they both are important in the expansion of the UN Security Council.”
    He added that the Civil Society initiative, different from government’s diplomatic approach to the problem is a welcome development and a different mechanism to deal with the problem, noting that the young ones need to understand each other.
    AYICRIP Director, Chris Ibe, gave a run-down of how the proposed summit would bridge the gap of misunderstanding between the two countries.
    According to him, the summit is aimed at training and deploying 100 youth leaders and heads of civil society organisations across Nigeria and South Africa to be peace and cultural ambassadors.
    The programme will expose young people to some of the beautiful and robust relationships enjoyed between the two countries, sighting examples of the cooperation of the two countries during the Apartheid era.
    “The summit will restore history and bring back peace so that all can see each other as change makers and ambassadors of peace. It will bring back values that promote us as a people.”
    At the meeting were representatives of the South African embassy; Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA); Ministry of Youth and Sports Development; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; African Union and the Youth Council of Nigeria.

  • Groups condemn eviction of Lagos community

    Groups condemn eviction of Lagos community

    A coalition of Civil Society groups has condemned the recent forced eviction of the Otodo Gbame community in Lagos State by the government.

    The groups in a signed joint statement also condemned the alleged brazen disregard for rule of law by the state government.

    The protesting groups are Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, Enough Is Enough, Centre for Children’s Health, Education,Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), Center        for Defense of Human            Rights  and Democracy in Africa (CDHRDA) and Community Life Project Legal Defense and Assistance Project (LEDAP).

    “We condemn such impunity and brazen disregard for the rule of law, which is incongruous with a democratic society and Lagos’s aspiration to be a center of excellence and a world-class megacity. Lagos is a megacity by virtue of its population and it will only be a world-class megacity if it refocuses its energies on serving the needs of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable.

    “We are shocked by the State Government’s attempts to justify the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people based on protection of the environment and to deny that it was violating a court order. The purpose of preserving the environment is for the wellbeing of mankind and, therefore, environmental protection measures must also respect and protect fundamental human rights.

    “An order that parties should maintain the status quo, indeed, refers to the status quo ante bellum. Under the circumstances, the status quo ante bellum refers to the situation before the conflict began, i.e. when all the communities that fell under the Governor’s 9 October 2016 attack were still intact since this is the situation the communities sought to preserve by approaching the court.

    “Further, there can be no question but that the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people from their homes without any notice and without any alternative shelter constitutes yet another unconstitutional violation of the right to dignity, among others, already condemned by the court,” the groups stated.

     

     

     

  • ‘Civil society should wade into Ondo PDP crisis’

    ‘Civil society should wade into Ondo PDP crisis’

    The Coalition for Stable Democracy (CSD) has expressed concern over what it called the “suspicious silence” of the pro-democracy movement and right groups on the controversial reversal of the candidature of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagbearer in the Ondo State governorship elections.

    The group said it has become necessary for all lovers of democracy to speak out against the injustice melted out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Mr. Jegede by replacing his name with that of Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim in a questionable circumstance.

    In a statement by its National Secretary, Abdulahi Sanni, in Kaduna, the group said all men of good conscience must speak in condemnation of the act, especially considering the allegations that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) was behind the Ondo PDP crisis.

    “It is indeed condemnable, given the insinuations that some people close to President Muhammadu Buhari are allegedly the ones manipulating the INEC, at a time when all hands ought to be on deck to ensure that the electoral body regain its loss glory since the exit of Professor Attahiru Jega.

    “Already, we have been expressing our worries about the lack of capacity of the INEC to deliver another free and fair elections under the current leadership of the country,” it stated adding that, “these concerns and worries are predicated on the failures of the commission in Rivers, Bayelsa, Kogi and the Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja where its conducts cast a dark shadow on gains bequeathed by the immediate past government.

    “The Buhari government is a beneficiary of a free and fair election. To contemplate interfering with electoral process in any poll in any part of the country is to burn the bridge that provided the route for his ascendancy to power. And this is sure to have grave consequence for our democracy,” the group further stated.

    The group added: “This is therefore not the time for any well-meaning right activist and advocates of good-governance to keep quiet. And to quote the noble Laurel, Professor Wole Soyinka, the man die in he who keep quiet in the face of oppression.

    “Today, it is Ondo State. No one is sure of where next it would happen. How can a judge allow the same law firm who stood in for a plaintiff to turn around to represent defendant in the same case on the same matter, without consideration for legal ethics? And that ruling is being purported as the basis for INEC decision, even against the legal opinion of its Senior Advocates?

    “We reckon that this is a travesty that must be condemned.”

  • Ensure early distribution of materials, civil society tells INEC

    Ensure early distribution of materials, civil society tells INEC

    As the Edo state governorship election holds today, the Civil Society Situation Room has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure early distribution and deployment of personnel ahead and ensure transparency in the collation process.

    Speaking yesterday in Benin city, the group’s representative, Mr. Clement Nwankwo,  said no fewer than  70 observers are distributed across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

    The situation Room is made up of civil society organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in the country.

    Nwankwo said a situation where the INEC leadership fails to keep an eye on their staff during the collation process is unacceptable , adding that the Situation room will hold the commission accountable for such acts.

    He expressed satisfaction with INEC guidelines on simultaneous accreditation and voting, adding: “The situation room also notes the statement of the Nigeria Police that it is prepared for the elections and has deployed adequate personnel and materials for the exercise.”

    Nwankwo  called on the security agencies to provide adequate security, be civil in their conduct during the election.” and exercise restraint in dealing with voters. He said they should avoid of intimidation, inappropriate use of force and other acts capable of undermining the electoral process must be observed.”

  • Hajj 2016: Civil society group partners ICPC

    Hajj 2016: Civil society group partners ICPC

    A CIVIL society group, Independent Hajj Reporters (INH), has entered into partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and related Offences Commission (ICPC) to enlighten pilgrims on their rights, and the need to shun acts that can tarnish the country’s image during the holy pilgramage.

    This was contained in statement signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed and Publicity Secretary Abubakar Mahmoud.

    The statement reads: “Independent Hajj Reporters is partnering ICPC to produce ‘Know Your Right’ pilgrims’ enlightenment pamphlets to be distributed to pilgrims going for hajj in Saudi Arabia. Towards this end, ICPC and IHR are to facilitate production and distribution of the enlightenment materials to pilgrims before their departure to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

    The group also hailed the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) “on the establishment of national media team for this year’s hajj”.

    “The unification of media team in hajj operation is long overdue. Reporting hajj activities entails the dissemination of correct, accurate and balanced information.

    “The hajj beats is different from business, crime, politics or Information and Communication Technology (ICT).When you are assigned with the responsibility of reporting hajj operations, alas, you have been assigned to a duty by Almighty Allah. You are to reports about his guests; you are to cover the activities of those who embark on a journey to heed his call.”

    “Blending ethical requirements of journalism and religious obligation of adhering to facts and objectives is an enormous task that needs central coordination. Other countries like India, Ghana, and Indonesia have only central media team that covers all its pilgrims’ activities in the holy land.

    “We are also happy that the head of states media team and their spokesman are part of the national media team which will guarantee unison and lack of contradiction in information dissemination during hajj operations.”

    However, the group urges members of the national media team to always uphold the cherished ethical value of journalism by ensuring that their reports is a true reflection of what transpired in the interests of pilgrims and Islam.

    They should dedicate themselves to the service of pilgrims and the nation, it said.

     

  • Civil society group lauds Ayade for improving workers welfare

    Civil society group lauds Ayade for improving workers welfare

    A Civil Society Group, Coalition of Civil Society and Media Executives for Policy Stability (COCMEP) at the weekend commended Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade for setting the pace in workers’ welfare improvement.

    A statement by Comrade Innocent Ebirim Okadigbo President, COCMEP described the payment of Cross River State workers’ May, 2016 salary on the first day  of the month as a “pleasant and motivating surprise.”

    COCMEP urged the workers’- friendly governor to sustain the culture of timely and prompt payment of workers’ salary as this will multiply commitment, dedication, performance, discipline and productivity.

    Okadigbo described the award bestowed by NLC on Governor Ayade as “the most labour friendly Governor in the country” to be most befitting and truthful because no governor has surpassed Ayade in prompt and timely payment of workers salary. He described Ayade as a motivator, trail blazer, role model, galvanizer and successful manager in human resource development.

    He urged other governors and employers of labour to emulate the Ayade’s model in workers welfare and the Cross River State workers to reciprocate the kind gesture by observing public service and work ethics in their respective places of work.

  • Cheap, ubiquitous civil society groups

    Cheap, ubiquitous civil society groups

    LAST week, two civil society groups nearly came to blows in Abuja over Senate President Bukola Saraki had the police not come between them. One describes its objectives as pro-Saraki, and the other describes its own as anti-Saraki. The anti-Saraki group, Citizens United for Peace and Stability, has since Tuesday laid siege to the entrance area of the National Assembly campaigning to force the resignation of the Senate President. Of course, Dr Saraki has refused to budge, preferring instead to vex the courts with his litigious fecundity. The pro-Saraki group, Citizens in Defence of Democracy, irrespective of who inspired it, also rose up on Thursday to occupy the National Assembly. It would presumably have been a showdown.

    As civil society groups go in Nigeria, no one knows how many of them exist on the roll. It is not clear indeed whether these two in question are registered or not, or whether they are ad hoc. That, admittedly, does not deny them the right to protest. And so both groups have exasperatingly chosen to protest on either side of Dr Saraki. The Senate President himself will stop at nothing, no matter how ridiculous, to stall his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), and pressure groups, noble and ignoble, will add to the farcical display — until so much nonsense has been made of democracy.