CSO commits party candidates, communities to pact on election promises

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna.

The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) in partnership with SERDEC has engaged political party candidates in a pact with some community stakeholders on their needs and expectations of the office seekers before the forthcoming 2019 elections.
The Programme Director of the Civil Society Organization, Ifeoma Onyebuchi who disclosed this at the weekend in Minna during a “One Day Public Engagement Meeting for Political Aspirants and Community Stakeholders in Niger State” said that this is to ensure inclusiveness and participation in governance.
According to her, this has become necessary due to the fact that most politicians do not care about visiting communities to know their plight and what they really needed from governments and their representatives hence the need for sensitization and pact on their expectations.
Onyebuchi noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed to adopt the standard of the NGO advocating for the Open Contracting Standard to ensure proper procurement.
She emphasized that these would go a long way to ensure accountability, proper information and securing the required budget provision for projects hence the citizen sector organization was to ensure integrity of public sector and governance in the country.
While seeking for Media partnership to amplified the voice of the voiceless in the society through the CSO to avoid misplaced priority projects for communities hence the program ‘Budeshi’ meaning open it which they used match contractual information with the contracts to ensure standard of contracts sum.
She further hinted that in 2017, three communities in Niger state were toured they were Khadina in Bosso, Lanle in Lavun and Yelwa in Agaie local governments respectively, where the communities are tremendously in need of Water, Sanitation and Hiegine (WASH) to ensure good health called for utmost concern.
Therefore, the community charter of demand with the their elective candidates for 2019 general election (Niger State Citizens Manifesto) includes, privatizing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the annual budget, provide adequate funding for inclusive and sustainable clean water supply, sanitation services and functional hand washing facilities in health care facilities.
Others are to reduce barriers for the poorest, most marginalized and unnerved in using the and accessing water supply in Niger state as well as to promote accountability and transparency by providing timely access to information on budget and procurement process and holding at least three times town hall meeting annually.
The political parties and their candidates who attended the meeting includes; Hon. Mohammed Abdullahi Dada of PDP, Hon. Fati Abubakar of ADP, Suleiman Abdul of PRP and Lado Abubakar of LPN who all signed the pact and assured their service delivery if elected at the next polls.