By Lukman Abdulmalik
At a recent round table discussion on constituency projects in Lokoja, some stakeholders have called on state and federal legislators to own functional constituency offices.
This is one of the resolutions contained in a communique that was mutually agreed upon and signed by Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina Chairman, the Kogi Accountability Platform interim Chairman, Hamza Aliyu, and Stallion Times Project Coordinator, Isiyaku Ahmed.
The roundtable which was organized by Stallion Times at Modern Age Conference Hall, Lokoja, on Saturday, is one of many activities of the three-year participatory governance and media literacy project, tagged “Get Involved, Dialogue, and Improve (G-DRIP),” aimed at encouraging effective citizen participation in governance to enhance service delivery.
G-DRIP is supported by the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism under the Collaborative Media Project and funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
According to the communique, many elected representatives do not have functional constituency offices for engagement with their constituents.
And that constituents are not usually carried along in the planning and conceptualization of constituency projects.
It added that the civil society and community members in the state have not paid keen attention to constituency projects; their conceptualization and implementation.
Other parts of the communique read; “Citizens’ dissatisfaction with their elected representatives is derived from the lack of transparency in the activities of political leaders especially in their expenditure of public funds.
“Kogi State Government has put in place processes and procedures for developing evidence-based instruments for the provision of amenities on a needs basis.
“Personalization of requests by citizens during engagements with elected representatives has made it difficult to hold Public Office holders accountable.”
“Every elected representative must have a functional Constituency office with the requisite staff and equipment.
“Legislature must put in place mechanisms for ensuring that the concept of Constituency Project is made Transparent and accountable to the people (through Oversight and Public Accounts investigations).
“Anti-corruption agencies such as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must scale up their searchlight on implementation of Constituency Projects in Kogi State.
“Citizens must take an interest in Public Sector Budgeting, Budget Tracking, and Legislative Advocacy including Policy Engagement.
“Elected representatives must prioritize quarterly Town hall meetings for engagement with their constituents.
“Community members must see Constituency Projects as their own, guard and protect it.”
The roundtable which emphasized the importance of citizens’ engagement in planning and initiating constituency projects in Kogi State had Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Kogi State Open Government Partnership (OGP), State and Non-Actors, and the Media.