By: Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse
The Civil Society and Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Christian Aid Nigeria have trained 50 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), women-led groups, and media practitioners in Jigawa State on budget education and transparency.
The two-day capacity-building workshop, conducted through Prime Initiative under the Tax Justice and Governance Platform (TJ&GP), aimed to equip participants with the skills to present public demands and needs in state and local government budgets.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Prime Initiative, Comrade Muhammad Abdu Dutse, said the training was designed to help CSOs, women’s groups, and informal sector representatives analyze and engage with public budgets using a tax justice and gender-responsive approach.
“This is part of our effort to promote justice, accountability, and transparency in budget implementation, ensuring that state and local government budgets reflect the genuine needs of the people,” Abdu said.
He explained that the training focused on identifying community needs, presenting them for inclusion in official budgets, and monitoring allocations to advocate for equitable service delivery—especially in education and health sectors.
“Education and health have a direct impact on the less privileged, particularly women and children. CSOs must therefore understand budget processes and public finance systems to hold government accountable,” he added.
Director of Planning at the Jigawa State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Umar Idris, urged participants to consistently follow up on budget implementation to ensure transparency and accountability.