Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello, Fayemi, Aregbesola, Saraki, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Others to Speak
As the campaigns for the 2023 general elections hot up across the country, major political gladiators and members of the civil society in Nigeria are gearing up to examine the sincerity of political office seekers in the promises they offer the electorate.
The one-day dialogue, being put together as part of the 12th anniversary of one of Nigeria’s online news organisation, the NPO Reports, seeks to set agenda how to hold politicians accountable for the promises they make to the electorate during electioneering.
Expected to speak at the one day event are former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Holding in the thick of campaign promises ahead of the 2023 general elections, others expected to speak at the one-day dialogue, are Prof Lai Olurode, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and former Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the National Women Trust Fund, Mrs. Mufuliat Fijabi.
The theme of the one-day dialogue – 2023 & Beyond: Tracking Campaign Promises for Good Governance – according to a statement, signed by Semiu Okanlawon, Editor-in-Chief of NPO Reports, is to ensure political office seekers and the electorate begin to treat campaign promises as accountability issues for the sake of good governance.
The event will also feature a panel discussion which will be moderated by frontline columnist and the Vice President/Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene.
To be on the panel are a former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and currently Executive Director, Agora Policy, Mr. Waziri Adio; Chief Executive Officer, Connected Development, Mr. Hamza Lawal; a university don Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi of the Baze University, Abuja; and CEO of Omalicha Radio and former Editorial Coordinator at the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) News, Angela Agoawike.
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Expected at the event are representatives of civil society organisations especially those working for the fine-tunning of the Nigerian political space. Some of these include YIAGA Africa, Fix Politics, BudgIT, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP).
According to Okanlawon, journalism has a huge role to play in turning campaign promises into accountability issues.
“Over the decades, not even the politicians who mount campaign boxes are conscious of the sanctity of the promises they make.
“Oftentimes, there are no records of those promises. Whereas, the electorate, often take electoral decisions on the strength of the promises made.
“Sadly, there are no mechanisms for tracking these promises and there is a dearth of tools to force them back to their promises in order to achieve redemption.” the statement noted