By Isaiah Eka
Yiaga Africa, an NGO, has reiterated the need for Nigerians to constructively engage their National Assembly representatives .
Yiaga Africa gave the suggestion at a sensitisation event for Ikot Ekpene constituents of Akwa Ibom, on proper ways to engage their representatives constructively to ensure that dividends of democracy got the people.
Speaking during the sensitisation on Saturday in Ikot Ekpene, Mr Olaniyan Sanusi, Programme Officer, Yiaga Africa said the people’s assembly is to promote public deliberations on what their representatives are doing in the national assembly and how it affects the constituents.
Sanusi said the people’s assembly was organised by Yiaga Africa in collaboration with the European Union for constituents in Essien Udim, Ikot Ekpene and Obot Akara of Ikot Ekpene federal constituency.
He said the people’s assembly served as a model for citizen engagement in governance, promoting transparency and accountability and empowered citizens to demand better governance, ensuring that lawmakers prioritised their needs.
The programme officer tasked the constituents in Akwa Ibom ensure social accountability and responsive governance.
He said that Yiaga Africa called for active and sustained participation in governance process, hence the meeting that would enable it articulate the needs of the constituents and present it to the legislators for action.
Sanusi added that the people’s assembly would promote information sharing and inspire confidence in democracy as the people will speak with one voice on the community’s needs.
“It is a culture of public deliberation at the constituency level, when citizens are able to contribute to decisions that affect their lives.
“When they are able to influence policies, when they are able to influence actions of elected officials, then those actions would reflect their needs.
“Those actions taken by these officials would reflect the needs of citizens, so, it won’t be a government agenda different from citizens’ needs,” Sanusi said.
He called on citizens to always meet regularly, deliberate on the common issues of the community, not personal needs, make resolutions and present them to their representatives.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) a participant and resident of Ikot Ekpene, Miss Joy Umo, said the engagement had given them the opportunity to know how to articulate their demands and communicate them to their representatives.
“This engagement is going to help us so much how best we can actually improve on our lives, especially persons with disabilities.
“We are looking forward to building a good relationship, where we bridge the gap between our representatives and us,” she said.
Another participant, Mr Samson Umoh, from Obot Akara local government area, said the people’s assembly has created a platform for them to interact with people from other local government areas of the constituency on what their representatives are doing.
Umoh thanked Yiaga Africa and the European Union for the opportunity granted them to deliberate on how to engage their legislators on issues affecting the communities. NAN
