In a bid to get citizens to effectively engage their leaders and representatives for impactful governance, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) has called on stakeholders in Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, to demand accountability from their representatives at all levels of government.
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that
PPDC’s Deputy Senior Programs Officer, Samuel Akende, who made the call during a community engagement in Nnewi, said that the intervention aligns with Anambra’s Open Government Partnership (OGP) Year 2 Action Plan under the Fiscal Transparency thematic area.
Addressing the gathering at the Palace of the Traditional Ruler of Nnewi, Igwe Kenneth Orizu, Akende decried poor citizens’ participation in the budget cycle, ineffective management of public resources, which the intervention is aimd to address while also promoting feedback mechanisms on budget implementation.
According to him, increased participation by citizens will foster increased trust and ownership of the budget process, leading to improved public accountability, higher tax compliance, and subsequently, boost revenue and effective service delivery.
“A Nigerian citizen is expected by law to participate in the legal, political, social and economic activities in his/her community in Nigeria. Increased participation in governance helps in measuring the performance of duty bearers and in promoting transparency.
“At PPDC, we have been engaging decision makers at the federal level. But that is not enough. That is why we are stepping down to community level”.
Expatiating on the Supreme Court judgment which granted full financial autonomy to the local government, other PPDC staff, Precious Adigwe and Jonathan Ebe, said the recent arrival of local government autonomy in states informed the need to sensitize citizens on active participation in governance to ensure transparency and accountability at the grassroots.
“PPDC is looking closely to sensitize citizens on the need to engage and know what is happening around them in terms of governance. We have been working in collaboration with the state government but we felt the need to assess citizens’ level of knowledge and participation in governance at the local level,” Adigwe said.
Prince Obianefo Orizu, who represented Igwe Kenneth Orizu, welcomed PPDC to the palace, decried the neglect of the industrial town by successive administrations. “Nnewi has always carried out her infrastructural development through self-help”.
“Most of the infrastructural facilities you see in this town are put in place by our illustrious sons. But, I must commend the current Governor for his interest in Nnewi recently”.
The organization later engaged with a women group at the Igwe’s palace before proceeding to Nnewichi-Nnewi where they met men and women groups.
During the meeting, the Chairman Nsuko Ora Nnewi, Dr Maduka Atuenyi, extolled PPDC for its sensitization drive noting that ineffective budget utilization and corruption have adverse impacts on community development.
“In the 2023 budget, billions of naira was allocated for Nnewi and most of the roads they claimed have been done were never on ground. Not even the value of one naira has been felt in this community”.
Ugochi Freeman, Executive Director of Creative Minds Centre for Youth and Community Development (CM-CYCD), acknowledged PPDC’s impactful programs in Nnewi, including sensitization, driving school rehabilitation, and ensuring completion of abandoned projects.
ANN gathered that the latest campaign by PPDC is targeted at achieving transparency, accountability, and effective implementation of projects in the interest of the local populace.
