2015: Group launches interactive session for public office holders
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lagos Tuesday, 19, 2014 Ahead of the 2015 elections, a leading human rights group, the Coalition of Nigerian Civil Right Groups, CONRIG has launched an interactive forum aimed at creating a platform of engagement between the electorate, political stakeholders and electorate elected leaders at the grassroots.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the coalition of rights groups said the interactive forum will bring together elected leaders at the state and national levels an interactive section aimed with locals with the aim of deepening democratic culture in the country.
The statement signed by CONRIG’S National Secretary, Mr Samuel Olorunwa said the programme which will be launched early next month will cover several states in Nigeria using Lagos as a pilot project.

The project will highlight the imperative of good governance and popular engagement with local people and their representatives.
Apart from the elected representatives and the electorate, representatives of the international development agencies like the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) the Department for International Development, (DFID) and the media will also be invited to the chain of events scheduled to begin in September this year.

“Leadership is about accountability. The people elected on trust to hold public posts should be subjected to constant engagement by the electorate to give account of their stewardship especially in the state that has recently been engulfed with different allegations of financial mismanagement” CONRIG stated in the statement. The rights group said such interaction will stem the emerging culture of violence and promote the tradition of debate as against violent confrontations that characterize most elections in Nigeria.

The group stated “It is time to hold the elected office holders to account for their steadwardship. We think it is the right time to do this before the next elections. We are starting with elected representatives in Lagos. We hope to cover at least 80 percent of the 36 states before the next election.”

“Poor leadership continues to fuel anger, underdevelopment and distrust, but this forum seeks a medium through which public office holders can be engaged to express themselves unhindered,” the group stated.

CONRIG urges all the local government chairmen and other elected representatives to prepare a comprehensive repot of their achievements in the past four years in anticipation of constructive engagement with the people that elected them.

CONRIG is a coalition of several civil rights groups drawn from various aspects of human socio-political development. Established in 2007, the group has taken active part in promoting human rights and democratic culture in Nigerian and in many West African countries

https://irohinodua./2014/08/20/2015-group-launches-interactive-session-for-public-office-holders/?shared=email&msg=fail