Yiaga Africa tasks A’Ibom citizens on constructive legislative engagement

Yiaga Africa has sensitised citizens of Akwa Ibom from the Ikot Ekpene federal constituency on proper ways to engage their representatives constructively to ensure the dividends of democracy get to the people.

Speaking during the sensitisation on Saturday in Ikot Ekpene, Mr Olaniyan Sanusi, Programme Officer, Yiaga Africa, said the people’s assembly was to promote public deliberations on what their representatives were doing in the National Assembly as it affects the constituents.

Sanusi explained that the People’s Assembly was organised by Yiaga Africa, in partnership with the European Union, to ensure that the dividends of democracy reach the grassroots across Essien Udim, Ikot Ekpene, and Obot Akara — the three local government areas that make up the 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 and ensured that lawmakers prioritised their needs.

The programme officer Yiaga Africa tasked citizens in Akwa Ibom to engage constructively with their legislators to ensure social accountability and responsive governance.

He said that Yiaga Africa called for active and sustained citizen participation in the governance process by organising themselves and articulating the needs of the community and presenting to the legislators for action.

Sanusi added that the people’s assembly promotes information sharing and inspires 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 can contribute to decisions that affect their lives.

“When they are able to influence policies, when they can 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 urged citizens to hold regular meetings to deliberate on issues affecting their communities rather than personal interests, reach collective resolutions, and present them to their elected representatives.

Speaking with our correspondent, a participant from Ikot Ekpene, Miss Joy Umo, said the engagement helped them better understand how to articulate their demands and effectively communicate them to their representatives.

“This engagement is going to help us so much, to be able to communicate our hearts to our legislators, and on how best we can actually improve our lives, especially persons with disability in their various roles of legislature.

“We are looking forward to building a good relationship, where we bridge the gap between our representatives and the citizens,” she said.

Another participant, Mr Samson Umoh from Obot Akara Local Government Area, said the People’s Assembly provided a platform for citizens from different local government areas within the constituency to interact and share insights on the activities of their representatives.

He appreciated Yiaga Africa and the European Union for creating the opportunity to discuss how best to engage legislators on issues affecting their communities.