James Sowole in Abeokuta

A non-profit organisation committed to democratic governance, Yiaga Africa Centre, yesterday, mobilsed constituents of Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency of Ogun State for establishment of People’s Assembly.

The decision to establish the Assembly was taken by representatives of various groups in wards of the federal constituency at a meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The organisation said the People’s Assembly is a tool for deliberative democracy that provides an opportunity for public deliberation that results in priority recommendations that inform government decisions and actions.

“The goal is to rebuild citizens’ faith in democracy, promote legitimacy in policy decisions and inspire citizens’ trust in public leadership of their Legislators.

“Yiaga Africa, in the past two years has successfully established functional People’s Assemblies in some Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 10 States which have yielded tangible outcomes,” it stated.

Speaking to journalists at  the event, the Programme Officer, Yiaga Africa, Mrs Anthonia Onga, noted that citizens participation remained at the centre of democracy.

She noted that the people’s assembly was to promote public deliberations on what their representatives does in the national assembly and the effect on the constituents.

Onga said that it was important that citizens engaged and “so for that we are providing this opportunity and platform for citizens of Ifo-Ewekoro Federal Constituency.

She said, “For us, it is to bring together citizens at the constituency level, come together, discuss and deliberate on issues that matter to them and table it for the federal constituency for implementation so that they can get results.

“Most times, citizens don’t participate beyond voting in an election and participation goes beyond election.”

The programme officer added that the event was organised to enlighten constituents on how to hold representatives accountable and demanding project implementation within their community that affects their lives.

She explained that the people’s assembly served as a means for citizen engagement in governance and ensured that lawmakers prioritised their needs.

“What makes people’s assembly different is that it is a small group of people who come together to deliberate issues and decide through consensus on which issues should be treated first.

“They take the issue to the representative and follow up to make sure that particular issue raised is being implemented.

“Our engagement here today is to come and establish, show them the processes of holding meetings so that they will own it and follow up, the follow up is not ours, it is the people.

“Yiaga Africa, in the past two years has successfully established functional people’s assemblies in some Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 10 states which have yielded tangible outcomes,” she said.

Speaking to journalists, House of Representatives member for Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, appreciated Yiaga Africa for bringing the sensitisation programme to his constituency.

Isiaka, represented by a member of the constituency, Abiodun Adeleye, noted that the programme was to educate various groups on their rights and the responsibilities of their representatives whether at the national assembly or at the state assembly.

“Ifo-Ewekoro Federal Constituency being single out because of the effectiveness of the representatives in the national assembly .

“The constituency will always embrace any form of change, the discussion here today will be an improvement to what has been done in time past.

“There are some changes they are trying to introduce, yes, we will take it , we will look at it, we will embrace it and we will inculcate it into the system of our federal constituency,” he said.

Mr. Wasiu Olalekan, a participant, representing People With Disabilities (PWD), noted that the programme was an opportunity for their voice to be heard.

“There are so many opportunities created for us from the federal to the state and even local government level but at the end of the day we are neglected.

“We were also part of the custodians of democracy, so we have to be carried along. The gap between PWDs and the government must be bridged,” he said.

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