Commends Kaduna governor for successful campaign launch

Ahead of the 2027 general elections the Tinubu Campaign Council says it has begun mapping out strategies to mobilise civil society organisations (CSOs) across the country amidst efforts to deepen community engagements.

The Director of the Directorate of Civil Society Mobilisation of the council Fabian Okoye disclosed this during a press briefing to formally launch dialogue and consultative platforms for engagement with CSOs.

Okoye said the initiative was aimed at strengthening community-level engagement, sharing information on President Bola Tinubu’s manifesto, communicating the achievements and policies of the administration and creating opportunities for dialogue on issues affecting Nigerians.

He said the Directorate had conducted a comprehensive mapping of civil society organisations, community-based groups and other non-state actors at national, zonal, state, local government, ward and community levels.

According to him, the exercise will enable the council to identify and engage different categories of civil society groups through policy dialogues and thematic discussions covering governance, social inclusion, public accountability, sustainable development, human rights and justice.

Okoye said the engagement strategies would take into consideration the peculiarities of the country’s six geopolitical zones, noting that the concerns and interests of civil society groups in the North-West could differ from those in the South-South, South-East and other regions.

He explained that civil society was not a homogeneous constituency, as it comprised pro-democracy activists, non-governmental organisations, professional associations, faith-based organisations and community-based groups.

The director said the council would adopt different approaches to engage the various groups, adding that policy dialogues would provide opportunities for the administration to explain its policies and achievements.

He urged the media to support the initiative, describing civil society as one of the most knowledgeable and influential constituencies in the country.

Okoye also commended Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for what he described as the successful organisation of the campaign flag-off in the state which attracted a large crowd without any casualty or security incident.

“Managing such a crowd is both a logistical and security nightmare. But our people were able to manage it. There was no casualty. There was no incident. It was violence-free,” he said.

Okoye said the Directorate would build on the momentum generated by the Kaduna campaign launch as it prepared for another campaign event in Calabar, Cross River State.

He defended the administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, saying President Tinubu had demonstrated the courage to address challenges previous administrations avoided.

He said the President’s decision to remove the subsidy was informed by the need to prevent those benefiting from the regime from sabotaging his administration.

Speaking on why the Directorate was focusing on CSOs, the Director explained that civil society organisations played important roles in informing citizens, sustaining democracy and holding public office holders accountable.

Also speaking, the Founder of Rural Advocacy for Community Voices, Comrade Abdul Wahab Ekekhide, said effective engagement with civil society would require government to improve access to information and establish stronger collaboration with non-governmental organisations.

He called for increased government support for civil society activities, noting that many organisations depended on foreign donors to fund their programmes and so are expected to implement projects according to the dictates of the donor organisations

The Executive Director of SIPA International and President of the Global Peace Movement, Joseph David, urged the Directorate to adopt a structured and measurable engagement framework.

He said the strategy should be smart , specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound to ensure that the engagement produced tangible results.

David also called for the establishment of a technical working group and a clear document outlining the responsibilities of participating organisations.

He said civil society organisations already had established structures and networks that could be deployed to communicate government policies to millions of Nigerians.

According to him, effective communication and collaboration with civil society and the media are necessary to help citizens understand government policies and their expected benefits.