By Our Correspondent
Governor Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has acknowledged the vital role that Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have played in advancing good governance.
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He also emphasized their advocacy for accountability and transparency as key components for achieving sustainable development in the state.
Represented by Hajiya Amina Sani Abdullahi, the Commissioner for Special Duties at the Agent for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) program closure, the Governor expressed appreciation to the European Union ACT for its commitment to supporting CSOs and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue in Nigeria.
He further acknowledged that since its inception in 2019, ACT has become an active agent for sustainable development in Kano.
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He assured that the Kano State Government, under his watch, is committed to providing an enabling environment for CSOs to thrive and bring more development to Kano State.
The Governor added that the state government is ready to collaborate with CSOs for the benefit of future generations.
Earlier in his speech, the ACT National Programme Manager, Damilare Babalola, said that the focus of the program was to support CSOs in the area of capacity building to become more effective and efficient in terms of goal-driven and transformative actions.
He maintained that Kano is one of the 10 states where ACT is working, emphasizing that the state is among the top four rankings.
Mr. Babalola explained that the Programme in Kano engaged 23 CSOs and, according to him, worked closely with these CSOs over the four and a half years.
He stressed that throughout its stay in Kano, ACT successfully engaged more communities and closely collaborated with the Kano State Government.
In a remark, Professor M.B Shitu, a Lecturer in the Department of Adult Education and Community Service at Bayero University Kano, said that Nigeria cannot be transformed without engaging its citizens.
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He applauded the selection of CSOs based on community participation and commitment.
He highlighted that the Kano State Government and its public have benefited significantly from ACT’s participation in Kano, emphasizing the program’s positive impact on the state.
Additionally, in his remark, the President of the Civil Society Network and Kano Civil Society Forum, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya, affirmed that CSOs had learned a lot in the areas of advocacy and engagement.
Waiya added that prior to the arrival of the ACT program in Kano, CSOs adopted a fire brigade approach when engaging with the government.
He noted that through the program, CSOs learned various advocacy approaches for engaging policymakers and community members, emphasizing that CSOs are essential partners in development.
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Other speakers included Aliyu Abba Kalli, the Head of the Public Relations Unit at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), who spoke on the agency’s mandate and sensitized participants on the dangers of human trafficking.
The highlight of the closure program was the presentation of key results and impacts of the ACT program in Kano State, led by the State Focal Person, Rabi Adamu.
