The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Professional Bodies and People with Disabilities (PWDs) in a poll conducted at the Kano Anti-Corruption Institute, Goron Dutse, yesterday, elected members into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) State steering committee.
At the polls, the OGP CSO Adviser, Isiyaku Ahmed, served as election umpire, with support from the OGP Secretariat and Registrar. Meanwhile, Barr Zakiyya of Kano State Anti-Corruption Institute sat as an observer.
The election had a large number of CSOs in attendance.
In his opening remarks, outgoing government co-chair and chairman, Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado commended the State OGP for its successes so far, adding that more can be done.
He urged members of CSOs to work harmoniously with government actors for development of the State using the OGP platform. He also sent goodwill to contestants in the election.
On her part, the outgoing CSO co-chair, Halima Ben Umar emphasized on co-creation and inclusivity; she noted that OGP is all about transparency and accountability, adding that there is no more room for secrecy in the way things are done in public service.
“Thank you for what we have achieved together, I feel happy that despite all the challenges, the election will be conducted for the incoming CSO steering committee members,” Mrs. Halima said.
The CSO members were elected into the OGP State steering committee and thematic areas of Anti-corruption, Fiscal transparency, service delivery, access to justice, access to information and citizens engagement. Professional bodies, Private sector and PWDs were duly represented.
The incoming elected officials are; Abdulrazaq Alkali, CSO co-chair, Rabi Yusuf Gezawa, incoming co-chair, with Ibrahim Garba Maryam, Halima Ben Umar, Dr. Abdulsalam Kani, Muhammad Yahaya, Abdulrahaman Abdu, Umar Saleh Anka and Hadiza Kishimi as members.
The newly elected State steering committee members are to serve for two years (2021-2023) from the date of inauguration. They are mandated to do a review of the existing Kano State OGP action plan.
Elected into thematic leadership posts are: Zuwaira Omar Mohammad (citizens engagement Lead), Shehu Musa Gora (PWD’s Lead), Peter Hassan Tijani (access to information Lead), Aminu Bala (service delivery Lead), Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (anti-corruption Lead), Akibu Hamisu (fiscal transparency Lead), and comrade Haruna A. Ayagi (access to justice Lead).
In his acceptance speech, the CSO incoming co-chair, Abdulrazaq Alkali said: “my leadership is for all, this includes those who vote for and against me; everybody will be carried along.”
“I want you to know that OGP is government driven, so, to do more and achieve more, we must see ourselves as government partners working for the development of Kano State and Nigeria in general.
“One of my key deliverables is to make sure we collectively showcase what Kano State has done, and plans to do in the future under the OGP initiative for people to see at subnational, national and global levels.
“We’re going to use the OGP platform to push for policy reforms where necessary, and this will be done in mutual, courteous consultation with our government counterparts,” he emphasized.
He thanked the leadership of government co-chair, Barr. Muhuyi Magaji for supporting a transparent transition with kind words, logistics, encouragement, and most especially, for not interfering with the process.
OGP is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.