Yiaga Africa Strengthens Constituency Engagement Through Internship Program
- A constituency office internship program has been launched by Yiaga Africa-Centre for Legislative Engagement
- Yiaga Africa collaborated with the European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria and the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies on the program
- The training is expected to equip young people who will serve as interns in the constituency offices of elected lawmakers to improve legislators-constituents relationship
FCT, Abuja - Yiaga Africa’s Centre for Legislative Engagement with the support of the European Union under its European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) has trained 74 Nigerians on legislative engagements.
The two-day office internship program organised by the foremost civil society organisation, in conjunction with the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) focused on legislative interns and aides from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
Source: Twitter
Addressing the interns at the closing ceremony of the program on Tuesday, February 15, the director of programmes at Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu stated that:
“The essence of this engagement is to first, identify that we have constituency offices existing. A lot of Nigerians don't even know we have constituency offices.
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“But beyond that, is to localise the concept of democratic governance, the concept of participation, and the concept of building the next generation of leaders.
“As interns, you will be at these constituency offices to provide support, to learn, and to ensure that there is better functionality at that level.
“For us, what is key is that this experience is not just to bear the name 'intern,' but that from this process, you can also become champions of democracy and champions of the legislature in interacting with your community, to help them understand the importance of the constituency offices, the importance of their lawmakers, and most importantly, the role of lawmakers.”
On his part, the director-general of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Suleiman said:
“At the core of any democracy is political representation, which is symbolised by the legislature - consisting of the elected representatives of the people. Without the legislature, there is no democracy.
“The partnership between the institute and Yiaga to democracy to strengthen the practice of constituency relations will improve the knowledge of the legislators themselves on the necessity of engaging and being accountable to constituents.
“Similarly, constituents themselves need to be educated to understand the constitutional roles and duties of the elected representatives and the various ways in which they too can interact with their legislators.”
On his part, the chairman, House of Representatives committee on constituency outreach, Hon Bello Kaoje, said the National Assembly is happy with the training, stressing that it will ensure better understanding between constituents and lawmakers.
His words:
“Studies have shown that 53 percent of interns within organisations become full-time hires. I, therefore, urge you make full utilization of this training programme to prepare yourself for future legislative capacity preparation.
“The experience and exposure that you will gain at the conclusion of this capacity training workshop will enhance your individual ability to serve as efficient research assistants in your respective constituency offices and also participate in the legislator’s constituency office activities.
“It important to state that as the first batch of this training, the future success of this program depends on your adequate feedback mechanism from various constituency offices that will encourage continued support from Yiaga Africa Centre for Legislative Engagement with the support of the European Union and their ability to give the time and energy to promote it.”
FCT area council elections: Yiaga Africa Watching the Vote releases 6 key findings
Yiaga Africa’s Watching the Vote (WTV) key findings during the FCT area council elections have been released.
The findings were released on Monday, February 14 during a press briefing by Yiaga Africa's officials and board members.
The observer group described the elections as an exercise defined by operational deficiencies, security challenges, and abysmal voter turnout.
Yiaga Africa issues 10 key recommendations before polls
Recall that Yiaga Africa’s WTV had issued 10 recommendations for all the active participants in the FCT area council elections on Saturday, February 12.
The active citizens include the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, Civil Society Organisations, and citizens.
The recommendations were signed by Yiaga Africa's executive director, Samson Itodo, and board member, Ezenwa Nwagwu.
Source: Legit.ng
