Elections: Aregbesola, Fayemi, Saraki to speak at NPO Reports’ one-day dialogue on Jan 17

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, and Bukola Saraki, former senate president, are some of the speakers expected at a dialogue organised by NPO Reports, an online newspaper.

The one-day dialogue is scheduled to hold on January 17 in Abuja.

NPO Reports — formerly known as Nigeria Politics Online — is organising the event with the theme ‘2023 & Beyond: Tracking Campaign Promises for Good Governance’.

The dialogue is part of activities to mark the 12th anniversary of the online newspaper. 

According to a statement on Tuesday by Semiu Okanlawon, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Kayode Fayemi, former Ekiti governor; Yahaya Bello, Kogi governor; and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, are also expected at the event. 

Other speakers include Lai Olurode, a former national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Abdulfatah Ahmed, former Kwara governor; and Mufuliat Fijabi, chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Women Trust Fund (NWTF).

Panellists at the event include Waziri Adio, executive director, Agora Policy; Hamza Lawal, CEO of Connected Development (CODE); Abiodun Adeniyi, a professor at Baze University; and Angela Agoawike, CEO of Omalicha Radio.

Representatives from YIAGA Africa, Fix Politics, BudgIT, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund,  Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), and the Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP) are also expected at the event. 

According to Okanlawon, the dialogue is expected to ensure political office seekers and the electorate begin to treat campaign promises as accountability issues in the interest of fostering good governance.

“Over the decades, not even the politicians who mount campaign boxes are conscious of the sanctity of the promises they make,” Okanlawon said. 

“Oftentimes, there are no records of those promises. Whereas, the electorate often takes electoral decisions on the strength of the promises made.

“Sadly, there are no mechanisms for tracking these promises and there is a dearth of tools to force them back to their promises in order to achieve redemption.”