Stand up for your right

The State Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI) is a project financed by Nigeria’s Department of International Development, which aims to partner with civil society groups, state houses of assembly, and the media, to support democratic participation and government accountability.

The objective of the programme is to increase the ability of citizens to claim their rights and hold governments accountable. The services will be provided to select groups in seven states, starting with Jigawa, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, and Enugu.

The national programme manager of SAVI, Kevin Gager, who has lived in Nigeria for over a decade, spoke with Chinedu Ozordi on the initiative.

Has your partnership with the Lagos State House of Assembly yielded any gains in constituency development?

It is early days; we have expectations that there will be a strengthening of these linkages in line with the reform action plan recently developed by the SHoA (state houses of assembly) members to move the Lagos SHoA forward, as a reform and progressive legislature.

Do you think the Assembly enjoys sufficient public support?

From initial work it is clear the rights, responsibilities of the members and their constituents are either not fully understood or they have unreasonable expectations — some of the required clarification on roles, rights and responsibilities of both SHoA members and their constituents is part of the work SAVI and its partner (the civil society organisations) will be considering over the coming months.

Have the lawmakers sought your support in developing budget analysis?

During a recent retreat supported by SAVI for the SHoA members, it was agreed that some help in developing the required skills for members and their support staff to fully interrogate the state budget and its expenditure by the state would be facilitated by SAVI in the coming months.

Has your partnership with the Lagos State government improved government’s accountability, and in what way?

It is early to comment on this; a common work plan and way forward is presently being finalised.

How would you compare the Lagos House of Assembly and those of other states that you have worked with?

In some aspects, the Lagos State House (of Assembly) is a leader in Nigeria. But one cannot compare state houses where there are completely different political parametres/relationships between the executive, judiciary and the house. Clearly, Lagos is at the end of the more progressive and enlightened state house if some comparison is to be madeMr Gager, accompanied by a project director of DFID, Graham Gass, first visited the Lagos State House of Assembly early this year to present the lawmakers modalities for partnering with them in areas of providing public support, reinforcing constituency development, and finance.

Mr Gass informed the legislators that DFID had enjoyed a long partnership with the executive arm of the Lagos state government, and assured them that the organization was prepared to extend same to the legislative arm through SAVI.

“We have had a long partnership with the Lagos state government, and have provided assistance through various programmes in sectors like education and health,” he said.

Mr Gager, who said SAVI was also in partnership with various states of assembly in the country, assured the lawmakers that the organization was committed to the realization of the millennium development goals of the state.