Afenifere, DAWN Commission, South-west Govs to Project Region’s Initiatives

Sunday Okobi

The Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and other governors in the South-west states will join Afenifere leaders and other leaders in the South-west region to host over 800 regional stakeholders who will engage directly with the federal government on various policy initiatives affecting the region in particular and Nigeria in general.

The summit, with the theme: ‘Strengthening Democracy Through Dialogue: Assessing Progress, Charting the Future’, will be jointly organised by Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. According to the organisers, the two-day citizen-government engagement summit is scheduled for October 9 and 10 in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The Steering Committee Chairman, Dr. Akin Onigbinde (SAN), stated that the summit aims to create a structured dialogue mechanism between the South-west region and federal and state authorities, in order to ensure regional voices inform national policy decisions.

Onigbinde, a former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said: “This summit marks a new chapter in democratic engagement for the Southwest region. We are creating an institutional framework that will ensure the voices of over 40 million Southwest residents are heard and considered in governance decisions.”

Providing more information on the summit, DAWN Commission’s Director-General, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, said a unique feature of the congress is its requirement for evidence-based presentations.

Oyeleye said: “We demand accountability through evidence,” adding that the summit “presents an opportunity for Southwest citizens to get first-hand information about government policies.”

Also, the summit’s Programme Coordinator, Professor Anthony Kila, said the event would feature an all-embracing participation from key stakeholders, including South-west Governors (Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti), federal ministers and appointees, traditional rulers from across the region, religious leaders from Christian, Islamic, and traditional faiths, academic institutions and thought leaders, private sector and professional associations, cooperatives society leaders, farmers and market leaders, civil society organisations and grassroots representatives.

He said South-west citizens should prepare to get direct answers to their questions in six thematic sessions covering: fiscal reforms and national planning, economic development and job creation, social services and social development, infrastructure and transportation, human capital development, and security and governance.