The Socioeconomic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has at a workshop held to enlighten Nigerians harped on the need for Nigerians to hold their elected representatives in government accountable.

The training which was held in Lagos on Thursday 29th of September 2022, looked at the theme: “Promoting Citizens Action for Accountability in the Management of Public Resources in Nigeria.

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The Programs Coordinator at SERAP, Folashade Arigbabu explained that the goal of the program is to sensitise the participants on how to take strategic steps in holding their representatives in government accountable for taxpayer’s money expended on projects.

She said “we have noticed that the communities in Nigeria are very complacent and too far removed from governance to be able to checkmate wastage in government”.

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“We also noticed that they do not know how to ask their representatives to give account for projects carried out and the ones they failed to carry out.

On her part the Program Director, CODE, Lucy Abagi, who spoke on the topic: “the roles and modes of holding duty bearers to account in the use of public funds” encouraged participants to follow the budgets of their states passionately to know what is enshrined in it so as to to know when government is erring.

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The Program Director, explained that government usually indicates the projects to done in the budget and funds are allocated, so when these healthcare projects, road projects, educational projects, water projects highlighted in the budgeted are not done, the citizens have a right to call their leaders for questioning.

In her words, when we see projects that ought to have been done undone, we can employ the social media and other major media space to try and reach out to whom ever is responsible. We should call them, write them, visit them and even invite them for dialogue in our various communities, so that they can explain their part in the discuss.

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Lots of people have lost their lives over community projects duly awarded to contractors but left undone, we should hold our leaders accountable in such situations, she said.

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