Five Gubernatorial Candidates Sign Open Government Manifesto in Akwa Ibom State
By Ekemini Simon
Five governorship candidates in Akwa Ibom State yesterday, Sunday, January 29, 2023 signed the Open Governorship Manifesto to publicly symbolise their readiness to run an open government agenda, if elected.
The candidates who signed the Open Government Manifesto are Senator Akpan James Udoedehe of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Arc. Ezekiel Nya-Etok of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Iboro Otu of the African Action Congress (AAC), Dr. Ekere Essien of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Senator Bassey Albert of the Young Progressive Party.
The Manifesto, put together by Policy Alert and presented during the Akwa Ibom Governorship Debate organised by the Akwa Ibom State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), was aimed at committing the governorship candidates to implement the Open Governorship Partnership (OGP) in the state as the baton of government changes hands in May 2023.
Speaking during the presentation, Senior Programme Officer of Policy Alert, Mfon Gabriel, said: “The OGP is a global multi-stakeholder initiative that brings reformers in and outside of government to work together to create solutions that make government more transparent, accountable, and participatory.”
He noted that Nigeria signed on to the OGP in 2016 and so far, 25 states have signed on to the OGP leaving Akwa Ibom State as one of the three states in the Niger Delta that has not yet signed on to the Partnership.
Gabriel explained that the Niger Delta presents an interesting case for subnational open government implementation as states in the region currently receive the highest chunk in terms of federally allocated revenue compared to other states.
The signing of the Manifesto is part of an OpenGovTownHall series implemented by the Niger-Delta Open Government Observatory (NOGO), a civil society cluster working to strengthen the uptake and implementation of OGP in the region.
NOGO is currently implemented in six states of the Niger Delta with support from USAID Nigeria/Palladium Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project. The project is led by Policy Alert in partnership with Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership (OGP) Secretariat, Open Alliance, TheMail Newspaper, and The Roothub, among others.