Abuja: Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, has called for stronger collaboration among civil society organisations (CSOs) to enhance legislative accountability and transparency in Nigeria. Rafsanjani made the call at a Strategic Stakeholders’ Coalition Convening, under the auspices of Coalition for Legislative Governance Accountability in Nigeria (CoLGAN).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the programme was aimed at strengthening legislative accountability in Nigeria through the Erudite Growth and Advancement Foundation-Africa (ERGAF-Africa) NASS Barometer Report Project. Rafsanjani said that the initiative was built on three key pillars: advocacy, capacity enhancement and legislative monitoring.
He highlighted the need for a more formidable and coordinated network among organisations in Nigeria working on aspects of legislative engagement to consolidate efforts and drive sustainable impact. Rafsanjani explained that the proposed network would focus on information sharing, performance tracking, evaluation of the legislature, conducting legislative public opinion polls, and providing technical support for data entry and verification.
Rafsanjani emphasized the importance of promoting knowledge of legislative activities among Nigerians and the use of digital tools and social media to improve media engagement. He also noted that collaboration with the media-both in the Senate and the House of Representatives-remained critical to amplifying civil society perspectives on issues debated within the legislature.
The CISLAC executive director stated that the network would operate not only at the national level but also extend to state houses of assembly to institutionalise legislative accountability at all tiers of government. He mentioned efforts to ensure a civil society liaison office is operational at the National Assembly, allowing CSOs easier access to legislative processes.
Rafsanjani highlighted the significance of building the technical capacity of CSOs to understand legislative functions, including law making, oversight and constituency outreach. He clarified that legislative oversight is a constitutional mechanism for improving governance, assessing resource allocation, and identifying legal gaps, rather than intimidating government agencies.
Efforts will be made to support legislative committees with technical knowledge in areas such as bill analysis and proactive law making. Rafsanjani expressed confidence that by uniting, organisations can leverage their expertise to build a strong platform for legislative engagement in Nigeria.
In his remarks, the Head of Impact at Christian Aid, West and Central Africa, Mr Temitope Fashola, reaffirmed his organisation’s commitment to strengthening legislative accountability. Fashola stressed that the impact of the initiative would depend on sustained collaboration and wider adoption among stakeholders.
The President of ERGAF-Africa, Chibuzo Okereke, emphasized the importance of empowering citizens with data-oriented tools for legislative oversight and participatory democracy. ERGAF-AFRICA Data Analyst, Raphael Tarbo, added that the initiative aims to provide clear information on legislative performance, encouraging greater citizen participation and improved oversight.
NAN reports that the meeting featured a Live Demo of the ERGAF-AFRICA NASS Deliberative and Policy Focus Productivity Report on the activities or inactivities of each member of the National Assembly.