Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, on Tuesday, said they will monitor the use of the N5 billion approved for states to purchase of grains and fertilizers for distribution to citizens to cushion the hardships being faced by Nigerians due to removal of petroleum subsidy.
This is also as the CSOs told the Federal Government to implement the demands by the organized labour to mitigate the adverse effect of the petrol subsidy removal.
Fielding questions from journalists at the inauguration of the new executive management of Civil Society Organization on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative, CSCHEI, the Director-General of the group, Hon. Kunle Yusuff, said they would seek to use their coordinators in the states to supervise implementation to ensure that it reaches the target beneficiaries.
According to him, over 40,000 registered Non-Governmental Organizations, NGOs in the country are ready to work with government for the implementation of the palliative initiative.
He said: “We have over 40,000 registered civil society, NGO and community based organizations. This new establishment is saddled with the responsibility of committed enhancement and humanitarian empowerment.
“So it means that like we just said earlier, we are the bridge between the government and the masses, that is the core responsibility of the civil society.
“Now when you’re talking about the palliative of over N5 billion that was just released by the government to help the masses, the only thing that civil society organizations could do is to be part of and to supervise the sharing of whatever the government is doing.
“So, we will supervise to ensure that it gets to the real masses. I am telling you that in every state, we’ll try as much as possible to get involved in ensuring that whatever that is given should be spent judiciously.”
Yusuf also urged the federal government to listen to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and meet their demands over the harsh economic realities in the country.
He said what the organized labour had done by calling for strike over harsh economic conditions amounts to ensuring checks and balances in the system.
“And this society, any country that there is no check and balance is more or less a banana republic. So, if NLC is presenting its case, and they are now protesting accordingly, the government has to look into it. Of course, civil society is also a part of it,” he said.
While calling on the federal government to act on their demands, he insisted that the CSOs will work with the NLC to see how succor can reach deserving Nigerians.
“This establishment is saddled with the responsibility of community enhancement and humanitarian empowerment.
“We have several civil society organization and NGOs that actually on labor, trade and stuff like that. So, we’ll work with them and also see how best to collaborate positively,” the Director General said.
Hon. Yusuff said the organization is an accredited non-profit establishment that coordinates various registered community based organizations, CBOs, non-governmental organization, NGOs to provide community enhancement, humanitarian empowerment, dignity and societal values for development.
He said, “We are the bridge between the government and the masses. We also interface between communities and private sectors on corporate social responsibility. We establish administrative relationships with development partners and donor agencies on grants interventions.
“Our operational principles are predicated on the precept of a logic, science and data.”
The DG said that the mission of the body is to achieve best in nurturing inclusive local communities in advancement of social, economic, humanitarian and environmental progress of the society, while the vision is to attain sustainable and total progress in human dignity and social developments in the society.
Other members of Board of Trustees and alliance members include Mrs. Shara Pane, Executive Director, Community and Humanitarian Empowerment, Prince (Amb.) Chukwuemeka Israel Mgbemere, Executive Director- CSOs and CBOs, Osaro Onaiwu (jnr), Director, Operations and Logistics and Hajia Safiya Jummai Ibrahim, Chairperson, Education, Gender Mainstreaming and Empowerment .
