He Center for Innovation and Development of Journalism (CJID) has asked citizens to get involved in the governance process as a means to promote sustainable development in their communities.
This was the highlight of a week-long promotional campaign organized by UDEMEthe social responsibility project of the center between Tuesday, August 22 and Friday, August 25, 2023 in six states of the geopolitical zones – Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Borno, Ebonyi, Plateau and Kebbi states – and Abuja, the territory of the federal capital.
During the radio show, citizens learned about Nigeria’s fiscal policies, budgeting and project implementation processes, as well as how to interact with their representatives in government and hold them accountable for funds. disbursed for projects in their communities.
Many citizens are unaware of how the project budgeting, formulation, and execution processes work and, as such, are unable to monitor the progress of projects within their communities. This is the situation that UDEME project director Ijeoma Okereke-Adagba says the campaign aims to change.
“We hope that these activities will increase the number of Nigerians who will hold the various stakeholders involved in the delivery of projects and services to account, thereby improving public accountability across all sectors,” said Ms Okereke-Adagba.
Launched in 2018, UDEME has been involved in simplifying and making government budgets accessible to citizens in readable and easy-to-understand formats, empowering them to seek accountability by tracking and monitoring the implementation of government projects in their local communities.
U-Monitor in Plateau State, Bulmun Dakwal speaking on Jay FM Jos
Using data collected on public projects in Nigeria, the UDEME team tracks projects in Nigerian communities, exposing discrepancies noted through their reports. So far, it has tracked more than 4,800 projects in more than 2,000 communities in 28 states, generating more than 75 high-impact posts in national media, including Premium Times, Ripples, and the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).
Now in its second year, UDEME’s Get Involved Week is an annual campaign that aims to bridge the gap between citizens and government through education and the promotion of citizen participation in governance. Program activities include social media campaigns and radio tours, most of which are conducted by U-Monitores, UDEME’s team of journalism students throughout the country.