The Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch has trained selected legal practitioners and journalists to build a network that promotes transparency, accountability, and good governance at the sub-national level.
The Executive Director of the Centre, Dr. Umar Yakubu, said on Wednesday in Zaria that the training was based on the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the financial autonomy of local governments.
Dr. Umar Yakubu said the judgment highlights the urgent need to sensitize stakeholders, such as lawyers and journalists, on accountability measures to strengthen transparency and good governance at the local government level.
“The legal practitioners and journalists were accountability actors; journalists conduct investigative reports to highlight what the government is supposed to do or fail to do while lawyers give direction and backing.
“ I can imagine a scenario when lawyers and journalists come together towards the same goal, in this case, I can be sure of effective good governance at local government level,’’ Dr. Yakubu explained.
He added that the participants were trained on accountability measures they could use to measure the transparency and integrity index to gauge public sector expenditure at local government level.
According to him, legal practitioners and journalists were specifically chosen to disseminate the accountability mechanisms at the grassroots level, aiming to strengthen demands for transparency and good governance at the sub-national levels.
Earlier, Mr A. Y. Musa, one of the senior lawyers at the workshop said the training was very educating, adding that as lawyers we have learnt many new things.
He noted that the coming together of the lawyers and journalists to checkmate the use of the funds allocated to local governments would be beneficial to the society especially at the local governments.
He added that the training had further equipped lawyers in need for effective synergy with the journalists and other key stakeholders to enhance the wellbeing of the people especially at the local government level.
Similarly, the Secretary of the NUJ Zaria Unit Alhaji Abubakar Sadeeq, commended the Centre for the training, adding that the NUJ Zaria Unit would redouble its efforts to produce reports that would improve the well-being of citizens.
Report By Ibrahim Suleiman
