Lagos State government has engaged members of the Civil Society Organisations on its strategic plans to bridge the communication gap between citizens and government.
The initiative, according to the Office of Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement, is to avail the public of necessary information that will better form a synergy for optimal delivery of the constitutional mandate.
The Permanent Secretary, Sholabomi Shasore, said that it has become imperative to create formal platforms that citizens can leverage to access the government and be better informed about its activities.
Shasore, who presented the proposed Lagos State 2025-2027 Strategic and Communication document before the participants for constructive critique and recommendations, said that through the document, the state aims to enhance the inclusion of citizens in governance and foster equity and inclusivity, especially among youth, women, and people with disabilities.
According to her “the document serves as future planning of citizens’ engagement in the state towards more participatory people-centric governance.”
She added that its implementation is based on five pillars which are to enhance public trust, promote inclusive governance, encourage civic participation, facilitate participatory governance and strengthen stakeholders relationships.
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“We have this engagement because we have a strategy to drive the activities of the state. Our vision is to have Lagos State where everyone is fully engaged, fulfilled and living in harmony. The engagement is to let the CSOs and NGOs know what we are doing, critique it and bring their suggestions.
”We are looking to work with organisations to achieve our targets of having millions of “Lagosians” (Lagos residents) on the Citizens Gate. We are going to use various platforms such as social media interaction, TV, radio, open consultation among others. We expect the CSOs to work with the state in the implementation. We can not achieve our objectives without them.
“Lagosians have been saying they want to engage more with the government and with this document, we can achieve that,” Shasore said.
She urged the stakeholders to review the strategic document and provide feedback within a week, while assuring the public that their input will shape the ongoing implementation of the state government policies.
Hauwa Abu