By [Reporter’s Name]
Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, has expressed the readiness of the legislative arm of the state government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PROMAD Infotech Foundation.
This is contained in a statement issued by Joseph C. Akujuobi Communications Associate of PROMAD and made available to Starnews NG.
Oladiji, represented by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Ololade Gbegudu, announced the plan at the closeout ceremony of the 18 fellows of the Social Accountability Fellowship organised by PROMAD in Akure on Tuesday.
The Speaker disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the management of PROMAD to increase the number of fellows from 18 to 26, so that each state constituency will be represented.
“This is a first-of-its-kind initiative, and the House has adopted it. I urge the fellows to remain steadfast and committed to securing a better future for our State,” he said.
According to him, the MoU would strengthen collaboration for citizen oversight to track, monitor and report government projects in their communities to the House.
In June, PROMAD commenced the implementation of Strengthening Participation, Accountability and Transparency in States (SPATS) with the support of ALDA — European Association for Local Democracy, under the WYDE Civic Engagement Project, and implemented in collaboration with European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), Elbarlament, People in Need, and funded by the European Union (EU).
As part of its advocacy under SPATS, PROMAD has engaged the Ondo State House of Assembly and other relevant government agencies to promote participatory and accountable governance in the state.
When signed, the MoU is expected to create a new platform for citizens, especially young people, to co-oversight public projects and directly make their findings known to lawmakers for speedy interventions.
This, the Speaker noted, will further strengthen the successes recorded by PROMAD under its flagship social accountability initiative, FollowTheProjects, which is developing a new dashboard for real-time project monitoring and providing more accessibility to Nigerians.
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