By Mustapha Yauri
THE CENTRE for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch has trained legal practitioners and journalists on networking to promote transparency, accountability and good governance at the sub-national level.
Speaking during the training on Wednesday in Zaria, Dr Umar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Centre, said the training was an outcome of the Supreme Court judgment on local government (LG) financial autonomy.
He said the court judgment hinged on the urgent need to sensitise stakeholders like lawyers and journalists on accountability measures to employ to strengthen transparency and good governance at the LG level.
“Legal practitioners and journalists are accountability actors.
“Journalists conduct investigative reports to highlight what the government is supposed to do or failed to do, while lawyers give direction and backing.
“Imagine a scenario when lawyers and journalists come together for the same goal; you can be sure of effective governance at the local government level,” Yakubu said.
He added that the participants were being trained on accountability measures they could use to measure transparency and on integrity index to gauge public sector expenditure at the local government level.
“Legal practitioners and journalists were carefully selected to cascade mechanism to the grassroots, to enhance accountability and good governance at the sub-national levels,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Alhaji-Yau Musa, a legal practitioner and a participant at the workshop described the training as very educative, adding that they had leant a lot as lawyers.
He said the collaboration between lawyers and journalists to checkmate utilisation of local governments funds, when allocated, would benefit both the society and the local governments.
Musa added that the training further equipped the lawyers on how to effectively synergise with journalists and other key stakeholders to enhance the wellbeing of the people, especially at the local government level.
Similarly, Alhaji Abubakar Sadeeq, Secretary, NUJ Zaria Chapel commended the centre for the training.
He assured that NUJ Zaria would redouble efforts in pursuing reports that would better the wellbeing of citizens. (NAN)
