By Dauda R Pam Maiduguri
Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Borno State, have agreed to partner and monitor humanitarian activities of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the state.
The two organizations also reached a resolution to monitor the funds of Local Government Councils from the federal government by way of working closely with the LGCs to ensure that their funds from the federation account are properly and judiciously utilised.
Ambassador Ahmed Shehu, state chairman of the CSO stated this, during their joint meeting held at the CSO office Maiduguri.
“CSOs and EFCC have reached an agreement to partner with each other to monitor the activities of the LGCs, state government budgets and NGOs Humanitarian activities in the state.
“This is coming with a view to intensifying surveillance in the system with the Boko Haram insurgency elements now threatening and terrorising villages and towns in the state”, Ahmed said.
According to him, the main purpose of the partnership was to ensure good governance, positive development, transparency and accountability in the activities of the state government, NGOs and LGCs.
Ambassador Shehu further explained that plans are also underway by the CSOs to track down state and local governments budgets to allow public decide on the projects and programmes they need to be incorporated __in the annual state and local governments budgets.
He said this will give the rural and urban people the opportunity to fully participate in annual budgets formulation and implementation for the purpose of service delivery and benefits while Town Hall Meetings with Traditional, Community, Youths, Women and Religious Leaders as well as other stakeholders in the society will soon be organized.
The Chairman added that the forum will enable the people to present their basic infrastructural needs that will be incorporated in the state and local government budgets in order to curb fraud and other corrupt practices that may be used to truncate government and NGOs systems and activities.
