By NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive, Connected Development has urged President Tinubu to give security agency chiefs a timeline to deliver on their mandate or exit.
Lawal said this at the unveiling of CODE’s 2023 Annual Report and Commemoration of Democracy Day event on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to him the bulk of Nigeria’s budget is devoted to security.
“Looking at our budget the bulk of the money is dedicated to security so what is their key performance indicators, what are their timelines and when will they deliver on it .
“If I would advise Mr president if they don’t keep us save in 24 months the service chiefs should actually exit adding that they should be accountable while commending their efforts.” Lawal advised.
Speaking on the commemoration of democracy day in Nigeria he said the country had done well having experienced 25 years of uninterrupted democracy.
“As we celebrate democracy it is a time for us to also reflect on our journey, some people will say we have not achieved much but I think we should pause and look toward the future.
“We should pause and reflect and also pat our selves at the back, we have had an uninterrupted 4th republic.
“I think it is a monument to celebrate but most importantly to reflect that we can even do much more than where we are.
“But how can we learn from our lessons and our heroes past and take the mantle of leadership and play our roles as individuals to form a collective united front that is driven by patriotism,” Lawal said.
He added that in order to achieve this the government must build on trust which according to him is the most important ingredient missing in Nigeria’s democracy.
On the CODE’s 2023 Annual Report which was unveiled ‘Echoes of Impact 2023’ an account of the activities of the CSO in fostering a culture of transparency and good governance.
Lawal said part of the the impact of the organisation was the 2012 success of advocating for and getting government to release 5.3 million dollars when 700 children died through artisanal mining in Zamfara state.
“That was how we started the journey of follow the money, a home grown initiative that started in Nigeria and impacted over 40 African countries.
“We are involved in organising and mobilising young people to ask critical questions on how judiciously public officials are using public funds.
The chief executive said for the past 12 years CODE had impacted over 40 million people.
Adding that the organisation won the democracy award in Europe, because of their involvement in SDGs and galvanising voices for development in over 40 African countries.
Also speaking at the event, Mr Emmanuel Njoku, Director, Democracy and Governance, CODE, said there was no perfect democracy in the world.
He called on young Nigerians to be get more in volved politics and participate in the democracy because the more people that were involved the better for the nation.
Njoku called on them not to be carried away with the jakpa syndrome adding that if there was no peace in the country their relations at home would be affected (NAN)