CISD Tackles Sokoto Gov’t Over Transparency, Accountability In Public Finance
Centre for Inclusive Social Development (CISD), a Civil Society group, has said that transparency and public accountability are constitutional duties of government and inalienable rights of citizens.
CISD said this in a Statement entitled “How Dare You Ask Questions” made available to journalists on Thursday.
The Statement which was signed by Temitope Odeyemi, Research Analyst at CISD said BudgIT and similar CSOs were vehicles of citizen hope, aspiration, collectivity which translate yearnings of citizens into action.
He said states were not private enterprises noting that it was wrong to dismiss calls for accountability by claiming that CSOs had no constitutional mandate to do so.
According to the group, governments exist to serve the public, and as such, they must be held accountable to their citizens, accountability is not optional; it is a fundamental requirement of democracy.
Accusing the Sokoto State Government of fiscal opacity is not overreach; it reflects citizens’ rights to know how public resources are managed.
“Transparency goes beyond satisfying state assemblies; it
includes active engagement with the public, budget documents are public documents; everyone,
including the citizens and CSOs, should have access to them.
“Criticising NGOs for exposing gaps does not address those gaps; it perpetuates them,” it said.
CISD said constructive criticism drive transformative change while silencing CSOs for highlighting government failures were detrimental and obstructs reform.
It said State governments should embrace accountability
and promote collaboration CSOs to improve governance noting that civil society were partners in strengthening government institutions.
“This partnership benefits citizens with a more responsive government and allows administrations to stand out among peers by demonstrating their commitment to good governance.
“These transparency standards were accepted by the states prior to the launch of BudgIT’s Transparency League during the implementation of the SFTAS
programme.
“We call on the Sokoto state government to work with BugIT and other active civic society
organisations like CISD, EIE, and PLSI to improve their public finance management process.
“By viewing governance challenges as opportunities for collaboration, citizens, CSOs, and the government can
achieve a mutually beneficial outcome,” it said.
