TheCable

OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative says it signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vision FM 92.1 Abuja on engaging citizens in the tracking of public funded constituency projects.

The monitoring process, it said, will be done through the ConsTrack mobile application.

It said in a statement the ConsTrack initiative was designed to “trigger and promote increased and informed citizens’ participation as well as appropriate interfaces with elected representatives in parliament regarding the choice and implementation of constituency projects across the country”.

It also said with the signing of the MoU, both parties will jointly produce and disseminate a radio programme which will form part of “Inside the National Assembly”, a weekly programme on developments in the parliament.

The programme is scheduled to air every Saturday at 11:30 am with a repeat at the same time on Mondays.

“Aside the weekly broadcast on Vision FM 92.1 Abuja, the programme will also be published on the OrderPaper Nigeria media platforms,” the statement read.

“The radio programme will be broadcast to listeners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and neighbouring states of the north central region of Nigeria.”

Oke Epia, executive director of OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, said the aim of the synergy between the two parties is to jointly get involved in nationwide government projects monitoring and reporting, as well as to promote accountability and transparency in the implementation of the annual budget.

Epia also said the synergy will significantly empower citizens to demand inclusiveness in the choice and execution of projects in Nigeria.

“We hope that through this partnership, we will be able to properly report and inform citizens on the status of both Constituency Projects carried out by lawmakers and capital projects as contained in the Federal Government budget,” he said.

“We will also reach out to some states and federal constituencies to understand, document, and publicise their development challenges, needs and expectations of interventions from the National Assembly and Federal Government.”