Dear Enabler,

Welcome to MAY!

In this edition of our newsletter, you will discover updates on our ongoing initiatives, inspiring success stories from the field, and opportunities for you to join us in creating positive change.

Enjoy the read!

BBOG: 10 Years Too Long!

On April 14, we partnered with the Bring Back Our Girls Lagos Family to host a commemoration event marking a decade since the horrific “Chibok Abduction” by Boko Haram terrorists.

As part of the 10^th year commemoration and our continued advocacy efforts for the release of the remaining 90 girls, we launched a booklet highlighting the journeys of some girls who have been released - detailing where they are now and what they are doing. 

This publication - launched during our virtual "Chibok Girls 10 Years Later: Where Are They Now?" event on April 30^th, amplifies the extraordinary resilience of these young women.
We heard directly from survivors Grace Dauda and Dinah Lawan who recounted their divergent journeys - Grace's 3 years in captivity versus Dinah's fortunate early escape.

Download the report here.
Watch the video recording here.

Thursday Talks

Our monthly Thursday Talks provided a platform to discuss state fiscal transparency, accountability, and sustainability programs. For April's session, we partnered with BudgIT and The Cable to review progress on the States' Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme. We were joined by Sunday Odeh, Director of Consolidated Accounts at the Accountant-General's Office in Kogi State, and Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, Head of Open Government and Institutional Partnership at BudgIT. 

The insightful discussion highlighted efforts to strengthen public financial management and facilitate access to yearly SFTAS funding for implementing critical reforms.

You can listen to the recording of this engaging dialogue here.

This month, we have a special edition plan to celebrate 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria. Stay connected to our various platforms for more details.

OOTC Radio

Our "Office Of The Citizen" radio program on Sparkling FM Calabar focused on 'Demand and Advocacy,' empowering citizens to build a culture of civic responsibility. We covered proper advocacy channels, youth activism, and leveraging technology for effective advocacy efforts.

This month, we are taking it a step further by educating and engaging citizens on how to fully occupy their role as citizens of Nigeria.

Stay tuned as we inspire more active citizenship across the nation.

myLGA  Project 

A major objective of the #myLGA initiative is to establish Office of the Citizen help desks across focus states like Ebonyi, Ondo, Nasarawa, and Yobe. We have consolidated efforts to set up these vital help desks in local government areas including Akwanga, Keffi, Damaturu, and Bursari.

Building on this success, new partnerships are being forged to replicate the initiative in Abia, Anambra, and Lagos states, further expanding access to civic resources.

Public Interest Litigation

Protecting citizens’ interests remains central to our work. We initiated legal actions against the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the Victim Support Fund (VSF) on the grounds of their silence in response to our request for information about the management of funds allocated to the Chibok Girls, their well-being, future plans, and more under Section 2, Subsection 3 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 

While legal proceedings against the Ministry are underway, the VSF - through their legal partners, eventually responded to our request after many months of silence. We remain committed to upholding transparency and accountability.

Research and Infographics

As part of our charge to continue educating the public, we published two infographics in ThisDay Newspaper. They were ‘A Decade of Shame #BringBackOurGirls’ and ‘Prison Congestion in Nigeria'. 

Unfortunately, our 5 years of partnership with BusinessDay ended in March 2024 due to economic considerations 😓.

The #BringBackOurGirls infographic juxtaposed the various promises made by successive presidents to free all the girls from captivity and their failure to fulfil these promises, while the second publication exposed that 69% of Nigerian inmates await their trials albeit in very dire situations. 

The South West Zonal Legislative Interactive Session

We were also present at at the South West Zonal Legislative Interactive session which held on the 25^th and 26^th of April in Ibadan, Oyo State. This event was tailored towards proposing memoranda aimed at improving the Electoral Act  2022, to encourage youths’ participation in politics.

The event was organized by Kimpact in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the National Assembly Joint Committee On Electoral Matters.

EiE Merch!

Enabler, Shop here for your #OOTC swag items, like trendy tote bags, stylish pop sockets, and chic mugs.

Thanks again for everything you do to advance citizen engagement and good governance in Nigeria.
We’re grateful to have you as part of the team and you’ll be hearing from me soon!