Governorship hopeful under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Chief James Augoye, has acknowledged the place of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in governance processes.
Augoye, who is the state immediate past Commissioner for Works in the state, made the acknowledgement in his goodwill message on the occasion of the 2021 Civil Society Day held in Government House, Asaba on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
Represented by Mr Obaro Egagifo, his media aide, Augoye said: “I want to commend the civil society for the theme of this year’s event which captured pressing issues in our country Nigeria.
“As a firm believer in our democratic practice, I believe civil society plays a vital role in our governance processes.
“All over the world, civil society groups are known to stand in the gap between the citizens and the government to carry out interventions, advocacy that influences social change outside of the family, market or government.
“It is praiseworthy to note that the Delta State Civil Society groups have lived up to expectations over the years in the fulfilment of the onerous objectives for which they were set up.
“One aspect of our national challenges that the civil society community must not gloat over is the disunity of our nation.
“The daunting challenges we face today as a nation will disappear if all ethnic nationalities jettison nepotism and see all Nigerians as one, If we do away with the marginalization of minorities and treat everyone equally and fairly irrespective of tribe and religious affiliations our problems as a nation will be half solved.
“If the Ika man will see the Urhobo man as his own brother and the Ijaw man will see the Ukwuani man as one with him and the Isoko man will see the Aniocha/Oshimili people as his own blood and all Deltans begin to reason together as one, then our problems as a state will begin to vanish.
“The civil society must join hands together to preach this gospel of unity across the land. If we are united, we can rid our land of killer herdsmen, bandits and unknown gunmen (foreign mercenaries) that are wreaking havoc on our land.
“The second challenge that I present before you is the sensitization of our youths about the danger of drug abuse, illiteracy and laziness. Our youth needs re-orientation about the importance and value of education, honesty, accountability. patriotism and hard work. It will be a great service to the nation if you can take on this responsibility.
“Lastly, I will like to remind you of one of your missing allies. One major component of the civil society groups all around the globe is the church which appears to be working independently of other civil society groups here in Nigeria.
“It will be in the interest of all to incorporate the church in future activities of your organization due to its numerical strength and popularity, especially here in the south.”
