By Comfort Yakubu
…Read its take about Policy Reforms.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election for a second term as President of Nigeria and all elected Members of the National Assembly that won the February 23rd elections.
The group also urged the administration to urgently embark on appropriate policy reforms that will guarantee electoral transparency and all-inclusive development to enable smooth electoral processes in the future.
The centre however called on aggrieved political parties to shun violent protests, remain law abiding and channel their concerns through legal process.
It expressed concern over the rise of insecurity in the country in the run up to the elections calling on the re-elected government to carry out adequate security reforms by ensuring that security architecture is strengthened and adequately supported to respond to the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers, as well as other related insecurity like kidnapping, rural banditry, among others.
The Executive Director of CISLAC, Awual Ibrahim Rafsajani called for the need to observe an urgent need for the Government to take proactive steps to reform the nation’s economic activities, starting from the oil and gas sector through the targeted Petroleum Industry Reform, as well as transparency and sanity in the tax administrative processes.
Rafsajani said in Abuja that this could be achieved through constructive framework to enhance tax justice regime in both formal and informal sectors.
‘’We are not unaware of the continued dilapidation of the health sector, which urgently needs revitalization and revamping as it scores low in the management of disease outbreaks and surveillance, emergency handling and recruitment of medical expertise. We urge the government to meet up with the 2001 Abuja Declaration to scale up budgetary allocations on health care. While calling on the government to adequately fund the educational sector to enhance the quality of education and make it affordable for Nigerians” he said.
CISLAC further called on the Government to strengthen Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) by providing adequate resources to run these agencies, as well as complying with international anti-corruption frameworks in the fight against corruption. We call for a revisit of accountability around defense and security budget including security vote at all levels.
It urged the government to take appropriate steps in enhancing cordial working relations among the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary arms for effective governance and development.
It also called on the President to walk his talk of ensuring that all Nigerians see themselves as one through running an inclusive government as expressed in his acceptance speech. Any act that should construe or create a perception of his government as having ethnic, religious or regional coloration it says should be avoided as he is the President of all Nigerians, adding that government should provide enabling environment for Civil Society Organizations and the media to operate freely, while upholding democracy and good governance .
