EDSIAS ‘ll Enhance Integrity, Accountability – Uche

The Programme Manager of RoLAC C3, in the Edo State, Mr. Emmanuel Uche, has said that the Edo State Integrity and Accountability Strategy (EDSIAS) is an all-inclusive framework for improving integrity and accountability, particularly in public service delivering in the state.
The RoLAC Manager disclosed this at the EDSIAS Implementation Roundtable for CSOs/Media Coalition on EDSIAS, in Benin city, Edo State, where he said the strategy was adopted to check corruption that has become endemic in Nigeria.
Uche therefore called on the state government to come out with a standard policy framework for the strategy to operate and make government accountable to the people.
He said, “We all know that there is no gainsaying that corruption has been the bane in Nigeria. And we know that even the government in a place like Edo State will like to do good things.
“It is not sufficient that you want to do good on your own. But it is also vital that there should be standard policies and frameworks for the people whom you are working for to show that you are really accountable to them on how you are utilizing the state’s resources and to show your responsibility on how you are working for them.
“You are not dealing with trees or animals, but dealing with human beings who are knowledgeable in their various fields. Therefore, there must be a framework for an all-inclusive approach to promote integrity and accountability in a state.
“Now, we have the Social Accountability Framework. We also have OGB, all of these are supposed to be offshoots of home grown initiatives for the fight against corruption and for improvements in transparency and accountability.
“Edo State Integrity and Accountability is a framework and strategy to provide the big umbrella under which both the OGB and Edo Social Accountability Strategy are supposed to be captured. It has six key pillars .
“The last pillar, which is about the ease of doing business talks about how we can improve the policy standard of transparency and accountability such that Edo state will become an investors’ hub due to the level and manner of transparency.
“We are here today at this event to make sure that the government we chose to lead us does our bidding, and do what the people want. We want transparency, credible accountable governance in Edo State.”
The Facilitator of the programme, Dr. Ada Chidi-Igbokwe, said EDSIAS advocacy in the State was not set up to confront government but to adopt a win-win strategy to convince and persuade those concerned to adopt the strategy.
Dr. Chidi-Igbokwe the meeting was also convened to reactivate plans and decisions agreed on at the previous events, stressing that “we must demand for transparency, accountability in governance.”
She thanked the media, CSOs and other stakeholders at the programme for making the last meeting successful. She appealed to the media to help publicize what EDSIAS is doing in the state.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Edo State, Pius Owiol, said what was needed was to fast track the adoption of the document about EDSIAS in the state advocacy and enlightenment programmes.
Buttressing what the Edo NBA chairman said, Eben Enasco of Silverbird TV Station, said that there should be advocacy visits before the operationalizing on any the action plans.
The Executive Director, Network for the Advancement of People with Visible and Disabilities (NAPVID), Barrister Melody Omosah, said there was an urgent need to sensitize the people on what EDSIAS was all about.