*This chat with the Executive Director of We the People was conducted by Budgit on Twitter and first published on Medium in October 2020 The challenges of benefit transfer to host communities in oil producing states is certainly not a new conversation. In fact, the discourse has been a laser focus in recent years, with…
• “People were treating the place (NDDC) as an ATM, where you just walk in there to go and pluck money and go away” -Godswill Akpabio • “NDDC has 12,000 abandoned projects in the Niger Delta” -Godswill Akpabio • “There is no way NDDC road can last (for) even two years” -Godswill Akpabio • NDDC owes…
In response to the ongoing routine mass killings in Rivers state, We the People on Tuesday, 2nd July 2019, held a consultative Town Hall Meeting aimed at jointly exploring opportunities for ending the killing and securing accountability and closure for the victims and their families. (more…)
We the People and the Rivers state branch of the National Orientation Agency have resolved to work together to end violent killings in Rivers state, and expose corruption in the state. The two organizations met on Friday 12th July 2019 at the office of the NOA. (more…)
Rivers state has been flagged by various local and international research agencies including the United Stated Institute for Peace as a possible spot where violence and other forms of electoral malpractices including vote buying will occur in massive scales. Recall that in 2015, elections in Rivers state drew local and international attention for the vicious manner it was conducted. In response to the recent concerns, We the People as part of the Youth Participation Against Corruption Project launched a series of town hall meetings in the three senatorial distracts of the state. The town hall meetings were organized as spaces for citizens to express their concerns and experiences on the subject of vote buying and election related violence. The meetings which held from the 29th of November 2018 at Omoku, Bori and Port Harcourt all in Rivers state, aimed specifically at sensitizing citizens on the need to remain focused on electing candidates that have the track record and temperament to deliver development benefits to the people. (more…)
A part of activities to mark the 2018 International Anti-Corruption Day, We the People held a rally on the 8th of December 2018 in Port Harcourt. The event which had in attendance hundreds of students, civil society actors, media, transporters and other professional bodies, was organized in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency. (more…)
On the 4th of December 2018, We the People hosted a Strategic Workshop engagement with some of the most vocal and well known Social Media influencers and bloggers in Rivers state. The engagement was held in recognition of the fact that Social Media plays a key role in fueling electoral violence and other malpractices. The strategic engagement aimed at bringing key influencers together to take actions to counter fake news and election related violence. (more…)
Concerned with the rising cases of corruption in the education sector especially in tertiary institutions, We the People on the 30th of November 2018, hosted elected Student leaders from 6 tertiary institutions in Rivers state to discuss plans and strategies for instituting anti-corruption mechanisms within the student union leadership structures in the tertiary institutions. The meeting had in attendance 6 elected Student Union Presidents and other Vice Presidents, Secretary Generals, Directors of information and heads of other directorates, Student Union Parliament Speakers and other frontline student activists. (more…)
On the 10th of October 2018, We the People held an anti-corruption training workshop with Commercial Tricycle operators and members of the Drivers’ Welfare Association in Rivers state. The meeting was conceived as space to educate and train members of the transport unions on their basic rights, how to report and resist abuses especially extortion, multiple taxation and corruption from the police and local government officials. (more…)
As part of efforts to break the culture of silence surrounding the alarming problem of corruption in Nigeria, and to mobilize youths to resist and act against it, We the People recently launched an Anti-Corruption Poetry contest. The five-week contest was done in conjunction with the Port Harcourt based Seaview Poetry Club and Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt. (more…)
Recent reports including that of Transparency International Corruption Perception Index for 2017 clearly shows that the problem of corruption in Nigeria has incensed in that last 2 years rather than recede. The Index ranks Nigeria 148th out of 180 nations it surveyed in the year 2017. This ranking showed that Nigeria has taken a deeper plunge into the murky waters of corruption from previous years’ rankings. Despite measures put in place to tackle it in the country, corruption has proved itself a multi-layered, hydra-headed and complicated phenomenon. Earlier in the year, We the People launched an Anti-Corruption Movement that utilizes a novel approach to confront the scourge by engaging young Nigerians who are motivated to participate in a series of actions designed to fight corruption. (more…)
Two non-governmental organizations, We the People and Policy Alert, have instituted a special prize for investigative journalists reporting open government issues in the Niger Delta. The prize is an initiative of the Niger-Delta Open Government Observatory (NOGO), convened by both organizations.
The prize was announced today in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, during a Training / Briefing session for journalists as part of an initiative on Tracking NDDC Projects in Akwa Ibom State. Prize winners will receive a cash award, a plaque from the organization and its international partners, and a three month fellowship with both organizations. (more…)
Nigeria fares miserably on all major corruption indicators, the latest of which is Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index rankings of 180 countries. Not only did Nigeria perform badly, it declined a few points despite the current anti-corruption mood in the country.
Since Nigeria returned to civil in 1999, the country has witnessed the rolling out of major anti-corruption measures including the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission. None of these efforts have however sufficed to check the worsening corruption problem in Nigeria. (more…)
As a measure to ensure that states in the Niger Delta become more compliant with the principles of the Open Government Partnership, We the People and Policy Alert have jointly launched the Niger Delta Open Government Observatory, NOGO. It is designed as an open government knowledge, innovation and advocacy hub for the Niger Delta region, aimed…
According to Transparency International’s latest index, Nigeria ranks as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Since the inception of the Index, Nigeria has remained among the worst performing. The effects of corruption have been devastating for the country. It is believed that up to 40% of annual budgets at the national and subnational levels fail to make any impact on the lives of the people on account of corruption. The unemployment rate is alarming, currently standing at 18.8%, it increases quarter after quarter. (more…)
On the 9th of December 2017, over 100 volunteers of We the People’s anti-corruption campaign stormed the popular Mile 3 Motor Park and market in Port Harcourt in a mass rally to call attention to the problem of corruption in Nigeria, and also recruit volunteers to its growing anti-corruption and public accountability movement. The rally also served to mark the international anti-corruption day. (more…)