INTRODUCING GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY (GCAP) NIGERIA ‘MAKE OUR MONEY WORK FOR US’ CAMPAIGN
By Tola Winjobi (PhD) National Coordinator- GCAP Nigeria
Contact GCAP at: gcapnigeria2005@yahoo.com or 08030618326 or 08082008222

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is a worldwide alliance of 118 national campaigning coalitions made up of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), faith groups, trade unions, student organisations and community groups working to tackle poverty and inequality in their countries and around the world. GCAP aims at pressuring governments to eliminate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through:

• Public accountability, just governance and the fulfillment of human rights, including workers' rights,
• Trade justice,
• A major increase in the quantity and quality of aid and financing for development,
• Debt cancellation and,
• Gender equality.  more

Surulere Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Wasiu Uthman, posing for a group photograph with Lagos CIPOGG Chairperson, Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti and other stakeholders at the Interactive Forum held recently at the Council Headquarters.

Lagos Government develops strategic partnership with CSOs.
By Ayo Adebusoye- Secretary General, NNNGO

The Lagos State Government (LASG) and Civil Society Policy Dialogue is an initiative of the Coalition for Issues Based Politics and Good Governance (CIPOGG), Lagos Chapter. The essence of the dialogue was to establish a partnership with the public sector in order to promote common understanding and cooperation as social partners. The main purpose is to build up a social economy that is based on partnership, participation and social well being for the larger Nigerian citizens living in Lagos State. more

NNNGO at the 4th Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti 2008)

The Lagos State Government, in conjunction with the Lagos Economic Summit Group on Tuesday, 22nd April, declared open the 4th Economic Summit with the theme "Transforming Lagos into Africa's Model Mega City."

This year’s edition provided a forum for government to identify and engage with prospective solution providers and investors who can assist the government in its goals to make Lagos Africa's model City. more

Download the April 2008 edition of the Nigerian Arts and Culture Project Directory (NACD) here

BUDGET ADVOCACY TRAINING WORKSHOP
By Kola Giwa, Director of Programmes- NNNGO

A 4-Day Budget Advocacy Training Workshop was organized by Action Aid International under the ADVANCE Project being implemented by PACT Nigeria funded by USAID between March 10th 2008 and March 13th 2008 at AIDS Alliance Office, No. 6, Coker Street, Ilupeju, Lagos.

The training was specifically for AIDS Alliance in Nigeria/ Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC, Ijebu-Ode) partners in Lagos. NNNGO's Director of Programmes, Mr. Kola Giwa, was one of the participants at the programme which had, inter alia, the following objectives: to build partners' capacity to analyse key sector budgets; to assist partners to assess the status of key sectors in their communities as well as identify priority areas of needs in those sectors; to build capacity on different concepts in public Finance Analysis and the importance of budget to the development of the nations key. more

NNNGO Campaign

Again, reps refuse to pass FOI Bill
By John Ameh, Abuja- The Punch: Wednesday, 30 Apr 2008

The failure on Tuesday, the fifth since the debate on the bill started, heightened anxiety on the floor of the House with a member, Mrs. Abike Dabiri, warning that corruption could not be succesfully checked without the the FOIB.

Indications that the bill might not sail through began when a bid to consider it was vehemently opposed by many lawmakers.
The bill was the second matter on the two-item order paper for Tuesday’s session presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Usman Nafada.

It was expected that since the order paper was not crowded as usually as was the case in the past, the lawmakers would consider the report.
Drama, however, started after Nafada asked Dabiri, one of the key sponsors of the bill, to approach the chair.

The deputy speaker tried in vain to persuade Dabiri to drop the bill for consideration on a later date.
When the female legislator objected, she was asked to return to her seat and move the motion.

She did, and Nafada ruled in favour of those who opposed it in a voice vote, saying, “the nays have it.” The bill had suffered a similar fate on four previous occasions.
It was learnt that some lawmakers, particularly those who had held political appointments in the past, were not comfortable with the bill.

Investigations showed that the legislators were afraid that when passed into law, the FOIB would give the media a licence to dig into their past dealings. A National Assembly source said, “They have killed the bill; they have killed it; they are just afraid.

“There has been so much politicisation of this bill; that is why they have been avoiding it; it is deliberate.”

UNIDO pledges aid to Nigeria's industrial initiative
To help Nigeria achieve its targets under the recently introduced industrial cluster strategy, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has promised to provide the country with the necessary technical expertise. more

UN Secretary General doubts eradication of poverty in Africa by 2015
Worried by the ongoing global food crisis, the United Nations chief, Ban Ki-moon, has cast doubt on whether sub-Sahara Africa will meet a 2015 deadline for eradicating extreme poverty despite an economic boom linked to higher commodity prices. more

NDE to embark on youth, women empowerment programmes
To further ensure that women and youth are uplifted out of extreme poverty, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) plans to train beneficiaries of the Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF) in skills acquisition and other income generating trades. more

Climate change: "Women, children face more risk."
Nigeria's Minister of Environment, Mrs. Halima Tayo Alao, has stated that the impact of climate change would be mostly faced by women and children in developing countries who depend on rain-fed activities for survival. more

Workshop: Taxation and the NGO Sector in Nigeria
Date:    30th May 2008
Venue:  Education Empowerment Center, 44 Ladipo Bateye Street, off       Adekunle Fajuyi Way, G.R.A Ikeja
Topics: Taxation Policy in Nigeria; Tax Compliance-NGO in Perspective; and Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
Cost:    =N=7,000. 00
Further information: info@darcnig.org

Impact and Limitations of Civil Society Organizations: The Nigerian Bar Association in Perspective
Date:    July 2 – 3, 2008
Venue: The Auditorium Complex, Mambayya House, Bayero University ,      Kano – Nigeria
Call for Abstracts:
Abstracts (not exceeding 300 words) on any of the workshop sub-themes should be sent to: cdrat2001@yahoo.com not later than May 10, 2008. Authors whose abstracts are accepted would be notified by May 12, 2008, while submission deadline for full papers is June 15, 2008.
Further information: Phone Numbers: 08033176995, 08037862454, 08055999888. E-Mails: cdrat2001@yahoo.com  , harunawakili@yahoo.com 
 

Member of the Month- African Projects for Peace and Love Initiatives (A.P.P.L.I.)

African Projects for Peace and Love Initiatives (A.P.P.L.I.), a
grassroots proactive peace organization set up with the objective of promoting Ethno-religious harmony in Africa through structured education for peace, socio-cultural adjustment programs, and indigenous Peace-building capacities. A 501 c 3 NGO, with its headquarters in the United States of America, A.P.P.L.I. is developing continental chapters throughout Africa and encouraging the establishment of affiliates in other parts of the world (USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, Middle-East and all the Third Worlds) with a view to starting a New Conversation with the rest of humanity about the need for grassroots proactive
Peace-building, conflict resolution, management and transformation in Africa.

Contact A.P.P.L.I
Contact Person: Abiodun Salami
Tel:     08035793870
Email:  abiodun_salami@africanprojectsforpeace.org
Web:   http://www.africanprojectsforpeace.org