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JOE EFFIONG, UYO
A portal to warehouse all open government data across the nine states of the Niger Delta has been launched by two organisations; Policy Alert and Niger Delta Government Open
According to a press release signed by Koko Udoh, Project Director, SCALE NOGO Projct, as made available to Daily Sun on Wednesday the portal recently launched virtually, is designed to be an open-source repository for documents and datasets that are relevant for improving citizens’ access to, and engagement with, the governance process.
The release noted that in the Niger Delta region, only six out of the nine states have signed on to the Open Government Partnership (OGP
It said that of these, only three have approved State Action Plans (SAP) while none of the states has an OGP portal which they explained is very critical for measuring, tracking, and keeping all stakeholders informed of OGP reforms in their states. The organisers said the portal responds to this gap.
The portal was launched on theme: “Utilizing Technology to Enhance Open Government Partnership (OGP) Implementation, Tracking, and Monitoring”, and linked to google on: https://meet.google.com/jhq-zsyv-qhc
Organisations that are part of theNOGO Cluster include; TheMail Newspaper, Bayelsa-NGO-Forum (BANGOF), We The People (WTP), LITEAfrica, Citizens Centre-for Integrated Development and Social Rights (CCIDESOR), Social Action/SDIC, The Roothub, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Nigeria Secretariat with Policy Alert as the anchor.
In his opening remarks at the launch, Tijah Bolton, Executive Director, Policy Alert, recounted the origin of the observatory in 2018, which started with just three organizations, with Policy Alert at the forefront.
He emphasized the capacity-building efforts undertaken to empower civil society to collaborate with state and non-state actors effectively.
While highlighting the significance of the portal as a milestone for Policy Alert and the NOGO cluster, Bolton underscored the portal’s connection to the theory of change, aiming for more social good and services given the substantial oil revenues allocated to the Niger Delta region and the existing development deficit.
Daily Sun learned tgat the portal utilizes technology to enhance Open Government Partnership (OGP) Implementation, Tracking, and Monitoring through user generated interface where open
government data can be collected with verification and approval.
Through the consistent technical support and funding by SCALE-USAID citizens of the
subnational government in the Niger Delta States can now have access to useful information at
all times, which they can deploy to engage and hold their leaders accountable.
The SCALE project is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded five-year project (2021-2025) designed to strengthen the financial, management, and advocacy capacity of CSOs in Nigeria to create a more accountable, transparent, peaceful, and democratic Nigeria with more effective and efficient public.
