Anambra ALGAF fellows urged to intensify advocacy for inclusive local governance
Lawrence Ndubeze, Awka
Fellows of the Anambra Local Government Accountability Fellowship (ALGAF) were Friday called upon to step up their advocacy efforts to ensure that local governance becomes more inclusive and responsive to the needs of citizens in Anambra State.
The call was made on Friday during ALGAF Monthly Leadership and Governance Workshop (MLGW) themed “Gender-based Violence and Power Mapping For Strategic HDI Advocacy Towards Advancing Inclusive Local Governance At Community Levels in Anambra State.”
ALGAF, a governance fellowship project, is implemented in Anambra State by Justice Development and Peace Caritas (JDPC) Nnewi, with technical support from the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Declaring the event open, Director of JDPC Nnewi, Rev. Fr. Benedict Okolo, called on participants to persist in advocating for greater inclusivity across all sectors of society—political, economic, religious, and beyond particularly at the grassroot level.
“Let us continue pushing for more inclusivity in our society; politically, economically, religiously and otherwise,” he said.
He recalled that JDPC had first begun with the careful selection of members, followed by strategic training that focused on approaches to be adopted by the Fellows and coordinators. He added that they had strategically identified issues in their LGAs and taken courses on research methodology and local government administration.
“We first began with careful selection of members (Fellows), had strategic training which carefully dealt with the approaches adopted by the Fellows and coordinators, and strategically identified issues in our LGAS: we did courses on methodology of research; administration of LGAS.
“Others include: Advocacy strategies, public speaking, persuasive communication, story-telling, policy analysis, social, media advocacy and evidence and rights-based Advocacy Disability rights and laws approaches all designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively engage and advance local governance systems.
“All these topics have been factored into the programme to advance the betterment of our LGAS. Each Monthly Leadership and Governance workshop serves as a platform and support system for strategic learning, reviews of fellows approaches and co-ordinations, strategic visibility of identified issues linked to the LGs by the fellows featuring two resource persons at each monthly workshop to lead in the structured interactive training sessions.”
One of the facilitators, Onyeka Ebenebe, during a session on “Power Mapping in Advancing Inclusive Local Governance at the Community Level,” reminded participants that effectively addressing local challenges requires a deep understanding of community needs, and that impactful engagement depends not only on accessibility but also on timely action.
Also during a session on “Gender, Human Rights and Civic Participation: Advancing Inclusive Local Governance at Community Level in Anambra State,” Eucharia Anekwe urged participants to actively engage with local government chairmen and councilors in the fight to eliminate corruption, gender-based violence and improving overall governance system in their localities.
In his remarks, ALGAF Team Lead, Mr. Onyekachi Ololo, explained that some of the fellows are local government stakeholders, academia, President Generals, women leaders, students, persons with disabilities, Muslim community, among others. He said the idea is to train them to become experts in monitoring local budgets, promoting inclusion, and holding public officials accountable.
“The goal is to make local governments in Anambra more transparent and responsive, ensuring that public funds are prudently managed and communities receive the services they deserve,” he added.
