EU supports over 200 Nigerian CSOs on sustainable development

The European Union through its Agents for Citizens-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme, have supported Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), networks and coalitions to be credible and effective drivers of change for sustainable development in Nigeria. The ACT programme, which ran for five years (2019 – 2024), built the organisational and operational capacities of over 200 Civil Society […]

The European Union through its Agents for Citizens-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme, have supported Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), networks and coalitions to be credible and effective drivers of change for sustainable development in Nigeria.

The ACT programme, which ran for five years (2019 – 2024), built the organisational and operational capacities of over 200 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and networks to be credible and effective drivers of change for sustainable development in Nigeria.

The programme covered 10 states selected across six geopolitical zones, including Adamawa, Borno, Edo, Enugu, FCT, Kano, Lagos, Plateau, Rivers, and Sokoto.

Damilare Babalola, ACT National Programme Manager, while briefing journalists Tuesday in Abuja at the close-out ceremony of the programme, with a theme, “Reflecting on Results and Lessons Learned”, said the EU-funded programme, implemented by the British Council, focused on strengthening internal, external and programmatic capabilities, as well as improved effective and inclusive regulatory environment for CSOs.

Babalola said: “We have worked with about 273 CSOs, out of which 233 was under the capacity development support in 10 states.

“While 40 networks of CSOs in the area of enabling regulatory environments, this work cut across the 36 states and the FCT.”

He said ACT has also worked with strategic agencies of the government to improve compliance to regulations

“We have worked with these agencies collaboratively over the last four to five years by ensuring that they understand the role of CSOs.

“And also ensure that citizens understand the mandate of these agencies in terms of how they regulate the space they work with,” he said.

The Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Nigeria, Massimo De Luca, stated that the programme, aside from supporting the development of a self-regulatory framework for CSOs, has also been at the forefront of advocacy efforts to ensure that the operational environment remains favourable for civil society operations.

He disclosed that from 2020 to date, EU-ACT has engaged the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Economic and Fiscal Crimes Commission (EFCC) to mention a few, and supported dialogues between federal and state government agencies and the civil society sector.

The Head of Cooperation stressed that although the ACT programme had ended, the EU will continue to engage with CSOs, especially regarding its focus areas, including peace, governance, health, education, agriculture, green jobs and climate change.

Ifeoma Chukwuma, Component Organisation Development Manager, said the ACT Programme was designed to have a sustainable outlook, even after its close-out, which will contribute to sustainable development.

“We supported them by strengthening their financial management systems, monitoring and evaluation systems, and developed policies that will help them to do their work and become more credible.

“These capacities were not just pushed down to the CSOs, rather we used an approach that allowed them to do their own organisational assessment.

“And then identify the areas that they want their capacities to be developed. By so doing, they received capacity development in the areas that they actually need development,” she said.

Richard Garrett, Director Open Societies Sub Sahara Africa, British Council, disclosed that about 13 million euros was spent on the five-year ACT programme in Nigeria.

“The main focus of the support has been around organisation’s capacity to help CSOs govern themselves and as a result, they can better serve their communities and establish themselves,” he said.