The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Lagos State Government to make the Lagos State Social Protection Policy (LASSPP) document available to the public to enhance the public to hold the government accountable on the policy provisions.
The Senior Program Officer of SERAP, Temidayo Omoju, in an interview with BONews Service at a two-day training on Promoting Citizens Accountability in the Social Protection Policy in Lagos State, said there is a need to ensure that LASSPP document is made available for everyone in the state, both in hard and soft copy.
Omoju explained that “it is very important that this document is made available to every citizen so that they will have the information to hold government accountable.”
Omoju stressed that the document can serve as an advocacy tool noting that “advocacy is the tool that drives positive change in the society and every individual needs to be involved.”
He added that his organization will be submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) to request the availability of the document in the interest of the people in order to enjoy the benefits of the policy provisions.
He also encouraged CSOs and individuals to make an FOI request because it’s a public document.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Executive Director of the Women Liberation and Transformation Group Mrs, Olanike MicTaiwo expressed that, the state government should make the document available in local languages to serve the people in rural and grassroot communities.
“I will say, as much as we have the policy document, the state should make it available to people that are meant to be beneficiaries, especially people at the grassroots in their various languages,” she added.