Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Kano State have elected new representatives into the State Steering Committee and thematic leadership positions of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), following a transparent and participatory electoral process.
The election, organized by the Non-State Actors’ Election Committee, was held at the Kano Information Technology (IT) Centre and brought together representatives of civil society groups across the state to choose leaders who will drive the implementation of the Kano State OGP agenda.
According to the committee, 108 Civil Society Organizations captured in the Kano State OGP Action Plan, alongside 106 newly interested CSOs, participated in the process.
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Following the screening exercise, 21 qualified candidates contested various leadership positions across the OGP thematic areas, while about 80 accredited participants cast their votes.
The election was supervised by the Non-State Actors’ Election Committee with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) serving as an observer. Also present were members of the media and the Civil Society Adviser at the OGP National Secretariat, Mr. Uchenna Arisukwu, who observed the exercise as an independent monitor.
At the end of the voting, representatives emerged across the seven thematic areas of the partnership.
In the Fiscal Transparency theme, Mustapha Muhammad Chiroma was elected as the State Steering Committee representative, while Nura Abdullahi and Ummi Khamis emerged as Thematic Lead and Secretary, respectively.
For Access to Justice, Comrade A. A. Hanung Ayagi was elected State Steering Committee representative. Halima Sulaiman emerged as Thematic Lead, while Aisha Ali Tijjani was elected Secretary.
Under Citizen Engagement, Zainab Omar Muhammad, John Neme and Abdulsalam Hamza emerged as State Steering Committee representative, Thematic Lead and Secretary, respectively.
In the Access to Information category, Peter Hassan Tijjani, Zainab Nasiru Ahmad and Faruk Umar Garba were elected as State Steering Committee representative, Thematic Lead and Secretary.
For Climate Change, Dr. Kabiru Hamisu Kura emerged as the State Steering Committee representative, while Amatul Mannan Mikael Ishaq was elected Thematic Lead and Rukaiya Bello became Secretary.
In the Anti-Corruption thematic area, Abdurrahman Abdu was elected State Steering Committee representative, with Nura Ahmad Muhammad emerging as Thematic Lead and Dr. Yahaya Danjuma Muhammad as Secretary.
The Service Delivery category was decided through a consensus among contestants. Three candidates withdrew from the race, paving the way for Hassan Ibrahim Gama to emerge as the consensus candidate for the State Steering Committee position. Aisha Halilu and Nafisa Abubakar Usman were also returned unopposed as Thematic Lead and Secretary, respectively.
Speaking after the announcement of the results, the Chairman of the Non-State Actors’ Election Committee, Abdurrazak Alkali, represented by Safiyanu Bichi, commended participating Civil Society Organizations for conducting themselves peacefully and responsibly throughout the exercise.
He described the election as a reflection of the core principles of the Open Government Partnership, including transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and citizen participation.
The committee congratulated the newly elected representatives and urged them to work collaboratively with government and other stakeholders to advance the implementation of Kano State’s Open Government Partnership commitments for the benefit of citizens.
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It also expressed appreciation to participating CSOs, development partners, observers and other stakeholders for their support in ensuring the success of the electoral process.