LACSOP Launches Project, Trains CSOs to Promote Inclusive, Citizens-led Social Protection

Lagos Civil Society Participation for Development (LACSOP), a network body for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos, has launched its Citizens-Led Accountability Mechanism (CLAIM) intervention on social protection.

This is part of the “Building an Inclusive Citizen-led Engagement and Accountability System for Social Protection” Project of the European Union Agents for Citizens-Driven transformation (EU-ACT).

The project, which commenced with a four-day training for CSOs to enhance an accountability system for social protection in Lagos State, had in attendance representatives from specific Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Lagos State Government.

The project supported by EU-ACT is implemented by LACSOP in partnership with LEAP Africa, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Women Liberation and Transformation Group (W-LIT) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of LACSOP, Ayo Adebusoye, iterated on the need for Civil society leaders to work in collaboration with the Lagos State Government to ensure an effective inclusive accountability mechanism is in place where citizens can give feedback on progress on the implementation of the social protection policy which was approved in 2020 and launched earlier this year. 

Adebusoye explained that the project by LACSOP is aimed at “sustaining the impacts of the social protection programmes in the state and ensuring that the social protection policy in the state is fully implemented towards eradicating poverty”.

Adebusoye, who stressed that “the core components of the policy is the mechanism of the civil society to be able to give independent monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the policy works, is effective, and inclusive for most vulnerable groups”.

He added that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the quality of SP programs by the government are effectively carried out and benefits the citizens.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), Mr Dare Dairo while giving his remark at the workshop, commended LACSOP for building the capacity of members of the disability community on how to engage state actors in promoting their rights.

Dairo, who shared that the Lagos State Government has shown its commitment to improving the well-being of PWDs in the state with the passage of the disability law over 10 years ago, noted that the state would continue to advance the rights of PWDs.

In her remark, the Director Social Protection Coordinating Department of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs Oluwakemi Adedeji, represented by Mrs Ayodele Fajemibola said the state government is currently onboarding poor and vulnerable households in five local government areas of the state into the social register. This is to enable them to access cash transfers and relevant social protection programmes.

The four-day training held in Ikeja, Lagos had in attendance CSOs working on Social Protection issues in Lagos State.