Members of the Coalition for Democracy and Credible Election , CODECE has held its inaugural meeting in Abuja.Addressing the meeting,Mr Mohammed Bougei Attah, national coordinator of the Coalition said “Coalition for Democracy and Credible Election aims at addressing both the demand and supply sides of our democracy. One the supply side, we shall collaborate with relevant institutions (both public and private) to create an environment that will encourage INEC to deliver free, fair and credible election in which election outcomes will reflect the popular will of the people. Still on the supply side, we shall work towards making political parties (as institutions funded from public funds) more democratic internally and more accountable.
“In this regard, it needs to be emphasized that election problems in Nigeria cannot be blamed on INEC alone; the political parties also have a fair share of this problem. They are the ones who in their desperate efforts to win elections at all cost, work towards compromising the electoral process through violence, fraud and other forms of corruption. In addition, we are committed to improving the capacity of security agencies especially during elections. This explains our focus to partner with relevant public institutions, to undertake voter/civic education activities in military and police barracks.
Speaking further ,Attah said “On the demand side, our Coalition will work assiduously to empower Nigerians not only about their duties during the election but also to actively participate in governance through providing feedback on government policies and demanding for greater accountability/transparency in government.
“The foundation members of the Coalition include the Nigeria Political Science Association, Initiative for Civic Education, Centre for Applied Policy and Social Advocacy, NGO Network and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. The coalition has since expanded to include over 50 CSO’s and Community Based Organizations throughout Nigeria. Given the quality and the spread of the membership of the Coalition, it offers arguably the widest non-state platform to engage the electoral process especially on critical matters such as civic/voter’s education and election monitoring.
Read the full text of his address below:
WELCOME ADDRESS BY MOHAMMED BOUGEI ATTAH, NATIONAL COORDINATOR, COALITION FOR DEMOCRACY AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS AT THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF ITS MEMBERS ON MARCH 20, 2015 AT YAR’ADUA CENTRE, ABUJA
Protocol
On behalf of the founding members of Coalition for Democracy and Credible Elections, CODECE, I welcome you all to this inaugural meeting of the members, old and new as well as the launch of its maiden website as we march towards the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria.
As you would have read in the brief before you, CODECE is a child of necessity, established in the year 2011 as an alternative platform for addressing our lingering political challenges, in our quest for enviable democratic culture that will usher in good governance through an all-inclusive process. It is on this basis that CODECE is structured to admit various groups including the public, private and the non-profit sectors.
Coalition for Democracy and Credible Election was established in 2011 as a collaborative platform between Public Institutions and the Civil Society in Nigeria to strengthen democracy and enhance the capacity of both the civil society and election management institutions to deliver credible election. It was borne out of a critical appraisal of the Local and General Elections in Nigeria and the need to prevent a re-occurrence of previous pitfalls in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Coalition for Democracy and Credible Election aims at addressing both the demand and supply sides of our democracy. One the supply side, we shall collaborate with relevant institutions (both public and private) to create an environment that will encourage INEC to deliver free, fair and credible election in which election outcomes will reflect the popular will of the people. Still on the supply side, we shall work towards making political parties (as institutions funded from public funds) more democratic internally and more accountable. In this regard, it needs to be emphasized that election problems in Nigeria cannot be blamed on INEC alone; the political parties also have a fair share of this problem. They are the ones who in their desperate efforts to win elections at all cost, work towards compromising the electoral process through violence, fraud and other forms of corruption. In addition, we are committed to improving the capacity of security agencies especially during elections. This explains our focus to partner with relevant public institutions, to undertake voter/civic education activities in military and police barracks.
On the demand side, our Coalition will work assiduously to empower Nigerians not only about their duties during the election but also to actively participate in governance through providing feedback on government policies and demanding for greater accountability/transparency in government.
The foundation members of the Coalition include the Nigeria Political Science Association, Initiative for Civic Education, Centre for Applied Policy and Social Advocacy, NGO Network and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations. The coalition has since expanded to include over 50 CSO’s and Community Based Organizations throughout Nigeria. Given the quality and the spread of the membership of the Coalition, it offers arguably the widest non-state platform to engage the electoral process especially on critical matters such as civic/voter’s education and election monitoring.
The Board is the highest decision making organ of the Coalition. This consists of five members including the Convener. The Board elects its Chairman. The Convener is the Chief Executive of the Coalition. There are Six Zonal Coordinators and thirty seven State Coordinators.
Brief On the Foundation Members Of The Coalition
It should be noted that the original idea behind the establishment of the Coalition was to pool resources together to provide a more effective reach, efficient implementation of programmes and resources optimization. It is a rare public and private sector collaboration with the non-state sector providing leadership. Please find below a short brief on each of the Coalition members:
Initiative For Civic Education (ICE)
Initiative for Civic Education (ICE) is a network organization comprising of ten Civil Society members evenly distributed nationwide and Community Based Organizatios in the South West, South-South and North Central. It has been an active member of the Civil Society since 2004 and was formally registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2005. Its primary focus is on governance, Civic Education and conflict management. It was an important member of the National Technical Committee on Civic Education which developed Nigeria’s Civic Education Programmed. It was also an active member of the Government / Civic Society Partnership Programme.
Nigeria Political Science Association (NPSA)
The Nigeria Political Science Association is an organization of political science lectures in all Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. It therefore has a strong national network involving students, and academia. It has been active member of Nigeria’s political community and the Nigerian civil society.
World Association of Non Governmental Organizations (WANGO)
The Nigerian Chapter of WANGO has over two hundred members nationwide. WANGO Nigeria is part of a worldwide movement of NGO’s with Headquarter in the USA. It is a leading international network of NGOs which has established an ethical standard for the sector worldwide. WANGO is an international NGO with Bilateral Cooperation with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Coalition Objectives
- Promote a democratic society through the dissemination of civic values and civic culture.
- Promote good governance through the enthronement of the culture of participation and openness in governance.
- Ensure that the people are the center point of democracy through effective and regular citizen’s advocacy and socialization.
- Establish an academic platform for the exchange of democratic ideas.
- Partner with public institutions and other progressive groups to ensure free, fair, credible and non-violent elections in Nigeria.
Our Mission
To contribute to the ongoing progressive efforts to build an egalitarian Society based on participatory democracy, gender equity and equality of all citizens before the law.
Thematic Focus
- Interactive Website for Election Reporting, Monitoring
- Voters Education Campaign for 2015 General Elections.
- Civil Society Forum for 2015 General Elections.
- Survey on Election Polls and
- Campaign against Election Violence.
Note:
It should be emphasized that the Coalition will work together to implement a number of programs designed to further strengthen the role of voters in the electoral process. In this regard, we wish to draw attention to one of the major challenges that the electoral process had faced in the past. That is inadequate preparation of voters for the major task of participating in the electoral process. Voters education was usually undertaken late and more often by organizations without the necessary resources to undertake effective campaign. It is in the context of this that there is a need to support voter education efforts very early in the year 2015 and 2019 respectively.
Thank you.
