The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs; Senator Ita Enang, has advised Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) to re-strategies on their policy engagement approach if they want to successfully influence Policy Makers on issues to bring about the desired change.
Senator Enang gave the advice while delivering his keynote address at a meeting with Civil Society Organization (CSO’s) on Policy Engagement and Influencing: Insight and Perspectives organized by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Center (PLAC) with support from the Ford Foundation on Thursday, 28th October, 2021, in Abuja.
According to the Presidential Aide, “policy engagement and influencing is another way of lobbying, which is to identify the issues and the challenges around the issues, Identify the audience that you meet, is it Legislators or those who draft the Law? then you determine the mode of approaching it”.
Speaking further he added that “Will it be by public hearing? organizing dinner? cocktail so that experts can come and talk or Media Advocacy or bringing in members of the public to add pressure on the members of the Legislature? It would depend on what you do and the target that determines the method you will adopt”.
While clarifying issues on the theme “Understanding the Political and Policy Making Landscape: Effecting Strategies for Influencing Government” he noted that lobbying is a means of making the other person to see your point of view, buy into it, agree and flow with you the way you want it done, lobbying does not involve giving money”
The event was put together by PLAC with Ford Foundation to enable NGO’s/CSOs to benefit from insights and inside perspectives from experienced policy stakeholders to build better understanding of the factors that can enable them to influence the power dynamic between policy makers and advocates and increase their likelihood of influencing the policy making process.
Senator (Dr) Ibriahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, Acting Chairman Senate Committee on NGOs’ and Diaspora, who is also the Chairman Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and tertiary) was also at the event.
