NGvoices strengthens citizen engagement with the launch of Sabi
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NGVoices, a decentralized community with a focus on informing Nigerians of their roles in civic, political and governance participation, is excited to announce the launch of Sabi, an app that will support the improvement of civic engagement and political participation in Nigeria. Sabi, billed to go live on June 1, 2021, is expected to bridge the gap between the citizens and their elected officials at all levels.
Abayomi Akinbo, the Community Administrator, says Sabi will provide politically conscious citizens with a powerful citizen advocacy tool with verified information about elected officials and governance issues. Sabi seeks to bridge the governance gap between the citizens and their elected officials, improve the engagement dynamics and ensure the improvement engagement serves the purpose of the constituents.
Akinbo said that Sabi, when up, will offer immense benefits both to the legislators and their constituents. “On one hand, Sabi will enable the citizens connect with their legislators on real-time basis, react to bills, request to meet with their legislators, and propose solutions to policy issues; while on the other hand, it will help legislators keep in touch with their constituents thus making lawmaking and governance easy for them.”
Sabi will also provide a comprehensive database of all legislators in the National Assembly and information on their activities on the floor of the House which will offer the citizens the opportunity to reach out to their legislators via phone and email.
Abayomi regretted that, since Nigeria began its democratic journey in 1999, the country is yet to fully reap the dividends of democracy which include improved governance including increased democratic legitimacy for institutions, greater social cohesion and improved quality of services, projects and programmes, a situation he attributed to poor citizen engagement.
In his remark about the goal of NG Voices as a community, Akinbo stated that the overall aim is to increase citizen engagement and political participation in Nigeria, so we have included on the platform all the vital information – election dates, voter registration dates, nearest voter’s registration unit, polling unit among others – the citizens may require to effectively participate in the electoral and governance matters.
Sabi is currently in Beta Testing mode and will be available for download to the public on June 1, 2021. When available, users will have the option of using Sabi in English or any Nigerian language of their choice.
Akinbo is optimistic that the newly developed app will not only improve citizen engagement, but also bring about increased dividends of democracy for all Nigerians. He thanked the Ventures Platform, a leading source of capital, capacity building, support and advocacy for under-served entrepreneurs, communities and institutions, enabling them to enhance the creation of wealth and development in Africa, for its support towards the realization of the project.
