The Regional Citizen’s Dialogue Programme (RCDP), an initiative for preventing and responding to Unconstitutional Changes of Government (UCG) in West Africa, opens in Abuja today.
Already, representatives from the AU African Peer-Review Mechanism (APRM), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Headquarters, the West African Democracy Solidarity Group (WADEMOS), the Commissioner, Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) and the Portuguese Ambassador to Nigeria, Paulo Martins dos Santos, amongst others, have confirmed attendance.
Leaders of the RCDP initiative is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on the leadership of the National Assembly today.
Participants at the launch of the RCDP, a two-day programme at Reiz Hotel in Abuja, are expected from civil society groups in West Africa and other parts of the continent, including representatives of regional agencies and institutions in Europe.
The launch event will serve as a platform for participants to present, finalise and adopt a revised programme document and a comprehensive yearly implementation work plan for the initial phase of the programme, spanning from February to September, 2024.
In a letter of invitation to the participants, the director general of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Nigeria, Professor Ayo Omatayo, said the RCDP is a collaborative effort of a consortium of civil society and research think tanks with leadership drawn from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Nigeria.
Others are the Regional Centre for Governance and Security Policy Initiative (RCGSPI) with headquarters in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and the Dantiye Centre for Good Leadership and Journalism (DCLJ), Kano, with support from the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) based in Lisbon, Portugal.
Omatayo said the initiative is sequel to the concern over the recent wave of military coups across West Africa that threaten the future of democracy and political stability amidst persistent and growing economic hardship, poverty, and security crises induced by violent extremist organisations on the continent.
He also said the regional programme is designed to mobilise and organise civil society contributions towards the prevention, mitigation, and response to incidences of UCG in the West Africa sub-region.
The chairperson of the RCGSPI and AU ECOSOCC Peace and Security Cluster, Dr Jonathan Sandy, said the rationale for the programme is to complement and support the implementation of the main recommendations from African Governance Report 2023, which focused on UCG in Africa, published by the APRM.