Despite Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 and despite the first peaceful handover from one democratically elected Government to another after the presidential elections in 2015, the countries young democracy still faces tremendous challenges.
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nigeria aims to contribute to a change of the democratic culture by increasing the efficiency and encouraging cooperation as regards the democratic institutions and processes in the country. We support the transformation of democratic institutions by building capacity, supporting research and furthering exchange of experiences.
Also, FES through its projects supports the capacity building of important stakeholders in the democratic process. Together with our partner organisations we set the agenda for political topical issues and we support targeted knowledge creation in order to provide much needed information to the public. That allows responsible citizens to be part of the political opinion-forming processes and to increase their political participation. For FES, better-informed citizens and a vocal civil society are prerequisites to bridge the deep divide between governmental action/inactions and the citizens.
Only if the citizens’ participation in governance and credible electoral procedures are guaranteed, and if they actively demand accountability and transparency from the political elite can the legitimacy and the credibility of the democratic institutions be restored.
P.O.Box. 5142
Wuse, Abuja
Nigeria
Abuja Office
info(at)fes-nigeria.org