NOA, UNICEF Partner On Redefining Citizenship Engagement

As part of its determination aimed at repositioning and restructuring the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s New Hope Agenda, the Agency has entered into a collaborative engagement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Part of the engagement was a two-day strategic review meetings in Abuja which considered the restructuring and a new partnership model to serve as a guide in collaboration with critical stakeholders.

Director General of the NOA, Mr Lanre Issa-Onilu, who set the ball rolling with his paper titled; “Restructuring and Repositioning of NOA,” captured extensively the framework of CHLEEAN which he said encompasses Crime and Lawlessness, Health and Hygiene, Environment, Education, Abuse, and Narcotics, as a strategic initiative for engaging with government institutions, development partners, and civil society organizations.

Issa-Onilu explained that the programme is aimed at addressing the myriad of societal challenges stemming from negative attitudes in Nigeria with a view to reshape them for better and more gainful purposes.

The NOA DG said; “These programs, designed for effectiveness, will be implemented through collaborative efforts involving the NOA, other MDAs, the private sector, and relevant non-governmental organizations”.

Issa-Onilu explained that the essential role of stakeholders and partners in contributing their expertise to the success of the CLHEEAN strategy, thereby stressed the need for citizens’ support in achieving government objectives.

He said the Crime, Lawlessness, Health, Education, Environment, Abuse, and Support Programmes and Narcotics (CLHEEAN) campaign project will be launched in April 2024 by President Tinubu.

The NOA boss said that the project which is one of the core focus of the agency is aimed at responding to pressing community needs across Nigeria, adding that it also aims to address community-specific challenges through profiling and understanding.

According to him; “By collaborating closely with local partners and international agencies, CLHEEAN seeks to initiate impactful solutions, starting with the cleansing of communities from identified issues.

“Under the unified banner of CLHEEAN, this endeavour is poised to bring positive and lasting change to communities nationwide,” Issa-Onilu said.

Speaking in turn, Mr Kshitij Joshi, Chief Social and Behavior Change Officer of UNICEF, said that the purpose of the two-day meeting was to use the National Orientation Agency partnership to highlight new methods in the field of social and behavioural changes that align with UNiCEF’s philosophy. Kshitij also said that the meeting afforded stakeholders access to the new global direction and the chance to broaden their horizons.