Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)

The Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Rafsanjani, received a prestigious award from the Society of Women in Taxation, Nigeria (SWITNG) during their Leadership Retreat on Saturday, 7th December 2024 in Abuja. As the Special Guest, he delivered impactful remarks on the theme: "Evaluating the Role of SWIT in the Tax System: Strengthening Engagement for Impact." His speech emphasized the importance of transparency, collaboration, and impactful engagement in advancing tax reforms and policy advocacy. CISLAC is proud to be recognized for its contributions to capacity building and remains committed to fostering accountability and driving systemic improvements in Nigeria's tax landscape. #CISLAC #Transparency #SWIT #TaxPolicyImpact

On 21st November 2024, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) was represented at a Policy Dialogue and Report Presentation themed, "Fortifying Policy Influence of Civic Actors in Nigeria - The Case of ON Nigeria Program", organized by Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative for the Joinbodi Cohort with support from the MacArthur Foundation Expedited Grantmaking (X-Grants) Program. The objectives of the Dialogue were to: 1) Assess risks to the sustainability of Policy changes and design mitigation approaches. 2) Identify outstanding Policy Recommendations and map Advocacy strategies to enhance implementation. In addition to a summary of interventions done as a Joinbodi Cohort member, CISLAC's representatives at the dialogue were able to identify outstanding Policy Recommendations and map Advocacy strategies for upscaling asset recovery methods in Nigeria - pushing for the implementation of the legal frameworks for effective asset recovery and management such as the Proceeds of Crime Act 2022 as well as leveraging on the communication and outreach Advocacy tool for social media campaigns giving an illustration of what was done by the CIVIL SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY CENTRE (CISLAC) TI NG for the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR) Campaign conducted from 12th to 14th November 2024. Auwal Rafsanjani Onyinyechi Amy Chinekwu Onwumere LL.M, BL, LL.B State and Non-State Actors/Partners represented in attendance included: BudgIT Nigeria ICPC Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission SERAP Nigeria Women's Rights Advancement & Protection Alternative - WRAPA Nigeria Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) Connected Development [CODE] Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Open Government Partnership Nigeria HEDA Resource Centre Agora Policy CHRICED

Earlier today, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) the Nigerian Chapter of Transparency International was represented at the One-day Public Hearing on a Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Police Pension Board. CISLAC gave its recommendations and submissions during the public hearing which addressed a crucial piece of legislation that seeks to ensure the welfare of Police Officers not just during their active service, but also during their retirement. CISLAC's recommendations for the provisions of the Bill focused on the following justifications- Composition of the Board, Powers and Responsibilities, Fund Mechanism, Transparency and Accountability, Investment and Management, Compliance with Existing Laws. Auwal Rafsanjani Onyinyechi Amy Chinekwu Onwumere LL.M, BL, LL.B

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) team welcomed Mr. Jonas Schaaf a research associate from PRIF Peace Research Institute Frankfurt to our Head Office in Abuja for a learning exchange visit. The learning exchange was aimed to better understand the involvement of civil society actors in ECOWAS activities and to further help develop the understanding of the key factors that can lead to constructive engagement between civil society and state actors. This is in recognition of the efforts being put forth by CISLAC in order support the government in its effort to fight violent extremism, curb the excesses of illicit financial flows which drives and enables terrorism financing and other crimes in Nigeria and across the West Africa sub region. We look forward to exploring synergies, partnerships and collaboration in areas of strategic interest for promoting peace, justice, and human security across Africa. #PeaceResearch #GlobalPartnerships #cislac Auwal Rafsanjani Halima Shehu Mato Magaji BSc, FCA SULAIMAN A. MANDE

https://lnkd.in/dW5sPWjn

Earlier within the week, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) was represented at the 2nd Africa Conference on Tobacco Control in Accra, Ghana. The Conference titled " Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Advancing the Tobacco Control Ecosystem in Africa" sought to strengthen and empower Tobacco Control (TC) implementation on the continent which aligns with the African Union's Year 2024 Theme " Educate an African fit for the 21st Century with specific focus on educating and empowering young people, strengthening policy advocacy on tobacco control and building stronger and more strategic partnerships and collaboration amongst stakeholders. CISLACs contribution during the discussions bordered around the need for a more extended advocacy and capacity building for CSOs, media and youths at the subnational level which are some of the major challenges hindering the effective tobacco control policy deliberation by policy makers at state government level. The conference brought representatives of government's and non governmental organizations, policy makers, experts and professionals in tobacco control and the media and representatives of youths groups and organizations from across the African continent. The African Capacity Building Foundation Tax Justice Network Africa Y-ACT Youth In Action Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa SULAIMAN A. MANDE

Although Nigeria has established important Legislative frameworks to guarantee the identification and discovery of assets within the nation such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, as well as the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, they are frequently difficult to implement. With the aim of advocating for the seamless implementation of the legal frameworks and return of the assets recovered back to the country of origin as well as promote the effective management of these assets at the National level, the following findings below (using the Nigerian context), have been harvested from the pilot assessment. To learn more about the implementation of the Common African Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR) in Nigeria, click the link here: https://lnkd.in/dcs5hYaS CiFAR - Civil Forum for Asset Recovery Transparency International Auwal Rafsanjani Onyinyechi Amy Chinekwu Onwumere LL.M, BL, LL.B

Introducing CAPAR's Assessment Tool: This tool enables civil society organizations to monitor and report on the progress of CAPAR recommendations at the National level, assessing each of the four CAPAR pillars. It features a "traffic light" rating system - No, Somewhat, Yes - that provides a clear view of progress for each indicator related to national asset recovery frameworks. This tool is designed to help measure national commitments, while regional and international CAPAR recommendations are evaluated separately. Explore the CAPAR CSO Network's objectives and learn more about its pilot assessments in the link - https://lnkd.in/eu8VPDaD CiFAR - Civil Forum for Asset Recovery Transparency International

https://lnkd.in/dXubE5Ym Transparency International CIFAR European Commission

Asset Recovery is a key priority for all African countries. The Common Africa Position on Asset Recovery (CAPAR) paves the way for effective implementation of asset recovery on a domestic and an international level. Explore the CAPAR CSO Network's objectives and learn more about its pilot assessments in the blog link: https://lnkd.in/eu8VPDaD CiFAR - Civil Forum for Asset Recovery Transparency International