1. Akwa Confluence Press Release
As a citizen of Akwa Ibom State, I am very pleased with what is happening in my state. The uncommon
transformation slogan of the government is real. The government has done much to improve the
quality of life of people of Akwa Ibom State. It is my desired that the tempo be sustained or improved
even after the current government.
Creating a more robust future for Akwa a state and our people requires involvement of everyone. It
requires people who are enthusiastic and are willing to volunteer their creativity to provide the desired
outcome for the state. We do not all have to be in government to volunteer our creativity. It is possible,
very possible to contribute meaningfully from outside.
Akwa Confluence is a brandhealth initiative aim at contributing a robust future for Akwa Ibom State and
its people by providing a critical solution to the disconnectedness that many citizens feel from the state.
It is a new thinking about citizenship and participation where the state taps the public’s wisdom for
better decision-making. It is a platform to create new mechanisms, or spaces and places for citizens’
engagement. It is a platform for interface between the citizens and the state. It intends to play an
increasing role in bridging the gap between the citizen and the state; while inputs from the initiative
would enhance responsibility as well as responsiveness on all sides. It is initiated to reposition citizen
participation in Akwa Ibom.
Akwa Confluence adopts a straight and a simple approach to achieve results. Each year, brandhealth
sends out questionnaires to various groups in Akwa Ibom to specify what they want from the
government and the results communicated to the government. The emphasis therefore is placed on
gaining insights into citizens’ needs and preferences” so that the government can anticipate their needs
and deliver proactively. This would help in resource allocation. It also helps the government to provide
what the people want and not what the government feels the people want. As a citizen-centered
service, basing services on citizen needs, better understanding the needs of citizens and groups of
citizens, governments can identify the outcomes they are trying to achieve and then reorganize services
to provide service offerings that achieve those outcomes.
Our people in brandhealth are very excited to have pioneered this kind of initiative in Nigeria. We see
this as public service. We are convinced the initiative would deepen democracy in the country through
the active participation of its citizens; not just when it comes time to vote, but all the time. We know
that other state would take a cue from Akwa Confluence and inaugurate this type of platform that
would allow their people to have a say in how the resources of the state are allocated.
In brandhealth, we know that innovation and transformation in service delivery are taking place around
the world as governments recognize the value that can be achieved by this kind of initiative — both in
terms of desired policy outcomes and increased citizen trust in government. We also know that citizens
have come to expect the same level of service from government that they experience in the commercial
sector. We have seen past studies that have strong link between service and the trust and confidence
citizens have in government. The people of Akwa Ibom State would be better with Akwa Confluence.

2. KEY OBJECTIVES OF AKWA CONFLUENCE
The broad objective of Akwa Confluence is to -----------
In specific terms, Akwa Confluence intends to achieve the following:
a. Develop partnerships between communities and government, built on co-operation and
recognition of the creative ideas and skills that citizens have to offer.
b. Be an interactive, community based activity that engages local citizens to participate in
decision-making processes for the state by involving all classes of people in all the local
governments.
c. Use segmentation strategies to identify the diverse needs of citizens..
d. Enable people to have greater ‘voice’ and ‘choice’ as part of an attempt to re-energise our
democracy and enhance local accountability and responsibility for services.
e. Sharing of information across government, supported by robust legislative frameworks, is seen
as vital for responsible service delivery.
From government to governance: the broadening basis of democratic participation
a concern with more active and participatory forms of citizenship. Such views go well
beyond the notions of citizens as consumers, as articulated during the 1980’s and
early 1990’s, to citizens who engage in policies and in the delivery of services. They
also profess to go beyond consultation to deeper, more empowered forms of
involvement;
a concern with inclusion, especially of racial and ethnic minorities, youth, older
people, and others seen as previously excluded or marginalised;
•
a simultaneous concern with involvement of multiple stakeholders in new forms of
partnership, which in turn enable wider ‘ownership’ of decisions and projects;
an emphasis on broader forms of accountability, which enable multiple partners to
hold institutions and policy makers to account, and which involve social

3. accountability as well as legal, fiscal and political forms.
Through this approach, the hope is that participation will not only contribute to overcoming
the ‘democratic deficit’ through better governance and a more engaged citizenry, but also that
participation will meet developmental goals of improved communities and service delivery.
The democratic impulse needs to be strengthened by finding new ways to
enable citizens to share in decision-making that affects them
Bridging the gap
In many countries, measures to bring government ‘closer
to the people’ through decentralisation and devolution
have prompted shifts in approaches to service delivery that
have widened spaces for citizen involvement.
Re-positioning participation