Lagos — The Special Adviser to the President on Civil Society Relations, Prince Chineme Ume-Ezeoke, has declared that Non State Actors (NSA) cannot be separated from day to day running of government; as their role is vital in the overall development of any society.

Ume-Ezeoke made the observation in Abuja while speaking at a two day workshop with a theme 'Enhancing Positive Engagement of Non State Actors in Actualising the 7-Point Agenda and Vision 20-2020', organised by the office of the Special Adviser and the EU-INSIDE Project.

In his paper titled 'Enhancing Mass Participation in the 7-Point Agenda; Gaps, Opportunities, Future Perspectives and Partnership Between Government, Donor and Non State Actors (NSAs) in Nigeria, the Special Adviser said that transparency and efficiency in government can truly be enhanced with the involvement of the Civil Society.

The workshop aims to enhance mutual understanding and information sharing between government/CSOs in the area of policy formulation and implementation of the 7-Point Agenda among other related interests, according to an information provided by Mr. Chika Izuora, media aide to Ume-Ezeoke.

The presidential aide urged participants at the forum to, among other things, identify gaps that need to be filled in the cause of implementation; opportunities that must be harnessed to make it a people oriented programme; and the appropriate responses in the future to cement a good partnership between the government and Non State Actors.

He commended the Federal Government for creating an enabling environment for better interaction between government and the NSAs and his office.

Ume-Ezeoke equally paid glowing tribute to the European Union- Increasing Non State Actors Implementation and Development Expertise (EU-INSIDE), led by Walter Bruseelers, for partnering with the office in the two day round-table.