Justice, Development and Peace/Caritas Work in Nigeria.

History of JDPC & Caritas Vision of the Church Organogram Aims of JDPC/Caritas Operational Team

Human Rights and Good Governance Oil and Gas Extractives Advocacy Emergency, Peacebuilding and Caritas Think Tank and Thematic

Election Monitoring Making oil and gas wealth Lenten Campaign

Director Program Manager Secretary Driver

Reports on 2007 Election Operational Guidelines Lenten Campaign Guide Annual Report 2006, 2007 Network Vision Travesty of Oil and Gas Wealth Civic Education

Post Election Evaluation Community Animators reporting Lenten Campaign Feedback Oil and Gas Desk Officers

		The Think Tank is coordinated by Dr. Joseph Nwizarh who has served as the Coordinator of the Project since June 2005. He has been the major driving force of the achievements of the Think Tank. Prior to assuming responsibility for the coordination of the Think Tank, he has taught in the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, the Seminary of SS. Peter and Paul – Ibadan, Bigard Memorial Seminary Enugu and Ebonyi State University. He holds academic qualifications in Education, Philosophy and Psychology. He has an in-depth knowledge of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church. He has also participated in and provided workshops in such areas as Peacebuilding, Social and Economic Rights/Advocacy, Budget Processes and legislative processes.
	Dr. Joseph Nwizarh Coordinator

He developed the text of the Civic Education Manual and has developed the texts of two Joint Pastoral letters for the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria: Taking Responsibility for Our Common Destiny and The Moral Challenges of Our Oil and Gas Wealth: That Our Oil and Gas Wealth may Serve the Common Good.
In addition, he has developed several working documents for the JDP/Caritas Nigeria; including the Report of the Election Observation I April 2007 and several working documents for the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria.

There are two regular consultants to Think Tank. They provide immediate resources for the articulation of urgent issues. They are:

Mr. Udo Jude Ilo who is a Senior Legal Officer working with Hurilaws. He holds an LL.M degree from the Central European University in Budapest and has written extensively on Human Rights Issues, Justice Sector Reform, Constitutional Reform, Electoral Reform and Democracy/Governance Issues.
Mr. Kingsley Ogoh Ekwem who is the Managing Parterner of Ekwem & Ekwem, Solicitors and Advocates. He holds degrees in Law and is a member of the British Institute of Chartered Arbitrators. He has extensive knowledge of the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria and has served as the Secretary of the Oil and Gas reflection Committee of the Think Tank.

In addition, the Think Tank Coordinator maintains an extensive databank of resource persons who can be invited from time to time and as issues arise; for research, documentation, debates, discussions and advocacy projects. In each case, the motive is to develop an informed position that would serve as anchor for the Church to engage the government and/or civil society. This includes the development of the appropriate strategies for such engagements. The resource persons have expertise in areas as wide ranging as economics, Political Economy, Bilateral Institutions, International Economy, African Political Economy, World Economic Forum, Political Science, Public Administration, Corporate Governance, Social Policy, Social Justice, Oil and Gas, Environment, Gender, Youth Empowerment, Civil Society, Law, Culture, Religion, Peace Building, Constitutionalism, Criminal Justice System, Democracy and Governance, Corruption/Rule of Law, Human Rights etc. The hope is to exploit these resources maximally.

The Think Tank receives tasks from the Justice, Development and Peace/Caritas structures from across the country for expert solutions.