By: Emmanuel Nlewedum
A non-governmental organization, Connected Development (CODE), has vowed to do everything possible to ensure improved service delivery by the government to the people especially as it concerns accountability .
CODE said most oil producing communities in Rivers and other Niger Delta states are neglected in terms of citing of government projects and social amenities as contained in the yearly budgets.
Senior Programmes Manager of CODE, Lucy James Abagi stated this at a two day Capacity Building Workshop with the theme: Empowering Oil-Rich Communities for Improved Service Delivery” organised in collaboration with Ford Foundation in Port Harcourt.
Abagi disclosed that the group will not only support leaders from oil producing communities in the state, but will also equip them with knowledge and strategies as well as mobilizing them to demand improved service delivery and greater accountability for resources gotten from their communities and projects allocated to them by the government.
She said the training will also expose them to the rudiments of how to follow the money and advocacy strategies to influence policies within the state.
“We are just introducing our project in Rivers State with support from Ford Foundation. We are trying to ensure that we build the capacity of young people from ten oil producing Communities and local government areas in the State to advocate for improved service delivery from elected representatives and the government”.
Abagi also advised the government to adopt community and citizens participation “and also apply what we call need assessment by involving stakeholders, especially from the oil producing communities when preparing state yearly budget”.
On her part, Rivers State Lead of CODE, Evelyn Williams added that the training was also aimed at strengthening the citizens’ voice to demand accountability from the government and their representatives.
She said, “We intend to achieve this by training community leadership. We chose them because we believe are the voice of the people”.
Some participants at the workshop charged CODE to advocate for increased security on Bonny and other Rivers waterways.
They also advocated for provision of healthcare services, schools, portable drinking water, good roads, completion of all government projects in the oil producing communities.
