A Civil Society Organisation and a Non-governmental Organisation, the Gobir Organisation Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth N26.5m for infrastructure development across the 16 local government areas in Kwara State.
Addressing Journalists in Ilorin, the Deputy Coordinator of the Elites Network for Sustainable Development, ENetSuD, Lanre Osho said the deal was to enhance and facilitate the CSO’s set goals in line with its Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilization Programme, CEMP, across the 193 wards of the 16 LGAs in the State.
Osho confirmed that the foundation had dropped a sum of N10m to show commitment as the first tranche of the agreed sum.
He said; It’s general knowledge that ENetsud is an anti-corruption civil society organization that promotes good governance, accountability and transparency.
“We have noticed how corruption has led to huge infrastructure gaps in almost all of the 193 wards in Kwara state, which are evident by lack of potable water, affordable health care, a sound education system, good road network among others.
“Our observation triggered us to design a programme called ‘Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilisation Programme (CEMP), to access the needs communities’ in the state,” he said.
Osho noted that the CEMP programme has been in place since the year 2020 and has been deployed to solve many problems in Kwara communities.
“The impact of our CEMP programme is what attracted the attention of our partner, Gobir Organisation Foundation, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding worth N26.5 million to properly assess the needs of all the 193 wards in Kwara state,” he added.
Similarly, the acting Director of Community Services of ENetSuD, Fatima Dikko, stated that the creation of CEMP has presented the people in the rural communities the opportunity to know their rights and entitlement to the government.
Dikko said; “The creation of CEMP by ENetSuD was informed by our observation that citizens, especially in the rural communities, are not aware that they are entitled to good governance, social amenities and quality service delivery from the government. They mostly believe that their civil responsibilities end with voting once every four years.’’
Talking about what inspired him to partner with ENetSuD, the Chief Executive Officer and financial of Gobir Organization Foundation, Waziri Gobir, said “our Foundation was primarily set up to improve the quality of livelihoods amongst the people of Kwara State. For the past five years, we have impacted thousands of beneficiaries through results-driven solutions and social investments in the human capacity of our people. Our core mandate is to reduce inequalities and drive innovation within the healthcare and education sectors; and poverty alleviation by supporting enterprise.
“The Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilization Programme (CEMP) is aligned with our vision of providing data-backed solutions to our local problems. The most crucial component of philanthropy of any kind is not only delivering it to intended beneficiaries; but also ensuring that the aid being rendered is proportional to their needs at every point in time. This concept of contextual social investment is one that inspired us and must be prioritized government at all levels”
Waziri Gobir said “my partnership with ENetSuD has nothing to do with my political ambition, it is about the development of our beloved state.”
Gobir is also a governorship candidate of the Young Progressive Congress, YPP, in the forthcoming 2023 election in the state.
Olusola Akintonde
