A Civil Society Organisation, Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), and a Kwara-based Non-governmental Organisation, Gobir Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth N26.5 million for infrastructure development across the 16 local government areas in the state.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the deputy coordinator of ENetSuD, Comrade 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 N10 million to show commitment as the first tranche of the agreed sum.

“It is a general knowledge that ENetsud is an anti-corruption civil society organisation that promotes good governance, accountability and transparency. 

“We have noticed how corruption has led to huge infrastructural gaps in almost all of the 193 wards in Kwara state, which are evident by lack of potable water, affordable health care, a sound educational system good road network among others, addition to high poverty rate and unemployment.

“Our observation triggered us to design a programme called ‘Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilization Program (CEMP) which has needs assessment of Kwara communities as one of its activities,” he said.

He 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,” said the deputy coordinator.

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.

“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 Organisation Foundation, Waziri Yakubu 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.”