Abia State Government has introduced a plan to start community development initiatives with the goal of ensuring an equitable distribution of socio-economic progress in rural areas.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Okey Kanu, disclosed this information on Monday after the State Executive Council meeting in Umuahia.
He noted that the programs, known as “Community Choose Your Project”, would be carried out through the Abia State Community Social Development Development Agency.
“The government’s efforts to rebuild Abia will not just be focused on Aba and Umuahia.
“Government is being strategic in its bid to rebuild the state and has decided to move to the hinterlands,” he said.
According to him, government officials will tour various rural communities, connecting with the residents to identify their specific infrastructure needs.
Kanu explained that the residents will be able to choose the projects they want the government to implement in their communities, with the condition that the project’s cost does not exceed N15 million.
“When people don’t invest either efforts or resources in a venture, they tend not to take it seriously.
“In this way, the government expects the community to make some form of contribution to make them own those projects,” he said.
Also, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Policies and Interventions, Rev. Father Christian Anokwuru, encouraged communities interested in the program to notify the agency by submitting a letter of application, specifying their chosen project.
He said that these projects would be jointly owned by both the government and the communities that benefit from them.
Anokwuru added that each prospective community must have a designated bank account, through which the project funds will be transferred to the community.
Kanyi Daily recalls that with just a few days to swearing-in, a federal High Court sitting in Kano State had nullified the candidate of Abia State Governor-elect, Alex Otti, and all the candidates of the Labour Party (LP) in Abia and Kano States.
