The Development Partner, Justice Development and Peace Caritas, JDPC Nnewi, in a partnership project with Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria has paid an advocacy visit to the Transition Committee Chairman of Nnewi South Local Government, Hon. Ezeogidi George, with a call for a more responsive local government system in the country.
During the visit facilitated by the Community Champion of Nnewi South of Anambra South Senatorial zone, the Advocacy Team Lead, Mr Onyekachi Ololo, explained to their host that the JDPC Nnewi ably led by the Director, Rev. Fr. Ben Chima Okolo, works in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructural development.
The organisation, according to him, also supports community agencies and government actors to track policies and budgetary allocations in those critical sectors to ensure that the underserved in the community are taken care of.
While commending the Enough is Enough (EiE Nigeria) for the support to further entrench their programs in the communities of Anambra state, the visiting team called for the establishment of Office of the Citizens (OOTC) Desk Office to improve LG level governance system in Nigeria.
“Working to promote local government administration in Anambra State, Nigeria, the OOTC Help Desk is one of the initiatives of the #MyLGA Project being implemented in 3 pilot Local Government Areas, which include Nnewi South for Anambra South Senatorial Zone, Awka North for Anambra Central and Ayamelum for Anambra North”.
He further explained, “The project aims to strengthen communication and relationships between the citizens and the Chairmen of their Local Government Areas in Anambra state to engender increased citizens’ engagement and boost grassroots participation, by leveraging the Office of the Citizens initiative.
Mr Ololo called on Local Governments to continue to work towards the advancement of democracy and good governance and support the communities under them to thrive.
“The people should be carried along to build active citizenship that will monitor capital and development projects in their communities to ensure quality execution according to specifications. When the need arises, the citizens provide feedback on observations from their communities,” he said.
“We need your support for this intervention, which is implemented through Community Champions in Anambra state through the establishment of the Office of the Citizens (OOTC) Help Desk with a Desk Officer for citizens from Nnewi South LGA to report issues of insecurity, human rights violation, violence, abandoned or poorly executed local government projects and other matters.
“The desk will also serve as an interface to share ideas and ask questions, create an environment where citizens and the local government authorities work for the collective benefit of the community,” the Team Lead concluded.
In a remark, the OOTC Champion and woman leader from Utuh, Mrs Ogoamaka Atuenyi, who facilitated the advocacy visit, recounted how they monitored community projects and provided status reports to their community leaders, which had made them demand accountability from contractors and led to effective implementation of projects.
According to her, the Office of the citizen’s Help Desk will enable the people of Nnewi South to report such observations to the Chairman. “It will also build the confidence of our people to present more issues to the local government instead of running to the state especially when they are sure that the LG has a mechanism of addressing the issues”, she said.
In his response, the Chairman, Hon George Ezeogidi, welcomed his visitors assuring them that he was open to working with groups that are bringing development and making positive impact in Nnewi South Local Government.
“I will discuss with my council members on how to meet your request. Our developmental agenda for the people of Nnewi South include Human capacity building, access to quality education and affordable healthcare in line with the Solution Agenda of the Governor.
Hon. Ezeogidi appreciated the idea of establishing the Citizens Help Desk which he noted can serve the purpose of engaging communities to actively participate in the development of their local government areas.
