The Kogi state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wemi Jones, has charged communities to develop high spirit to communal efforts in order to provide for themselves certain amenities government could not provide due to paucity of funds.
Jones gave the charge Saturday at Akutupa Kiri community in Kabba-Bunu local government area during the commissioning of projects facilitated by Kogi State Community and Social Development Agency (KSCSDA) and funded by the World Bank.
The commissioner noted that no government can provide all the needs of the people saying that communities in the state should brace up and develop high spirit towards communal efforts in ensuring that what the government cannot provide as a result of inadequate funds, the communities can make it available for themselves to complement government efforts.
“Every community must stand up and do one or two things for themselves. The community should hold themselves together and live in unity in order to enjoy government efforts” he said.
While reiterating the commitment of Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration towards community and rural development, said a lot of communities have benefited from basic social amenities such as electricity, water, cottage hospitals among.
He gave assurance that more dividend of democracy await the rural dwellers.
In his remark, the General Manager of KSCSDA , Mallam Momoh Dauda, stated that Governor Bello has mandated the agency to take development to the grassroots where there are dearth of basic social amenities adding that they would rest on their oars until that desire from the governor is achieved for the communities in Kogi state.
He stated that Akutupa community put a request to the agency and the community was able to benefit micro projects such as solar street light, town hall and water project.
“Akutupa is a very lucky community. The community did not disappoint our agency. So, on that note, the community is free to write to the agency to seek for more projects especially on the issue of cottage hospital for the community,” he said.
Earlier , the immediate past president of Akutupa Welfare Association (AWA), Mr Moses Funsho Olugbemi, lamented that the community suffered total neglect in the area of basic social amenities by the previous administrations in the state and appealed to the general manager and the management of the agency to consider Akutupa community for more projects in 2021 budget.
