kogi
Our team visited communities within Kogi State to oversee the 2015 constituency provisions and observed a high number of abandoned projects overall. Within three months, our Project Tracking Officer tracked 36 projects and confirmed 8 project completion, 3 ongoing projects and 26 abandoned provisions. The disconnect between citizens and the government is glaring, and there is an apparent disinterest when it comes to the people’s participation in governance issues.
One of the tracked projects is the Construction of 3 km Access Road with Drainage and Culvert at Eika Community for N80 million.We record this project as ongoing and noted the progress of the 3km access road construction with the requisite drainages and culvert. The contractor engaged youths of the Eika community, and the PTO will return to monitor its completion, as the project will ease commuters’ access to the town’s primary local market.
Also, we visited the Nagazi community to oversee the provision of a Cassava Processing Facility at Nagazi for N50 million; this project has not been executed, despite its undeniable importance; the Nagazi community is the highest producer of cassava in Kogi state. Our engagement with constituents revealed the male residents are mostly into farming, with the women primarily involved in cassava flour production.
The Nagazi people stated they had no knowledge of the provision, during the town hall meeting where PTOs sensitised them on this line item and encouraged focused engagement with their representatives at the National Assembly to ensure delivery of this project.
Another core project tracked in the state is the Rehabilitation of broken-down borehole in some locations in Okene LGA, Kogi State at a pegged sum of N20 million.When the Tracka team met with members of the Okene community to discuss the status of boreholes in the area and visit project sites, it was revealed that this project has not been implemented.Findings show some boreholes were installed in 2013 but are no longer functional. Therefore, residents still lack access to water and are subjected to walking long distances to fetch potable water.
We also tracked a vocational training for 250 youth across Adavi/ Okehi Federal constituency for N 25 million. Residents of these communities reported to our team as at the time of visit that they had not received the training neither was they aware of the project in the first place.Our engagement with the people saw some youths expressing that this provision is prone to fraud and in cases where implemented, only members of the Senators’ inner circles enjoy the resources.
Tracka will continuously engage the respective communities through town hall meetings and sensitization programme on the budget process and implementation. It is important for Citizens to engage their representatives in the National Assembly to ensure service delivery where necessary.
