NGO Presents Devt Charters to Imo Communities

Amby Uneze in Owerri

Determined to increase the level of participation of citizens in the electoral process, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Development Dynamics has presented Village development charters to communities in Aboh Mbaise Local government area of Imo State. The three pilot autonomous communities were Mbutu, Olaelem and Nguru Nweke.

The Programme Director of Development Dynamics, Dr. Jude Ohanele urged people to engage their leaders for the development of their communities. He stated that development of any society does not come by chance but is rather the collective efforts of the citizenry, adding that the Village Charters contain the areas of development priorities that the people earmarked when the NGO visited them earlier.

The Programme Director explained that the formal presentation of the Village Charters was in fulfillment of the promise they made to the communities to assist in articulating their identified areas of need into a book form, which will serve as a reference material.
According to Ohanele, the project is in eighteen communities across the state, stressing that three of the communities were chosen from each of the two pilot LGAs in each of the geo-political zones of Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe.

Continuing, he revealed that the aim of the programme is to increase the capacity of the citizens at the grassroots level to engage and participate in the electoral process, saying that men, women and the youths should awaken their leaders to the reality of their development.

He cautioned that the time that politicians tell the people what they will do for them is over and called on the citizens to always use the Village Charters to direct politicians on what they (citizens) want from them.

Ohanele decried the spate of abandoned projects all over the state, saying that such projects are abandoned because the people do not present a common need to the political leaders as the politicians come up with diverse things they think the masses need, which differ from one administration to the other.

In his remarks, Mr. John Obasi from Olaelem called for teamwork by the people and their leaders to ensure that they use the books to achieve results.

Another community leader, Chief (Mrs.) Florence Ibegbulem while commending the NGO decried that the people they vote for during elections are not the people that eventually lead them. She promised to mobilise the people, especially the women to work as a team to put the Village Charters to good use.

In his contribution, Chief Desmond Aririguzo stated that if the people from the communities will use the books and advice of Development Dynamics to work, it must surely lead to development of their communities.

Another participant at the event, Mr. Nnamdi Nwokoma from Nguru Nweke bemoaned the lack of communication between the legislator representing them at the Imo House of Assembly, adding that he should be having town hall meeting with his constituents in order to keep them abreast of his activities as their representative.

The project is part of the Strengthening Citizens Engagement in the Electoral Process (SCEEP) initiative between Development Dynamics and her partners, UKaid and ActionAid.
Highlight of the event was the formal presentation of the Village Charters to the men, women, youths and physically-challenged members of the three pilot communities by journalists on behalf of Development Dynamics.