By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Elites Network for Sustainable Development(ENetSuD) an anticorruption and civil society organisation has partnered with Gobir Organisation Foundation which donated N26.5m to the organisation, towards  promotion of  good governance in Kwara state government through probity and accountability.

Alh Waziri Yakubu Gobir, the governorship candidate of Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the state, while signing the MoU with ENetSuD at a press conference in Ilorin on Wednesday, said he had already paid N10m to the organisation out of the amount.

He said that Gobir Organization Foundation was primarily set up to improve the quality of livelihoods amongst the people of Kwara State adding that ,”For the past five years, we have impacted thousands of beneficiaries through results-driven solutions and social investments in the human capacity of our people.

“Our core mandate is to reduce inequalities and drive innovation within the healthcare and education sectors; and poverty alleviation by supporting enterprise.”

He added that the Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilization Program (CEMP)an arm of ENetSuD “aligned with our vision of providing data-backed solutions to our local problems.”

Gobir also said that “Our expectation from this partnership is a comprehensive analysis of the development gaps across the 193 wards of the state.

“The outcome of this exercise will inform a Sub-national Needs Assessment Framework through which we can address social investments in Kwara State.”

He noted further that “the data will also guide the opening up of the rural areas through the provision of basic amenities and infrastructure. This will improve productivity and reduce unemployment.

“Beyond furthering the objectives of the Gobir Organization, this timely program will play a crucial role in sensitizing our people ahead of the upcoming election cycle.

“By empowering citizens with knowledge, they can ask incumbent and aspiring office holders the right questions and ensure that their needs remain top priority.

“Regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, or status, the outcomes of the CEMP Needs Assessment must dictate the issues in the state elections at all levels; and remain top on all governance agenda,” he said.

Gobir, however, dismissed insinuation that he’s using ENetSuD to attack Governor AbdulRazaq administration, stressing that there’s never a bad reason to do a good thing.

“My relationship with ENetSuD transcend politics. What inspired me about ENetSuD is that they don’t criticise unreasonably. They criticise with facts and figures.”

For its part, ENetSuD Deputy Coordinator (Project Tracking) Comrade Lanre Osho said that the impact of its Citizens Enlightenment and Mobilization Program (CEMP)is what attracted Gobir Organization Foundation to sign an MoU worth N26.5m to properly assess the needs of all the 193 wards in Kwara state.

“We appreciate the Foundation for considering ENetSuD worthy of this landmark partnership. I’m happy to inform you that out of the sum of our agreement, ENetSuD has received a sum of ten million naira as the first tranche of the payment from the Foundation,” he said.

The Acting Director of Community Service of ENetSuD directly handling the project, Fatima Bintu Dikko, said that since its creation in late 2020, CEMP has helped in facilitating projects, especially portable water to so many rural communities in Moro, Asa and Patigi local government areas.

She also said that “the success of our pilot CEMP program across these LGAs is an assurance that the robust needs assessment across 193 wards sponsored by GOF will also be a huge success.”

Fatima stressed that “we will practice what we preach, every Kobo received from GOF and spent on this project will be properly accounted for.

“We track the government, we are also ready to be tracked, we dig and we are ready to be dug.”

She said that the organisation will carry out the project within six months as contained in the MoU.