Conference of Northeast Speakers has requested the Federal Government to work for the extension of World Bank assisted Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) in the region.
Chairman of the Conference, Abubakar Suleiman, who is the Speaker, Bauchi State Assembly made the plea when he led other speakers on a courtesy visit to the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed in her office in Abuja.
Suleiman told the Minister that CSDP has made remarkable impacts in the area of poverty reduction and improving quality of life in rural communities of Northeast States, namely Bauchi, Adamawa, Borno, Taraba, Gombe and Yobe.
According to him, the project has been an effective poverty reduction mechanism that has impacted positively on the lives of the people, thus achieving the overall goal of the project, which is to improve access to services for human development.
He said: “All the six states, through implementation of the project, have supported community and group micro project, cutting across education, water and sanitation, rural electrification, environmental and natural resources, health, economic, transport and housing, using the community-driven development approach.”
The Speakers commended the Federal Government for the positive collaboration with the World Bank, which has resulted in the improvement of the lives of the people of North East.
The North East Speakers, however, appealed to the Federal Government for possible follow-up projects to CSDP, beyond the closing date of June 2020, which they said will enable states’ agencies cover more communities and spread the benefit of the projects across the states.
The Minister applauded the speakers for their feedbacks on the projects, and instructed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to meet the World Bank Tax Team Manager to discuss the request.
Ahmed also pledged to personally sign a letter to the World Bank for the extension of the projects.
