The Emir of Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, has commended the World Bank-assisted Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) for touching the lives of vulnerable people.
The Emir said that the programme had positively impacted the lives of the vulnerable people since the creation of the state.
Attahiru made this known when he played host to the National Coordinator of CSDP, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, represented by Mr Niyi Oduneye, the Head, Monitoring and Information Management, Federal Project Support Unit, on Saturday in Bungudu, Zamfara.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the officials of CSDP were in the North-West to assess and get feedback on the impact of CSDP intervention programmes in Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina states.
He, however, appealed to the CSDP officials to expand and extend the projects to other communities in the state where the people were increasingly seeking for intervention due to security challenges.
He also solicited the support of the project toward the rehabilitation of people and communities affected by the lingering security challenges in some parts of the state.
“I need not introduce to the CSDP programme; it has been very beneficial to the people of the state for a very long time.
“If there is any single intervention programme in the state since its creation, I think it is the largest that has touched the lives of people who are very vulnerable and in dire need.
“I am very familiar with the programme and I am even involved in it for about 15 years when it started under a different name and evolved up to its present structure.
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“I really have to show appreciation to the leadership of CSDP for how it has evolved as well as our people in various communities managing all the projects diligently,“ he said.
The Emir also used the occasion to commend the CSDP for ensuring transparency and accountability in administering the project which was community driven.
He disclosed that CSDP renovated and equipped a learning centre for an orphanage established by Yar Rugga Community under the Bungudu Emirate Council.
“Prior to the intervention of CSDP, the hall was in deplorable condition. After we reached out to them and completed all the process, CSDP converted the hall into library, laboratory and semi Skills Acquisition Centre,” Attahiru said.
NAN reports that the orphanage has no less than 60 male orphans that lost their parents to the incessant bandit attacks in various communities in the council.
“The children have special skills on various fields and innovation and some of them crafted an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), solar standing fan and washing machine among others,“ he said.
Earlier, the representative of the National Coordinator of CSDP, Oduneye, disclosed that the Federal Government had recently signed a bigger envelope as intervention, which the state was expected to benefit from with nothing less than 20 million dollars.
According to him, CSDP has been strategically positioned to anchor the upcoming intervention projects.
He, however, commended the interest of the Emir in community development, adding that CSDP would continue to play a vital role in enhancing security in the state by engaging and equipping the youths with skills to be self-reliant.
