The Oyo State Community and Social Development Agency (OYCSDA) has disbursed funds for the implementation of another 132 micro-projects across sixty-six communities in Oyo State.
This was disclosed at a training programme organized by the agency on Monday at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State Secretariat, Agodi Ibadan, where focus was directed at project implementation procedures, aimed at bolstering resilience and economic recovery.
In his keynote address, Hon. Abideen Adeaga, who is the Board Chairman of OYCSDA, expressed gratitude to Governor Seyi Makinde for his unwavering support in approving the collaboration programme with the World Bank and the Federal Government to achieve the gains of the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme in Oyo State.
The NG-CARES initiative, domesticated as OYO-CARES, according to Adeaga, seeks to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, unemployed youths, small businesses, and farmers.
He highlighted the program’s significant interventions across 66 communities, marking a historical milestone in the State’s community development efforts.
He also acknowledged the Governor’s recent decision to increase project funding from ₦15 million to ₦18 million due to rising costs, ensuring that community-driven micro-infrastructure projects in areas like healthcare, education, water, and erosion control are completed.
These efforts, according to the Chairman, are tailored towards eradicating the out-of-school children crisis by construction and renovation of schools with furniture and toilets, mitigating the effects of erosion on communities through intervention in culvert construction, as well as construction and renovation of community health centers and provision of motorized boreholes for the people in the various communities.
“This gesture from our Governor for approving the disbursement of funds to sixty-six communities across the State is unprecedented so that OYCSDA would embark on such massive micro-projects.
“It is also noteworthy to State that the Governor approved the review of each Community Development Plan (CDP) from #15 million to #18 million to take care of the economic realities of the day.
“All these are tailored towards total eradication of the out-of-school children syndrome in our State, eradication of water-borne diseases and to guide against untoward occurrences caused by erosion in these communities,” he added.
The General Manager of OYCSDA, Mr. Jelili Salau, emphasized the training’s dual purpose of building the capacity of CPMCs and initiating the disbursement of funds to kick-start community projects.
He applauded the Governor’s foresight in approving funds for 66 concurrent projects and underscored the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders for the program’s success.
The NG-CARES initiative, as stated by Salau, designed, using a Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach, empowers communities to identify, plan, implement, and manage their micro-projects, with OYCSDA ensuring quality standards, supervision, and effective financing throughout the process.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the former Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Moroof Atilola, the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Education Projects Intervention, Hon. Tiamiyu Suraju, a former Permanent Secretary and General Manager of OYCSDA, Alhaji Busari Olalekan, Engr. Abisola Adabanija, a member of the OYCSDA board, Mrs. Jadesola Ajibola, as well as the representative of the OYO-CARES Coordinating Unit, among others.
