Germany, EU Commit €1.2m To Improve Social Cohesion In Northeast Communities

In partnership with Oxfam, the German government and the European Union (EU) have committed 1.2 million euros to support three Local Government Areas of Adamawa and Borno States to improve social cohesion through community development planning.

Mr Samuel Lashom, the Project Coordinator, said this at the “support to improving social cohesion through community development planning” launch on Thursday in Maiduguri.
Lashom said Oxfam had targeted 3,100 direct beneficiaries from the project, which was limited to the rural communities in the Kwaya Kusar, Biu, and Guyuk Local Government Areas of Borno and Adamawa.

“We are targeting 3,100 direct beneficiaries on the project, and we can break it down, and as we have indicated, we have at least 100 people from each of the 33 words that will be working with across the three local governments,” he said.

The coordinator said the project was limited to three council areas due to inadequate resources. Their international partners were committed to providing more funds to the remaining local government areas.

“As we have always known, resources are scarce. As development partners, we cannot simultaneously develop the project in all the local government areas.

“So, we are very strategic. We have started doing some work in the Southern Borno part. However, we have plans with partners to scale it up to other local governments in Northern Borno and the central part of Borno. But if you go to Adamawa, we will do it across all the geopolitical zones,” the coordinator said.
Lashom, however, said that the project had a series of activities lined up, which required a serious commitment from all stakeholders.

‘For instance, the next thing we will do is build up all team members’ capacity. The government partners, after which we will commence sensitisation for all the critical stakeholders, and then we will be involved in a dialogue with all the gatekeepers; we call it community entry.

“Where we are going to sit down on a round table and highlight everybody’s role, after which we commence full implementation by conducting community development planning sessions and, of course, coming out with other capacity building training across the three local governments,” he said.

Also, Mr Musa Kiri, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs in Adamawa, urged the stakeholders to give the project organisers the necessary support to achieve their objectives.

Similarly, Arch Isa Haladu, Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement in Borno State, thanked the organisers for choosing two local government areas out of the three from the State andpromised to give all the necessary support for the project’s success.