By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
The Development & Integrity Intervention Goal, DIG Foundation and other Civil Society Organizations, CSOs have urged Governor Francis Nwifuru-led administration to ensure full implementation of the over N17 billion Community Charter of Demand, CCD projects as captured in the 2025 budget of the state.
Chief Ajah Chima Oliver, the Executive Director of the DIG Foundation, the anchor body for the Cluster Organizations and CSOs Network in Ebonyi, made the call, Thursday during the press briefing on the 2025 State budget and the state of CCD in Abakaliki.
Ajah said the DIG Foundation, Green the Red Cluster and the entire Ebonyi Civil Society network remained proud of the current status of CCD in the 2025 Ebonyi State budget totalling N17,627,700,000.
He advised the heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs to be committed to writing fundable memos on CCD projects for consideration at the exco-meetings and as well for the House of Assembly members to facilitate the award of the CCD projects for consideration in the state.
He described the CCD as a document and tool used to identify and document a community’s prioritized needs for potential inclusion in the State’s annual budget.
Ajah said: "In 2025 Ebonyi State government made us proud by capturing CCD projects totaling over seventeen billion Naira. This amount is far above all the constituency projects of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly members put together. Therefore, Ebonyi House of Assembly members should support and own the CCD projects."
Ajah noted that the CCD projects captured in the 2025 budget included N11,000,000,000 for the construction of 280km of road in the 140
communities of Ebonyi State 2km per community, N2,200,700,000 for the construction of 65 housing units of 3-
bedroom bungalow for widows, that is 5 units in each local government area in the state.
Other projects included N2,000,000,000 for the construction of Owutu-Ekenta Ite-Ugwufie-Ekata-Letu road Edda, N800,000,000 for the rehabilitation of 60 public dilapidated school buildings 20 per Senatorial zone in Ebonyi State.
Also captured in the budget, according to Ajah, was the N562,000,000 for the construction of learners and teacher’sfurniture in the 3 senatorial zones including; community Junior Secondary School Oferekpe, Riverside
Primary School Ngbo, Community Primary School Nwachi Amagu, Central School Ndiegu Echara etc; and N200,000,000 for the purchase of essential teaching/learning materials such as diaries, attendance registers etc; for Senior Secondary Schools, including Amagu Onicha Primary School, Ameka
Primary School, CPS Mgbom among others.
He further stated that N200,000,000 for the construction of one health clinic for
Abakaliki Mechanic Site and Abakaliki Rice Mill, N160,000,000 for the crop value chains and food systems promotion (food and cash crops of state’s comparative advantage), N100,000,000 for the construction of burn and bury pit at Millennium Development Goal, MDG Ededeagu Facility in Ebonyi local government area and N50,000,000 for the youth and women in agriculture empowerment and smallholder agricultural credit strengthening.
He recalled that earlier last year, starting from June 2024, USAID State2State, DIG Foundation, USAID Scale Green The-Red Cluster and other CSOs started the process of harvesting inputs of citizens into the 2025 budget through the CCD processes just like every other year before now.
He equally recalled that a series of events, including town hall meetings, were held both with the communities and of relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies in a bid to ensure community prioritized needs were captured in the budget.
"The engagement cut across relevant MDAs, especially the social sectors and others, including Health, Education, WASH, works, etc.
"Finally, the following MDAs captured CDD projects in their 2025 budget. They are; the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Water Resources, EB-RUWASSA, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Infrastructural Development and Concession, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Board, Ministry of Health, Ebonyi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture etc.
"They are hereby well commended for recognizing and prioritizing citizens inputs into the budget.
"These CCD projects show the peculiarity of the various communities. However, there are similarities in constituency projects of all the 24 House of Assembly members, which calls for worry as to why!
"Thus, there is a need for synergy and partnership between the House of Assembly members and their constituency in choosing projects."
The DIG Foundation Executive Director added: "With this singular act, the Ebonyi State government led by Rt Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has demonstrated high-level commitment in achieving the People's Charter of Needs mantra of the present administration - a government that allows citizens to make inputs into the budget for over seventeen billion Naira is worthy for commendation
"This is real history, the highest ever in the history of CCD in Ebonyi State if not all over Nigeria. This is in line with Open Government Partnership (OG) and other global reform initiatives including the
State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability, SFTAS."
NATIONAL PANEL gathered that the top CCD projects captured in the 2025 budget were respectively handled by the Ebonyi State ministries of Infrastructure Development and Concession, Housing and Urban Development, Works, Primary and Secondary Education, Health, Agriculture and Ebonyi State Universal Education Board.
