From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
ActionAid Nigeria has uplifted the living condition of no fewer than 30,000 women, children, farmers and physically challenged citizens through its Local Rights Programme (LRP) in Kogi State.
At the Kogi LRP and Close-out Ceremony in Lokoja, the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, said the 14-year intervention programme in the state had addressed issues of poverty, women’s rights, access to facilities and livelihood support among others.
She, therefore, called on the Kogi State Government to take over and continue with the various community development programmes supported by the organisation.
Represented by the Director Organisational Effectiveness, Mrs. Funmilayo Oyefusi, the Country Director said ActionAid intervened in Adavi and Igalamela-Odolu local councils of Kogi, where it drew a poverty map to identify communities that were poor and had little access to government.
She said the programme commenced in 2007 after a comprehensive baseline survey mapping, which showed the urgent need to respond to the varied challenges associated with poverty in 14 communities.
Also, Director of Programmes, Hajia Suwaiba Dankabo, described the LRP as a unique programme.