2023 election: Communities urged to make their needs known to candidates

CONNECTED Development ( CODE), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has advised communities in Rivers state to place their Charter of Demand”, before political party candidates, participating in the 2023 general elections.

evelyn Williams, Rivers state lead of CODE, explained that the purpose of the community town hall meeting was to interrogate a research report carried out in the 23 lgas on the poor state of government infrastructure in key sectors of health and education, among others.

she maintained that the reason for the stakeholders engagement was to work with communities to effectively engage government continuously, to influence policy of government towards effective delivery of social infrastructure at local communities, who always vote during elections.

Dandyson Harry Dandyson, executive director, Centre for Human Right Health ethnic Harmony and livelihood Development, urged community leaders to use the electioneering period to ask pertinent questions regarding development of their communities.

He observed that local communities are always left in abject poverty with decay and breakdown of social amenities without possible intervention of government.

Precious Omoruka, lamented how the Oyigbo local Government area, has been totally abandoned by the government they voted in since 2019, saying that the deplorable condition of roads in Oyigbo is unbearable and called on Governor Nyensom Wike to do the needful.

It could be recalled that CODE, has worked hard to improve transparency and accountability, through empowering communities to demand social contract from government, through proper utilisation of public funds to work for the benefit of the general public.

Investigation also shows that, the Ogoni axis of the east West road and some internal roads in Oyigbo have made businesses to collapse in the area, while calling for quick intervention.