The Community and Social Development Project (CSDP), a World Bank assisted project with focus on community project implementation has said it is strategically positioned to assist President Muhammadu Buhari in achieving his promise to reduce poverty in Nigeria.
The Project which has presence in 593 local government areas across the country, where the poorest of the poor reside, believes that if government at all levels show more commitment, it is possible to eradicate poverty in Nigeria.
National Coordinator of CSDP, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje who was speaking during the organisation’s management retreat held at Iloko, Osun State, said the retreat was to create an opportunity for top management of CSDP to brainstorm on how best to reduce extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in Nigeria.
Obaje said CSDP is currently operating in 593 local government areas across the country where the poorest of the poor in Nigeria reside. “When we focus on these poor people, government would have removed a chunk of Nigerians out of poverty,” he said, insisting that removing a chunk of Nigerians from the poverty level is possible, should government and other stakeholders continuously support the project.
He added that CSDP has a good targeting mechanism of reaching the poorest of the poor and implementing projects at minimal cost.
Also speaking, Lead Consultant of Supreme Management Training and Consultancy Services Ltd, Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi said what the CSDP has succeeded in achieving with the retreat can be safely regarded as the foundation to actualise the President’s goal to move more Nigerians out of poverty.
He called on governments at all levels to take advantage of CSDP’s spread and experience in Community Driven Development (CDD) to reduce poverty in the country. “More so that the CSDP represents the only institutionalised CDD project in Nigeria,” Fasuyi added.
Lead Social Protection Specialist of the World Bank, Prof Foluso Okunmandewa announced that the World Bank was satisfied with the CSDP.
According to him, “As at April 2019, the World Bank project rating puts the CSDP at 75 percent in terms of project implementation and disbursement, thus making it one of the most successful World Bank assisted projects in Nigeria.”
He said over five million Nigerians are benefiting from CSDP support with the North East region accounting for over one million.
A statement signed by the Information and Communication Officer, CSDP, Suleiman Odapu, said that participants at the retreat were drawn from the 30 participating states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.