NAN-H-67
Monitoring
By Kate Obande
Abuja, Nov.10, 2016 (NAN) An NGO, Connected Development (CODE), has expressed its readiness to monitor the 100 million dollar World Bank’s grant for improvement of girl-child education in the northern Nigeria.
Mr Hamzat Lawal, the CODE’s Chief Executive Officer, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.
Lawal said that the grant was meant to promote girl-child education in Kano, Katisna, Sokoto, Kaduna and Jigawa states.
He said that the fund would be effectively monitored by the organisation through its monitoring team called “Follow the Money’’.
According to him, the team is set up to ensure that such money achieves the dream of an improved girl-child education.
“ This is an opportunity for us to ensure that the implementing agencies in states utilise these monies judiciously.
“We want to make sure the government is accountable and transparent in implementing the grant to avoid corruption or a situation where the money is misappropriated and illiteracy level keeps on increasing.’’
To actualise this goal, Lawal said the organisation had already written a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Jigawa Government.
He explained that in the request they were asked to outline their work plan on how they hoped to use the money and provide better service delivery in the education sector.
He told NAN that the organisation had not received any feedback from the government after a month.
“But we will not relent; we will keep pushing till the right thing is done.
“For us what we were asking was the costs work plan of what the government hope to use this money for and the time frame.
“Knowing that girl child education is very low and this fund is meant to promote girl-child intervention in the state and to access health education services,’’ Lawal said.
He said, though CODE had also written such request to Niger but the state had already sent its budget to the origination.
Lawal, however, explained that the budget was further streamlined and N6.7 billion was earmarked for basic education in Niger.
Lawal, therefore, appealed to the Niger government to use the money to rehabilitate Zugurma Community School where pupils were currently receiving lessons under the tree due to dilapidated structures. (NAN)
KTE/AOM/MO
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Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Morayo Omolade