In view of the need to harness and deploy resources to drive development at the grassroots level, OXFAM has tasked communities in the State to mobilize and decide what development project would be included in the budget.
With local government fiscal autonomy now in force, civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities in Adamawa State have been urged to participate in budgeting processes for rapid community development planning.
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has declared June 1, 2019, as the effective date for the implementation of local governments' financial independence in Nigeria.
In view of the need to harness and deploy resources to drive development at the grassroots level, OXFAM has tasked communities in the State to mobilize and decide what development project would be included in the budget.
Community Development Planning (CDP) template, designed and identified as portent instrument, through which citizens can participate in budget formulation, implementation, and monitoring.
Olumide Ojo, OXFAM's PROACT Project Manager, led a team of advocacy experts on a two-day campaign to create awareness among communities and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) on participatory governance.
He said: "We're here in Yola the State capital to mobilize critical stakeholders to participate in all the processes of budgeting. We want to mobilize people at the grassroots to demand for a right to make inputs in the budget formulation."
Faleye Usman, also of PROACT, noted that "the era in which budgets are formulated without adequate citizens' engagement and participation is over as a tool for citizens budget engagements have been design to foster citizens participation".
He further stressed that besides promoting citizens participation in governance, community budget engagement will promote equity and transparency.
On PROACT's objective, Saratu Abiola, said the project is being implemented in northern Nigeria, primarily to improve food security and resilience of vulnerable rural people. She said the immediate target is to lift 35,000 households out of poverty in Adamawa and Kebbi States.
Abiola said the two states were selected based on poverty index, occasioned by insurgency and climate change conditions.