Stakeholders Hail ICDC’ s Exemplary Commitment To Transparency,Accountability In Government 

Stakeholders have commended  the exemplary commitment of a non Governmental organisation,(NGO) ,the Inspiration Care and Development Center (ICDC)  to transparency and accountability  in government.

The  commendation came during the Town Hall Meeting organised by a youth-led NGO , with support from LEAP Africa and the Nigeria Youth Future Fund (NYFF).

The  Transformative Town Hall meeting  held at Fabian Hotel, Ado-Ekiti is  theme  “The Nigeria We Want: Prospects for Youth Development and Participation”

In his keynote address, a lecturer at the Ekiti State University, Dr Mike Omilusi explained that the government at all levels must be deliberate its efforts at ensuring youth participation in governance.

Omilusi, who lamented that youths in Nigeria are not given the right place to participate in government activities, said that no country can witness development without the input of its youthful population.

Specifically  Omilusi urged government to re-direct the energies of the youth to profitable ventures, noting that Nigerian youths who escaped abroad were doing well and contributing to the economy of their host countries.

He encouraged individuals and other organisations to emulate the laudable efforts of ICDC in putting the government on its toes as well as working towards delivering the needed good governance to the people.

The  Executive Director of ICDC, Lawrence Olowolayemo  said the event is a platform for engaging discussions on how young Nigerians can take the lead in shaping the nation’s future through active participation in governance and community development.

According to him ,government the primary responsibility of government is to ensure that the security and welfare of the people are given almost priority.

While revealing that the reports collated suggested that about 60percent of projects monitored were delivered, he expressed displeasure over the handling of some projects by officials of government and contractors.

“ These youths have been to the field to observe government projects and from our reports, we found out about 60 percent of projects monitored were completed but our major concern was the remaining 40 percent which in some cases, money were given to the contractors and they abandoned those projects, but with the efforts of this project, we were able to bring them back on site.

“ We had an issue with the allocation and release of N1.8 million for construction of public toilets across the 16 LGAs but when we observed around nothing of such was done and we raised that issue with the concerned authorities.

“ Our team observed that there is no way that that amount can successfully procure a public toilet, it is just a way to divert money. When you put those figures together, it is about N38 million, which is huge.

“ So, this project has done a lot for our system and at times it is not about the government but some people failing to take up responsibility. We have seen a laudable programme done by the government but we still have some bad eggs in the system that should be flushed out and handed over to the anti-corruption agencies for prosecution and that is what our organization is doing.

“ This report is meant to help us improve the process of governance and ensure more transparency and accountability in the system.”

Speaking, the commissioner for youth development, Gold Adedayo who was represented by the Special assistant to the governor on youth development, Maxwell Olu-Ajayi commended ICDC and its partners for their reports at ensuring people felt the impact of government in the state.

He stated that the administration of governor Biodun Oyebanji in the last two years in office had remained committed to prioritizing transparency and openness in its activities towards building public trust.