Inclusive Governance - A Recipe for Sustainable Change

Using the interactive and participatory methodologies adopted under the second phase of the Electorate Awake and Participate Project (EAPP), the Project team conducted a community needs Assessment across the 319 wards located in the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State.

The community needs assessment was conducted to achieve the following key objectives

1. To use the baseline assessments conducted by ward EAPP volunteers to identify specific social challenges facing communities across the 23 Local Government Areas in Rivers State.
2. To develop an open-working document, the EAPP advocacy teams and CSOs can use for interactive discussions with policy makers and stakeholders across the 23 LGAs of Rivers State.
3. The awareness and sensitization of the general public on available opportunities for inclusive governance options and mechanisms (i.e. Public and Private Partnerships).
4. Creation of a working document that will serve as a governance Key performance Indicator (KPI) tool. This document will be used in budget analysis as identified by the 2019 budget of Rivers State, monitoring and reporting across the target local government areas.
5. The resulting analysis of the community needs assessment will be used to deliver press statements, newspaper releases and infographic details to ensure statewide coverage and sensitization.

Following the administration of developed questionnaires across the 319 wards as illustrated in Table 8 of this narrative report, the Media Awareness and Justice Initiative was able to identify key findings which are outlined below; 

1. Looking at the relevant priority issues identified by communities in Rivers State, 15% of the respondents identified education as a priority, 14% chose employment, 13% identified security and 11% identified the need for increased health care. The remaining respondents were mainly concerned around other social development issues; Electricity (9.6%), agriculture (7.4%), poverty alleviation (6.7%), conflict prevention and peace building (5%), portable water supply (3.6%), science and technology (3.3%), Young women and girls (3%), arts and culture (1%).
2. The needs assessment document also identified that the government should make available budgetary allocations to community development, while also providing support for empowerment of youths using various alternative livelihood structures. This is seen by the 14% response to provision of employment opportunities across the wards.
3. The analysis from the assessment also showed that interactive platforms created for youths by the government during policy formations and decision-making will provide the needed opportunities for inclusive governance across the state. Hence the need for multiple stakeholder engagements for increased interaction with youths across the state.

You can download the full (.pdf) Report from the Link provided.