A one day dialogue on ACT Naija Project has ended in Lokoja with a call for effective coordination framework that will ensure that roles and responsibilities are properly defined in managing social work and social interventions in the state.
Organized by ACT Naija Project in partnership with the Kogi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the programme is put together by Bread for the family, Germany, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) and the New Initiative for Social Development (NISD).
Speaking at the summit, the Kogi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Fatimah Momoh stressed that the ministry is synergizing with ANEEJ and ACT Naija Project to ensure that there is an effective coordination of social protection issues in the state.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Director, Planning Research and Statistics in the Ministry, however regretted that issues affecting the elderly and destitutes are not mentioned and urged the ministry of Health to as a matter of urgency attend to burning issues that are brought to the hospital per day.
In a welcome address, the Executive Director, ANEEJ, David Ugolor, called on participants to contribute to improving social protection intervention in Kogi state saying the objective of the seminar include strengthening government civil society collaboration towards more inclusive and transparent social protection delivery.
In a speech, the Deputy Speaker, Kogi state House of Assembly, Comfort Egwemi noted that a robust social protection system delivers profound benefits for any nation as it serves as an essential tool for poverty reduction and lifting vulnerable households out of destitution.
In a keynote address, the commissioner, Kogi state Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Hajia Rabietu Okute who was represented by the Director Special NEEDS, Ojochide Ibrahim, who spoke on the theme, Strengthening Social Protection Intervention, lamented that many Nigerians, particularly the most vulnerable, remain excluded from social protection programmes leaving them without safety.
At the end of the one day dialogue which attracted stakeholders from various sectors and the military, a steering and communique drafting committee was inaugurated to handle discussions at the event
Joseph Adama
Information Officer
Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development
