Community chiefs and residents in Edo State local government areas have lauded the World Bank-assisted Community and Social Development Programme (CSDP) in the area.Specifically, the traditional rulers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), expressed their happiness with the impact of micro projects in their communities.Speaking on the sidelines of a monitoring visit of the Federal Steering Committee of the CSDP in Edo State, the traditional rulers expressed satisfaction at completed projects.They stressed the need for outstanding projects to be duly completed. In Utesse Community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state, the community embarked on the construction of a town hall, purchase of a transformer and the equipment for a health centre. The Esiron, Chief Lucky Osadolor, and Oliha of Utese, Chief Michael Oviahon both expressed satisfaction with the N5 million town hall completed in the area and appealed for more funding to execute the other projects.``The project CSDP has done for us, we appreciate it we are begging for more. ``We need transformer and our health centre to maintain it and buy some equipment for it, that is what we need; we plead for help on these two projects.''Also in Egbeta community, where the people are building a town hall and school, the Oliha of Egbeta, Chief Oliha Ebigboga, told NAN why his community chose the projects.``The community is growing. What we had before now was a very small hall. ``When we had community meetings, we always found it very difficult to accommodate us so we developed the idea that now that the community is growing, we should have a modern town hall, hence we embarked on this. ``The different churches come here monthly to say prayers for the progress of the community.'That is, the different denominations - Catholic, CMS, Apostolic and many other denominations, this is one. ``Then the secondary school which we are proposing but we have in the back of our mind to make it technical but they say technical is very costly but that is our dream.'' In Uhmumwude Local Government Area where a N7.5m rural electrification project was completed, the Enogie of Uselu'nahor, Osaro Omoregie, said economic activities would improve in the area. In Orior-Osemwende community where a N6.1 million rural electrification project is ongoing, the traditional ruler of the community, Vincent Nosa Ohenzuwa of Orior-Osemwende, urged other communities yet to be part of the CSDP programme, to take advantage of it. Ohenzuwa said that their participation in the programme would give them access to electricity and growth of cottage industries.He said, ``It feels exciting now and there are lots of developments coming up. People in Benin are now coming to the rural areas. I will advise other communities to tow the same line I'm towing.''The traditional rulers promised to adopt effective security and maintenance measures to ensure sustainability of the projects.Similarly, the Okhokhugbo Community in Egor Local Government Area of the state has lauded the Federal Government for building a secondary school in the community as part of the Community and Social Development Progarmme. A cross-section of the villagers, who spoke with NAN, said since the school was completed in 2010, the enrollment of students from the community had increased.They said that the illiteracy rate had also reduced massively due to the presence of the school. Mr Kingsley Johnson, a community leader in the area, disclosed that over 150 students had enrolled in the school while the pioneer students would be moving over to the senior secondary classes at the beginning of the new session in September. He said eight youth corps members had been posted to the community to boost the number of teachers required in the school while the community was supporting the project through the provision of books and school uniforms for the students. ``It is a very good thing; both the community and the CSDP held a meeting and saw that we needed it (school) very well; that is why you see us participating well in the project all this while.``They have carried us along and there is no time that we have been left behind so we are putting in all efforts to see that the school is in progress.'' ``Right from JSS 1-3 have already filled up, the classes have been filled. I believe we are moving to SSS I so more people are coming. Other children from other nearby communities are coming to enroll here so the problem we have here now is the laboratory which we don't have now.Similarly, Mr Odion Uhunmwangho, another member of the community, said the school would facilitate a massive reduction in the rate of hooliganism in the community.
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