The Ondo Community Connect (OCC), a grassroots development initiative supported by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has expanded its intervention programme to cover all 203 wards across Ondo State.
The initiative, which provides communities with a platform to identify and prioritise their development needs, has so far recorded 800 community registrations, assessed 110 communities and delivered interventions in 74 communities.
Coordinator of OCC, Iretidola Ojekhoa, disclosed this in an interview on the activities and expansion plans of the initiative.
According to her, the programme is designed to move away from a top-down approach to community development by allowing residents to determine the projects that will have the greatest impact on their lives.
“Our core mandate is to touch all 203 wards of the 18 LGAs in Ondo State, and that is the standard we are now holding ourselves to, So no part of the state is left behind,” Ojekhoa said.
She explained that once a community registers, OCC conducts a physical assessment during, which residents identify their most pressing challenges.
Where several needs are presented, she said the initiative applies a priority matrix based on factors including impact, urgency, cost-effectiveness and the speed at which an intervention can improve residents’ quality of life.
She cited Ayede in Ilara-Mokin, Ifedore Local Government Area, where residents identified the excavation of a blocked waterway as their most urgent need because flooding during heavy rainfall had affected homes in the area.
According to her, an elderly resident made an emotional appeal during the community assessment, saying, “E wa wo ile mi, omi lo kun be,” meaning, “Come and see my house, it is full of water.”
In Ireakari community, also in Ilara-Mokin, residents identified road grading, drainage, a borehole and solar streetlights as major needs but prioritised solar lighting.
Ojekhoa said poles and foundation materials had been supplied, with installation ongoing.
Other communities, including Aaye, Ibuji, Kajola, Apatakpiti, Oke-Ogba and Ijigba, have also benefited from solar streetlight projects, while residents of Authentic Iyenge in Akure South selected road rehabilitation as their priority.
OCC provided Positive FM in Akure with a 22kVA solar inverter system and 32 solar panels, while the National Identity Management Commission office in Akure also received support under the programme.
She explained that beneficiaries trained in shoemaking and leatherwork were subsequently awarded production contracts to manufacture school bags, sandals and high-visibility jackets for field personnel.
She said the Ondo initiative was partly inspired by Kogi Connect but noted that OCC has a different sponsorship structure, being supported by Tunji-Ojo.
