Empowering Communities: How CLP is Transforming Governance and Development from the Ground Up
Bringing Communities into Governance and Budgeting
For too long, grassroots communities have been left out of important governance decisions. Since 2012, the Community Life Project (CLP) has been changing that by helping local leaders and citizens actively participate in governance and budgeting. By making the budgeting process clear and accessible, CLP has trained grassroots leaders to analyze budgets, identify pressing community needs, and engage the government to address them.
This initiative began as a pilot project in Ekiti State and has now expanded to 46 local governments across Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun States. Between 2012 and 2014, CLP’s participatory budgeting program in Ekiti led to the execution of 177 community-driven projects worth N600 million ($4.1 million at the time) in 170 communities.
From 2016 to 2020, CLP continued this work by training government officials—including budget officers, finance directors, and community development officers—alongside grassroots leaders, women, and youth leaders. Town Hall meetings were held where both community members and officials came together to prioritize local needs for inclusion in government budgets. As a result, in 2019 alone, 272 out of 496 community-submitted needs were successfully included in the local government budgets of Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun States.
This initiative has also promoted social inclusion, ensuring that historically excluded groups have a voice. For example, in some Muslim communities in Osun State, women were traditionally not encouraged to speak in public. However, thanks to CLP’s training and awareness programs, women are now stepping up and actively participating in governance decisions.
“Indeed, I can beat my chest for what CLP has achieved here so far.” – Mr. Pius Adenuga, Head of Community Development Department, Ife North LGA, Osun.
Planning from the Ground Up: Community-Led Development
CLP believes that effective national and state development plans should start at the grassroots level. Recognizing the decline of structured development planning in Nigeria, CLP has been working with local communities and governments in Ekiti and Osun States to create structured 3-year Community Development Plans (CDPs).
Between 2017 and 2019, while implementing social accountability projects in 46 local governments, CLP piloted a new initiative in Ikole LGA, Ekiti State. Working alongside community members, CLP helped create a detailed development plan for the local government’s 25 autonomous communities. The Ekiti State Government has since been implementing projects based on this plan, ensuring that resources are allocated to the real needs of the people rather than to wasteful or duplicate projects.
This model has now been expanded to 16 local governments in Ekiti and Osun States, where trained teams of community leaders and government officials conducted needs assessments in 278 communities. The resulting Community Development Plans were launched in December 2021 and were subsequently used to shape the 2022 local government budgets in these states.
“CLP’s model of community engagement is the antidote against misplaced priorities because it is based on the actual needs of the community, not perceived needs.” – Mr. Isaac Olusola, Secretary, Bureau of Rural and Community Development, Ekiti.
Holding Contractors Accountable for Better Schools
One of CLP’s most impactful initiatives has been empowering grassroots communities to monitor school construction projects and ensure they meet proper standards. Between 2017 and 2020, CLP supported communities in monitoring school projects worth nearly N680 million ($1.89 million at the time) in three local governments in Kaduna State (Ikara, Kaduna South, and Sanga).
Working alongside the Local Government Education Authorities (LGEA), CLP trained 24 community leaders as volunteers who then collaborated with local officials to track project implementation. In addition, 687 community leaders, including traditional and religious leaders, participated in Town Hall meetings to discuss school needs and project progress. CLP also trained 1,756 School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) members on their rights and responsibilities, advocacy strategies, and how to ensure government accountability in school funding.
These efforts have strengthened citizen oversight, ensuring that public funds allocated to education projects are used effectively and that students and teachers receive the resources they need.
“CLP has really done well. They have impacted our communities in very significant ways. I have been empowered to hold our leaders accountable and educate our people to do the same.” – Hajia Bilhatu Idris, Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Kaduna.
“We have learned about our role in the School-Based Management Committee. We now know how to conduct Town Hall meetings, take care of pupils and teachers, and bring back children who dropped out of school.” – Garba Mamman, Chairman, SBMC, Ikara Central Primary School, Kaduna.
Building a Future Where Every Voice Counts
Through participatory budgeting, bottom-up development planning, and community monitoring, CLP has empowered thousands of grassroots leaders to take charge of their communities’ futures. From securing funding for essential projects to ensuring accountability in government spending, CLP’s initiatives are driving real change across Nigeria.
By giving people the tools and knowledge to engage with governance, CLP is not just transforming individual communities—it is reshaping the way development is done, ensuring that local voices lead the way in building a better Nigeria.