By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A non-profit organization operating in the Niger Delta under the aegis of Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND, has won the distinguished MKO Abiola Community Engagement Award at the 2021 Community and Human Rights, CAHR, Awards for community services in the Niger Delta region.
The organization which promotes peace and equitable economic growth in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region through multi-stakeholder partnerships, said that the award became neccesary in order to encourage others to emulate benefiaries of the award.
The award, which was a sequel to PIND’s nomination in September 2021 and a swell of supporters, tagged PIND to have the most amenable relationship with Niger Delta communities, leading to the delivery of a transparent process for inclusive engagement and grievance management in its work.
PIND’s Executive Director, Tunde Idowu, said, “Our stakeholders and partners are central to what we do. This award reinforces our belief that when community stakeholders are engaged in the development process, the probability of success is higher, and the results are likely to be more lasting.”
The CAHR Awards are dedicated to celebrating outstanding individuals and organizations that have performed excellently in creditably engaging their communities.
The award categories are linked with historically prominent personalities, such as the MKO Abiola Community Engagement Award, named after the late Moshood Kashimwo Olawale Abiola, 1937-1998, a Nigerian businessman, politician, and philanthropist.
PIND’s Knowledge and Communications Manager, Chichi Nnoham-Onyejekwe, received the MKO Community Engagement Award on behalf of PIND at the award event in Lagos, Nigeria on April 3, 2022
The CAHR Awards, an initiative of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR-in-Action, in partnership with Global Rights Nigeria and Zenera Consulting, seek to provide a platform that would encourage businesses to take extraneous steps to correct the anomalies of engagement within communities, primarily extractive communities, by acknowledging and appreciating best-performing companies and individuals.
