By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
A civil society organization, the Centre for Family Rescue, Law and Development (CENFARLD), has urged the Kogi State Government to initiate legislation providing a legal framework for the state Library Board.
The call came at the end of a one-day stakeholders’ engagement on “Reviving the Kogi State Library and Strengthening the Culture of Reading in Kogi State”, held at the Stella Obasanjo Library in Lokoja.
In a communique signed by Ajuma Lilian Okolo, CENFARLD Founder, and Hamza Aliyu, Chairman of Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET), stakeholders recommended that a bill be developed and forwarded to the Kogi State House of Assembly to enable the Library Board to fulfill its mandate.
The communique also highlighted the need for increased budgetary allocations, noting that the board’s current funding is grossly inadequate. It urged the library management to reconnect the Stella Obasanjo Library complex to the National Grid after more than 15 years without power and to implement a resource mobilization plan to improve human and material capacity.
Stakeholders called for collaboration between the library and tertiary institutions to strengthen manpower and effective operations. They commended Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for his support of open governance and emphasized that functional library services are crucial for human capital development, innovation, and informed citizenship.
The event brought together representatives from the Kogi State Office of the National Library, library staff and management, students from the Department of Library Science at Kogi Polytechnic, civil society groups, and media personnel.