Community Engagement

Built with — never on — the communities of Kogi State. Customary tenure honoured. Traditional rulers respected. Community Development Fund committed. Local employment guaranteed.

Our Six Commitments to Kogi Communities

  1. 70% local employment quota — In every cohort of Afrisovera Builders, at least 7 out of every 10 trainees come from Idah, Bassa, southern Lokoja, and immediately adjoining LGAs.
  2. Community Development Fund — Up-front and ongoing payments to fund local schools, water, healthcare, and infrastructure independent of Afrisovera operations.
  3. Customary tenure honoured — All land acquisitions follow proper customary protocols: family head and community consent before any deposit, perimeter walks with adjacent landowners, joint signing by all stakeholders.
  4. Cultural preservation — Language, history, traditions, and identity of host communities preserved and celebrated in the city's identity, architecture, and naming.
  5. Long-term commitment — 25-year project horizon. We do not extract and leave; we build, live, and grow with you.
  6. Transparency to the community — Every transaction, every Community Development Fund payment, every employment decision tracked publicly. The community can audit us at any time.

Respect for Traditional Rulers

We engage the traditional authorities whose stewardship covers our candidate sites with the deepest respect:

His Royal Majesty, the Attah of Igala

Custodian of the Igala kingdom whose lands include the Idah LGA — historic seat of one of Nigeria's oldest kingdoms and a foundational candidate area for Afrisovera Phase 1.

His Royal Majesty, the Eze Igu of Bassa

Custodian of the Bassa kingdom whose lands include the Bassa LGA — central Kogi, agricultural belt, and a strong candidate for the agriculture-anchored phases of our build.

His Royal Majesty, the Olu of Lokoja

Custodian of Lokoja — Nigeria's first capital (1900) and the literal confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers. Heritage carries weight; Lokoja's history is foundational to our story.

Engagement protocol with all traditional rulers proceeds through the proper channels — Local Government Areas, Town Unions, and Royal Palace administrators. Petitions are formal and handwritten. Audiences are granted at the throne's convenience. Gifts and respect are given according to tradition.

The Community Development Fund

For every parcel acquired, we commit to a Community Development Fund (CDF) paid up-front to the community's elected stewardship body. Indicative scale for Phase 1 (50-1,500 hectare parcels):

Parcel size Up-front CDF Annual ongoing CDF
50 hectares (~125 acres) ₦10-15 million ₦2-3 million
200 hectares (~500 acres) ₦30-50 million ₦5-10 million
500 hectares (~1,235 acres) ₦75-125 million ₦15-25 million
1,500 hectares (~3,700 acres) ₦200-300 million ₦40-60 million

CDF allocations are decided by the community itself, not by Afrisovera. Typical uses:

All CDF payments are tracked on our transparency dashboard at our public transparency dashboard.

Local Government Area Partnerships

Active outreach and partnership engagement with:

Idah LGA

Heart of Igala kingdom. Riverine site potential. Ancient historical significance. Strong cultural identity to honour and integrate.

Bassa LGA

Central Kogi. Agricultural belt. Strong potential for the agriculture-anchored phases. Community open to development partnership.

Southern Lokoja LGA

State-capital adjacency. Confluence proximity. Federal access. Mixed cultural community.

Partnership with each LGA includes:

Community Memorandum of Understanding (CMOU)

Every land acquisition is anchored by a formal Community Memorandum of Understanding signed by:

The CMOU sets out:

Returnee + IDP Support

From Phase 2, Afrisovera will formally partner with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs to offer Internally Displaced Persons preferential pathways into the Afrisovera Builders programme — particularly those displaced by conflict from northern Kogi, Niger State, Kaduna, and northeast Nigeria.

We will also partner with NIDCOM (Nigerians in Diaspora Commission) to support diaspora returnees seeking to bring their skills home — with relocation support, family-bringing-back grants, and senior leadership track placement for qualified returnees.

How to Engage Us

If you are:

Email community@afrisovera.com.ng or visit our Contact page.