.’Groundwork for enduring development laid’
The Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has while thanking the people of the State for making the right choice electing him, declared that the journey to disruptive development has started in the state with solid plans laid in the first 100 days.
Gov Mbah made this declaration on Wednesday in a broadcast to the state marking his first 100 days in office.
He x-rayed the plans and activities of his government so far and declared that with the support of every one, success will be achieved.
He expressed that his administration has made landmark achievements towards transforming the state better in his 100 days in office
Enumerating the achievements, Mbah said the issue of insecurity in the state has been dealt with, while the unlawful Monday Sit-at-Home order has also been addressed.
He said no economic development of any sort is possible in an environment of insecurity.
“We have launched and procured a number of vehicles to enhance the effectiveness and mobility of the Distress Response Squad in the State, and has commenced the roll out of a statewide CCTV camera network which will provide 247 surveillance across the State.
“In the same vein, we are in the advanced stages of establishing a Security Trust Fund to make our heightened security posture more sustainable in the long term,” he said.
On the energy supply and management, the governor said his administration had signed the State Power act into law, which domesticates the Electricity Act 2023 and now gives the State regulatory power to establish an Enugu State Electricity Market.
This, he said, would attract investors to expand power generation and distribution across the State.
“Within 100 days in office, investors have been attracted from all over the world, also, we are having the best from the private sector and development partners with the likes of AfDB, AFREXIM, FCDO, and the World Bank, amongst others.
“It also marks the beginning of the process of working with the investment world to curate our project pipeline with the aim of preparing them for investment in the not distant future.
“On attracting external capital, we have repositioned the state in its relationship with key development partners like the World Bank, AFD (the French Development Agency) and opened the door to new funding for the state’s projects,” he said.
Mbah said the state shared the funding for the International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD), Value Chain Development Programme, Development of Agricultural Value Chains, totalling N274 million, which would facilitate a receipt of N1.2 billion from IFAD.
He said the payment would enhance smallholder productivity, increase the volume and quality of marketable produce by strengthening farmers’ organisations as well as supporting smallholder production.
“We have also met all our obligations regarding joining the World Bank Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support project (L-PRES), a six-year project aimed at improving livestock productivity, resilience and commercialization of selected value chains.
“We have met all the obligations for joining the Nigeria for Women project, including committing over N400 million as our counterpart funding for the project, which is a strategic long-term partnership between the Federal Government and World Bank to support the government’s goal of ensuring gender equality.
“This arrangement will result in the inflow of up to US$ 10 million to Enugu State over the planned period for the execution of projects to boost the economic capacity of our women in Enugu State and consequently our households.
“In line with these initial steps, we plan to continue to leverage the support of these and other development partners and multilateral agencies to bring development to Ndi Enugu,” Mbah said.
In the area of pension and gratuity payments, Mbah said his administration was able to reconfirm payment of all outstanding arrears.
“Further to our commitment to increasing revenue generation and blocking all income leakages to make government more efficient, we have undertaken a detailed review of operational processes in key MDAs.
“We have commenced a full automation of all the key functions of the State government and have addressed the issue of fiscal energy and environmental cleanliness as well as water supply in all the household in the state,” he added.
The governor said his administration planned a new Enugu City, to allow for decongestion and rapid growth, while providing real estate investment opportunities for Ndi Enugu as well as investors from the diaspora.
“Nothing in the world seems to matter to me than making Ndi Enugu a happier people,” the governor reiterated.
