Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has announced his administration’s preparedness to work with the World Bank to amplify agricultural potential and ensure food security within the State.
Eno revealed that he has given the green light to allocate N450 million as counterpart funds for the ‘Nigeria for Women Project,’ a project with backing from the World Bank.
According to an announcement from the Government House Press unit in Uyo, made over the weekend, the Governor had a conversation with a World Bank delegation, which was headed by Mr. Shudham Chaudhury, the Country Director for Nigeria, at the Government House in Uyo.
His words: ‘Most of the programmes like you rightly observed compliment our A.R.I.S.E Agenda. We are willing to work with you to ensure that we continue to scale up where necessary.’
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‘For now, agriculture is the key thing the A.R.I.S.E agenda addresses. We can work with the World Bank to scale up agricultural potentials and guarantee food security in the State.’
‘This visit has really thrown a lot of light on World Bank projects in Akwa Ibom and I must say that in my five months in office, this is the first time I’m getting such briefing on World Bank projects that we are doing.’
‘Listening to you in this meeting affords us, particularly myself, the privilege of having an understanding of how these things operate. We can assure you that we will close the gaps and by the time you do your next assessment, you will see us moving very fast.’
‘On the 450 million naira that was supposed to be contributed, I know I have given the approval and I can tell you that in the next one week, we will disburse it.’
‘I can assure you that we will work very hard, and I will appoint a Senior Special Assistant who will work as the State focal person to help coordinate these activities and report directly to me on all of these projects so that we can see the gap and understand how to quickly close them’.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Shudham Chaudhury, the Country Director of the World Bank, elucidated that the purpose of their visit was to impart knowledge to Governor Eno’s administration and provide an overview of the Bank’s contributions to Nigeria’s national and subnational development.