THE NATION, 06 JULY, 2012

AWARD

,

Anglican Die <:ese I.honours Uduaghall, )ill

PROJECT

FACILITY

Okorocha to boost agric

Indigent students get Rotary scholarship

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Page 17

Ajimobiinspires growth in Oyo council

I

NFRASTRUCTURAL

up-

From

grade has IihOO the spirits of

residents of Said West Local Government of Dyo State.

Roads are being repaired. New facilities are buill, while rundown schools are wearing a new look. 11l(' pevplt: have the chairman of Inc council. Mr Dapo Popoola, to thank for !hal, but the council chief himself attributes it all to inspiTiltion from the chief executive of the state, Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

Bisl OIadete, Ib.adan

Popoola gave kudos to Ajimobi, thanking him for his support, without which the accomplishments at the council would have been impossible.

Speaking at the arulUal Administrative Department Week, Popoola said his administration has completed the asphalting of three marar roads, namely Okere Palace to 8asapa Road, Baptist Hospital Road and OladOSlln·

Okere Grammar School Road .

The projects also include completed SIX modem roundabouts, Installation of traffic lights. the first of its kind in the area, oons truction of 12 blocks of three classrooms with offices and stores in 12 public primary schools.

He added that poverty alleviation programme is not lefl oul from the efforts of his administration aimed at making life comfortable for residents. lie urged his conslihlcnlS 10 be

HE doys )J neglect a~e o'er (01 filrmers In Anaml-ra ,I'lte, ushering 111 hope (or I JOd s,ffic,ency.

Agllcultu.al lOo h('mes, for whKt the sm e II at· once known, an being re ivt d . Farmers are meeting rt'glllarl'i with the slate governor Pe'er .)~I. Alone of IhoSIII: meetH'SI wilh the All Farmers Ass-Qf'l" " of Nigena (AFAN). wi icH i ttcluded ri ce g row !.'"" and n'embers of the FADAMA ( ro\ P in the state, Obi armuun·:oo tJle release of NIb 'gnc l.al1 , . help them improve their mpH:; clOd yield.

The !iL.ll' is ;tl.... i 'l rartnersh,p with \'aoou, 01 g.lmsatiClns 10 boost foold prod\ 0101'1. Such col·

T

labomlions

Ylt I

the NatIOnal

Progranlme for F>ad Security have. fer in-tilta added five tractor.; <U1d d ni )C'"'m fish farm to the 51.. 1('·... rI "ector. The governor in, ug If1!.led them at an ('Hm! la ... g~j Gro wth En-

at

hancement S.Jp 01 t.

lheI-e:'lre oth

i'liru! from the

~':~~~~~~ il~~~~r:i~

Plld

has bt~ SUI to a h{lSPl131 In Omasl C I1lmunily. A boret·ole til; So' h('en sunk there ror.:~ -s . tnlJlorcycllls were equall: p ... ured for the comrr:unity·, Y lUIS m addillon 10 an ICT CI nl ' ·el up in the oommumt) Obi hilS .l W 'IS maintained that hIS adm· :r.ltion will ensure tha t the s e does not lack food . T (I act1la~ e tlus, farmers are enoouragl.>d ,..lIh VAriOUS faalil.Ies, incIudm psh and other inpuls But "Ille the state pnoritises d,e H'IC sector, the Obi administrallil says it must not lose sidt' 01 'Jlher sectors as well, wltid1 i~ \'.'1y it IS buildmg roads in runl i"1!J.S as well as enharIcing liIe {,lIerally in the

3

<;tale.

A represenrab' e uf U\e Minister of Agricultut' I nd Ruml IJe.velOpml"JlI Qr Akinwumi AdcSJ!l.iI WU orr III nd as Obi mauguraled the f.cilities. Tne rruruster think(! I the governor for hi'> interp;t I nel support for the dl'\'elopllIell' I.f agncuiture in Nigeria.

He explamo>d I -u-r the Growth Enhancement iupporl pro-

pond

Anambra steps up agric scheme - Inaugurates Nl.5b equipment -Farmers get NIb loan From Od09wU Emek.

Nnewl

Odogwu,

Go.. emor ObI Solid agriculture remained the key 10 development and ca lled on the people of Anambra State 10 take il seriously. Heassured them of his administration's sup-

pM He said II was In Il'COgmtion of the im~tives of enhancing farm ing thai his administration s trategically built over 60 per cent of the slate's roads in the rural areas 10

opt'n up agriculturalwrnmunities 10 markets and olher dl5tribuhon locations. He added that hisadmin· istration is also committed 10 all counterpart obligations in all its partnership programmes.

The Permanenl $i,ocretary, Anambra Slale Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Andy Umeobisaid fhat Ule G rowth Enhancemenl Support would ensure that his ministry would ensure fertilizers gol to the

farmers for whom Iney are meant.

Speaking at the govemor's meeting With fann~, the President ofAFAN in the state, Chief Mekoh Nnamdi said with the support fanners are gelting. Ihe stale would witnes; phenomenal growth in agriculture Ihis year Govemor Obi who s<ud he was

45

THE NATION FRlDAY,JULY 6,2012

ira

NEW

· A TrKtor .Conlinued from

P~g~

17

P"'~~ 10

suppart farmers In 1111 ri!lml(lI~ilUOn5. though he warned that only genume farmers and young people delermlned to go miD produd1Ufl will gel 1011115, lind not those he referred to il5 g~ or pollllcal farmers"

"emer-

1be chamnan 01 RIce Farmers Assoc,allon Of~i eri. In Ihe slate, 0Ud Paul M commended the meeting. saying Obi governor for has shown profound interest in the welfiUl! 01 farmers and in the growth

S

LOWLY but surely, the SubSidy Reo-mvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE.P) IS making proJ;ress Against spe<:ulallons that II Will ,,",er amount to much by a broad spectrum 01 Nigeniu15 in a ma»

Anambra steps up agric scheme of agriculture in the stale.

The leader of FADAMA, Mr. Chu~'WUdi Mojekwu said Cbi's support fm- the alI-ymr fanning~, hiss made it one Of the best in the roun~. The Wood Banl..and theNational Fadama Coordll1.lltion Office also have very warm impressKlns of the progr.unme in the state..

In Awka, thestate Cilpital. the World

Bank Team Leader-, Dr. Abimbola Adubi saki the global bank is mterested In wurIan& WIth the Cb adminIStration SUlCIe It IS evJdenI thai the p enYlr is focused on IiIdling poverty.

Adubi also announced thai Allolmbr;, ha5 been dnien as one of two stall'S ITi the country marked for pilotmg a new programme of the Bank wni1e ICT celtn.'li wiU be l>Ited

aN.

In that ~ard, A high profile del-

known fOZ" openness and trllUip<&r-

.-ncr

PfOject, MIS

lIeJ on the del· ADAMA partioIIts U\ the stab. d .ledkatoo per.

J(et uhvc in thefl

In.. f.tiIte rat.on

sr-m. the

OIiUrmM, I'nn,-e } u Igboamazu. pronusecl to rwl a oren and all-in-

elUSIve admmb.:n OI\- pk-dging to l'... rartof theSl.k::e ISsI.JI')'of lhestal( r.,(lam., III Prq<--ct

Subsidy re-invesbnent to revive rail transport

By Mike J lmoh

his exco members 10 Inspect ongomg,Prq«iS and also advise the committee on areas il will lend lIS

r:h~I~!.r;da~~!i~!. ~~f~:;!:~::~3: sumr~.

on re-invl"5tmenl of funds from fuel TeIllOVllI is proving cynics wrong Though he IS seldom st.'en, there 15 no quesllon that Dr. Kolade has brought hlS weahh of experience 10 bear on the managemt!nt of SUREP, in lure with Pre5ldenl Goodluck Jonalhan 's AdministratIOn that funds generated from Ihe subSidy be properly reinvested 10 Impact poslhvely on the lives of Nigen-

there to help the farmers.

AI the event, Obi distributed cheques totalling abolll N 60m 10 FADAMA commwuly IlSiSOdatJOn!>.

Mo;ekwu, !he stale coordmalor of the scheme, urged beneflClanes ,10 work hard and ensure fmancial dbcipline. noting that Ihe project i5

do(»nml Of· k osana Ohaen ( egates from the . 0 pdtm!; load goY _ n 10 elect creawle a soru. to the staP interest and that 0 In his pc6t InaL8'

way Lorporahon embarked on an fnspecbon tow- of Lagos! Kana line recentJy. 1b: purpose of the inspection is 10 ensure that the rail is open all Ihrough from 115 austfill terminal In lagos to lis northern extreme in Kano.

Under the astute 8;uJdance of exdiplolTUlt, ex-managing director of mlllti-national companies and a Nigerian with credible credentials, Dr. Kolade deployed a nllmbe!- of

two board members of SURE-P: Alhali Kid Mohammed and Ml-. Ouu ~wu, the mallman of Sf.ed:al Pro,ect lmplementatior1 Unit of the Fedenl Ministry of Transport. Mr Eric Onyewu, iUl enaineer, the delegahon started their Inspecllon tour from Ebute Mella lermmal through Ibadan, 1I0rin, Minna and Kadwv. Also on the tour were the Director of Ovil Engineerinli DepArtml!l11 01 the NRC, Alha)i Lazeez Ahmadu, Project Coordinator of Rail and

~~T::"~I

Mass Transit ar SURE-P !iKIl"Iariat, Mr. Mua:zu Maga)i, and scores of engmeers from SURE-P, NOT and NRC. "We wanltogel the Nigeria Railway Corporation bac~ on trac~ Dkogwu said In the course of the tour. "'Ibrough the mrerven.l1on of SURE-P, we want to restore the NISeria Railway Corporation tu wh,ll It was in the good old days."

In the halcyon days of NRC, there were at lea:;.1 three tflllfU dep<1rung Lagos for three different destmatlOns in Ihe counlry In onl! day Haulage of goods and ~gers was mainly by rail. Butl-ooay, lransportJlion. of people and prOducr 15 largely dependent on road . The many rail tracks that once CTISSCIU55ed the country have SIOCli" rorroded. Most 01 the co..ches are decrepit and antiqwted while the Jines have dwindled conSiderably In number.

The essena!' of the tour therefore, Alhaji Mohammed soud, lS rehabihtahon of the the enun! railway network in Nigena. A weel befoie, ~ same leam went on an ll\S~on lour of Idu! Kadwv line foc !he same purpose. The May Da.y 1nspec-lion is wOrking in attardance with the deadline given by the Pr"ldency that the Ihree ope.rahonal

hnes m the colinII)' be fully fune hon.1 by July The team that Ie ~ L.gos were con ..liIntly briefed I>y en"r Ahmadu .~ they Journeyed to KIIdun& vla.1raU1 ~t oPPln8 OVeT-O IDeS U\ placet Ihat need to be ,dl. blhl.uro. Acn ,f(hng 10 him 8) pt.:ICl'fl I of won. had been com:JHte.1 by Lht." con .-.truction (ompa ~y rehabiUlatin!! the rails and bridf. Of partlCl.lial Importance IS A en briJge neat Wusillshi In N IS' s :alE-_ The orol)' link between I a~ .lnd Kallo hlle a nllSh flood S\\ t'J tr.e bnJge awa) two years ago In ~ .necLVdY cut tillS off raillrallSJ r1.lIiOl1 betweer two crucial point.! II 15 almost com ls laKi roc Ihl pleted with ne.-l trains to!>c8m 11' rallon in the next few weeks.

On the work 10 le m far the lean eJ(pressed tIw1r plisf.!Cbon not oN) With im!he ualit)' pnll execution o. the p bul alfa the ddeTmina lion of RC st.J1.

-rhe lour IS • ojlebnlhoro ol wha CilJI be, the can-d >51'''"t ui the NI genan &ystem, - A representative 0 Dr KoIadesaid,. ddlng that it is '"; po5itive develope \ent rrun subsKl) withdrawal and I'~oer Ulvestmen of the subiidy fUll ds Into things tha will impact on tl r lives of pijigen

net

~.

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