Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State says the state government has evolved programmes and policies which will be applied in the agricultural sector to stimulate agro-industrial revolution.
Ikpeazu made this known on Saturday night while interacting with newsmen at the Government House, Umuahia on the performance of his administration so far.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ikpeazu was re-elected for a second term in office.
He told journalists that enhancing agricultural productivity in the state remained one of the primary focus of his administration.
He said: “We are going to increase our tempo in agriculture because we intend to stir up an agro-based industrial revolution in Abia.
“We want to improve the economy of each local government council in Abia by establishing cottage processing mills for rice, cassava and oil palm.”
Ikpeazu said the state government was committed to improving the welfare of the people and enhance food security in the state.
He said government was working towards building an agro-allied industrial estate to make Abia a value addition hub in agriculture.
Ikpeazu also said government intended to facilitate an increase in oil palm production by raising three million Tenera seedlings to be distributed to farmers.
According to him: “Abia Government is working towards establishing a cassava economy by acquring a processing plant that would process cassava tubers to starch of pharmaceutical grade.”
He said government spent N48 million to train 200 youths in modern agricultural methods and techniques, which would be a critical propeller of its development agenda.
On education, Ikpeazu said the state government had successfully built 340 new classroom blocks in 2018 and was focusing on building the capacity of teachers in state-owned schools.
He said a Continued Education Center had been built for teachers and that efforts were being made to ensure that teachers in Abia State would be Information and Communication Technology compliant.
The governor further spoke on security in the state, pointing out that his administration had established a robust security architecture to tackle any security challenges in the state.
He said that government was working towards installing a tracking system that would be used to ensure that crime was reduced to the barest minimum in Abia.
Ikpeazu said the administration had been able to complete 77 of the 130 roads listed for construction, promising that the ongoing ones would be completed.
“People may think that we are slow but I want to ensure that we build long lasting infrastructure,” he said.
He also spoke on the Enyimba Economic City, saying the project had been covered by law of the state House of Assembly and would be realised through Public Private Initiative.
The governor further spoke on government’s efforts to add value to shoe production in Aba.
Ikpeazu said the machinery for the establishment of an automated shoe factory in Aba had been purchased and waiting for installation.
He expressed his determination to make Aba “the hub for shoe manufacturing in Nigeria and Africa.”
He said government had trained 30 persons to enhance their capacity in shoe making, adding that an automated shoemaking company, in partnership with Brazil, was in the offing.
He said the firm, to be called NiBra shoe factory, would provide jobs for at least 6,000 Nigerians.
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