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Tag: Enugu State government

  • Enugu, EU deepen strategic ties, roll out new energy, education projects

    Enugu, EU deepen strategic ties, roll out new energy, education projects

    The Enugu State Government and the European Union (EU) have agreed to scale up their collaboration across key sectors, especially education, energy, health and youth empowerment.

    This emerged at the weekend during a courtesy visit to Governor Peter Mbah by a high-level EU delegation at the Government House, Enugu.

    The delegation, led by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Gautier Mignot, also included the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Pieter Leenknegt, and the Portuguese Ambassador, Mr. Paulos Martins dos Santos, among other senior diplomats.

    Mignot said the EU was committed to strengthening cooperation in ways that align with Mbah’s ambitious reform agenda.

    “The purpose of the visit is to meet you and talk about the partnership between the European Union and Enugu State, its potential, and your vision for the future,” he stated.

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    He highlighted ongoing EU-supported projects in the state, particularly in the energy and education sectors.

    “On energy, Enugu is one of seven states benefiting from the Solar for Health Project, under which we will provide technical assistance and funding for 20 solar microgrids that will power 20 primary health centres and 124 SMEs,” he said.

    The envoy also listed the Small Hydro Power for Agro-industrial Sectors Project, implemented by UNIDO, and the Nigeria Energy Support Programme executed by GIZ, which include electrification support, capacity building and funding for three interconnected mini-grids with a combined 1MW capacity for up to 1,000 beneficiaries.

    On education, Mignot announced that Enugu is one of the beneficiary states in the EU-UNESCO programme, Education and Youth Empowerment in Nigeria, Expand, Integrate and Strengthen Systems (EISS), which will train teachers in Smart Green Schools until June 2028.

    He further noted the EU’s partnership with the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival held annually in Enugu, saying the 2025 edition included grants and training for emerging filmmakers.

    Belgian Ambassador Leenknegt underscored Belgium’s longstanding economic ties with Enugu, particularly through Emenite Limited, a Nigeria–Belgium joint venture established in 1961.

    “They are delivering high-quality products and employing more than 300 people from the region. We will continue to foster this relationship,” he said.

    Portugal’s Ambassador, Martins dos Santos, highlighted his country’s interests in energy, infrastructure and agriculture, noting that “the footprint of the European Union in this country is huge and multidimensional.”

    Responding, Governor Mbah thanked the EU for its alignment with his administration’s developmental priorities, particularly in education, health and energy.

    “I have seen a huge alliance between our vision and the aims of the EU, especially regarding your programmes across Africa,” he said, noting that Enugu’s decision to allocate over 33% of its budget to education was to secure the state’s future competitiveness.

    Mbah invited EU member countries to explore new investment opportunities in aviation, gas and energy, disclosing that the state-owned carrier, Enugu Air, had been launched, and that the international wing of Akanu Ibiam International Airport would soon become fully operational.

    “That means more international carriers will fly from Enugu. We encourage you to speak to your home carriers to consider Enugu,” he said.

    He added that the state was working with the Federal Government to extend gas pipelines to Enugu to unlock economic opportunities in the gas subsector.

    “We are open for business and will continue to ensure that investments and businesses thrive in Enugu State,” Mbah assured.

  • Enugu seeks collaboration with royal fathers to tackle insecurity

    Enugu seeks collaboration with royal fathers to tackle insecurity

    The Enugu State government has reaffirmed its commitment to working with traditional rulers to combat insecurity and other criminal activities in the state. 

    As part of this effort, the government has scheduled the launch of the Enugu State Security Trust Fund (ESSTF) for February 13, 2025.

    The initiative aims to mobilize financial and material resources from public and private organizations, as well as well-meaning individuals, to enhance security operations. 

    Speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting with the State Traditional Rulers Council at the Enugu State House of Assembly Complex, the Chairman of the ESSTF Board of Trustees, Dr. Ike Chioke, emphasized the importance of engaging monarchs in the fight against criminality. He urged them to support the initiative and assist in maintaining security within their communities. 

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    Dr. Chioke stressed that security is a collective responsibility and called for widespread participation, noting that Governor Peter Mbah’s vision to expand the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion by 2031 could be hindered if insecurity is not adequately addressed. 

    He further stated that the Board of Trustees is intensifying its engagement and awareness efforts to ensure stakeholders understand the objectives of the Security Trust Fund before its official launch.

    “The essence of the sensitization is to enable Ndi Enugu to understand that security is everyone’s business. The security trust fund is designed as a private/public partnership between the people and the state, such that each one of us contributes to security as part of our daily activities. We need to build and sustain security architecture around the entire state, which is where the purpose of the trust fund comes in.

    “As you know, we are going to launch the trust fund on the 13th of February. So, we are meeting with key stakeholders across the state to ensure that the government will be supported in securing the state and securing the progress that is evident from the work the governor is doing already,” he said.

    Speaking, the Commissioner for Local Government, Rural Development, and Chieftaincy Matters, Deacon Okey Ogbodo noted that due to the prominent position the monarchs enjoy as the chief security officers of their communities, the state government thought it wise to inform them about the policies aimed at prioritizing the welfare of the people, especially about security.

    He stressed that the traditional rulers were responsible for sensitizing their communities, encouraging them to buy into the security trust fund so that the state’s indigenes in the diaspora could visit their villages without fear of attacks.

    “This is a commendable policy of Governor Peter Mbah’s administration that seeks to improve the security of lives and property in the state. The challenge here requires all of us, particularly traditional rulers who serve as the chief security officers of their communities, to play their roles in engaging their people in this fight against insecurity,” the Commissioner stated.

    Also speaking on behalf of the monarchs, the Chairman of the Enugu Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu praised Governor Mbah’s visionary leadership and expressed satisfaction with the state’s cutting-edge security infrastructure.

    Igwe Asadu insisted that security was a collective endeavour that must be supported by the traditional rulers’ council as a whole, stressing that since the governor was bullish in the fight against insecurity, the traditional rulers would give him all the support he deserved.

    “We are excited because Governor Mbah is a game changer. He brought the ‘tomorrow is here’ phenomenon and we are seeing it manifesting daily. Security is a collaborative effort, and Governor Mbah appointed the crème de la crème of society to the Board of Trustees to ensure the fund’s integrity. On behalf of the traditional rulers and principal officials, we endorse this initiative since it aims to assist the governor in protecting our children, the state, investors, and tourists to the state,” Igwe Asadu stated.