Gov. Umahi; Fighting Poverty And Hunger Through Economic Empowerments
In a bid to aggressively pursue this course, Gov. Umahi in June 2016, set up and inaugurated a 29-man think-tank working committee, chaired by the Hon. Commissioner for youths and sports development, Mr Charles Akpuenika. The Governor however, charged the committee to, among other things, carry out a vivid census of all the unemployed youths and women from the 197 electoral wards in the state with the view of empowering them, having secured the approval of the sum of 130 million naira from the state House of Assembly to that effect. the committee carried out the assignment with due diligent and ensured that the recommended would-be beneficiaries were all based on merit and devoid of political manipulation.
The first batch of of the empowerment saw 2,700 youths and women been empowered with the sum of #250,000 each to enable them set up a business that will delete their names from the evil records of poverty and lunch them into the realm of prosperity. those empowered were drawn from different vocation and trade such as hair dressing, barbing saloon operators, computer operators, fish farmers, poultry farmers, traders and others. Government is expected to release the second batch of the empowerment which will involve the empowerment of 3,000 youths and women in the state.
In the main time, Government has equally placed some specified number of rural widows in the state on a specified monthly salary scale to help them cushion the effect of the hardship they face as a result of the demise of their spouses.celplusmedia.blogspot.com
Recently, Gov. Umahi took his empowerment drive and war against hunger and poverty to Ebonyi state citizen residing in Lagos state, where he was able to empower and settle 520 Ebonyi youths who were mainly street traders and hawkers with the sum of #250,000 each to enable them set up a meaningful business and escape the wrought of poverty, hunger and the long arms of lagos state law enforcement agents. you could recall that the Ebonyi state deputy Governor, Barr. Eric Kelechi Igwe PhD, released a damming report recently which shows that about 180 innocent and defenceless Ebonyi youths were languishing in various prison facilities in lagos state on the account of the enforcement of law against street trading and hawking which is operational in the state. Gov. Umahi, who was deeply embittered by the ugly situation, moved with passion to ensure that the ugly trend was arrested head on. he equally observed, based on available record that the number of Ebonyi youths that have lost their life on the account of street hawking and trading were so alarming, hence the need to curtail it became imperative. this informed the Governor's decision to mandate the Hon. commissioner for economic empowerment and job creation, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, to liaise with Ebonyi town union in lagos and identify those street hawkers who are genuinely Ebonyi citizen traceable to their electoral wards with the aim of empowering them so as to save them from incarceration and untimely death.
Engnr Umahi, whose name has been synonymous with empowerment, while empowering the 520 Ebonyi youths in lagos, also announced that his government will support those with verifiable shops in lagos and who must be a registered member of Ebonyi town union in lagos, with undisclosed sum of money to help boost and strengthen their economic capacity and viability.
Gov. Umahi had also promised to replicate such empowerment gesture to Ebonyi citizen living in Anambra state.this is in a bid to ensure that Ebonyi citizen any where in the country were adequately empowered to be self reliant and be able to contribute positively to the economic development of their host state.
The civil servants in the state were not left out of Governor Umahi's empowerment drive, as he was on October, 2017 announced a 2 Billion Naira loan package for the civil servants under its payroll in the state civil service. the loan which was made available in conjunction with the Bank of industry BOI,was meant to assist them to engage in alternative source of income to better their welfare and economic well being.
Government had earlier engaged over 300 youths and women of the state in its direct workforce as Senior Technical Assistant STA's and Technical Assistant TA's to the Governor in all relevant sectors of the state economy. this is in a bid to spread the wealth of the state and as such remove their names from poverty line through employment empowerment.
It is worthy of note, that the strategic empowerment policy adopted by Gov. Umahi's Administration in the fight against hunger and poverty is indeed, a workable policy that will ensure that poverty and hunger is eliminated in the state if vigorously pursued and sustained. It is advisable that other states within the eastern region, should make haste and adopt this strategy in order to make the region poverty and hunger free.
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