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Idris: Building Kogi�s economic
fortunes
By Peter
Jones
The pace of industrial
development of Kogi State will soon double when the recent economic
mission led by Governor Ibrahim Idris to China begins to bear
fruits.
The mission to the Republic of
China was to enable Idris woo investors from a country believed to have
the fastest growing economy in the world.
Coming from the background of
business world, the governor in company of the Commissioner for Commerce
and Industry, Mr. Dan Kadiri,; Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Benjamin
Ikani; and their agriculture counterpart, Alhaji Suleiman Enesi, visited
several industrial and technological sites in China.
In addition, the team explored
bilateral co-operation with the government of Henan province, particularly
on cassava production and processing, as well as projects that will
enhance youth empowerment scheme in the state.
Agriculture is the bedrock of
Kogi State economy. Since it is the major occupation of majority people of
Kogi, the administration decided to make it its major policy thrust in
order to make the sector very attractive and profitable.
Within 17 months of his administration,
Governor Idris had made tremendous efforts to give expression to his
agricultural vision. Within time time, no fewer than 27 new tractors have
been purchased. Several trucks of assorted fertilizers have also been
procured for distribution to farmers in all the 21 local government areas
of the state.
As a demonstration of his
administration�s concern for his people, Idris intervened in the
fertiliser debt owed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture by Prince
Abubakar Audu�s administration by agreeing to pay in six
instalments.
This is not all. The
government went ahead to procure one rice processing machine to compete
favourably with imported rice.
All over the state, it is
praises for the governor for giving priority to agriculture, including
plans to increase the state�s counterpart funding of agricultural loan
scheme with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from the present N30 million
to N150 million to enable farmers in the state obtain more loans for the
2005 farming season.
This will enable the rural
farmers to obtain loans with ease and increase their productivity
following government�s vow to make the state Agricultural Trust Fund more
viable.
With the promise to contribute
N150 million, the CBN will on its part release N600 million as loans to
farmers for the 2005 planting season.
The governor is relying on the
expertise of his Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Enesi, who has
contributed immensely to the success story of Idris� agricultural scheme.
Now that Alhaji Ibrahim Idris
and his lieutenants are back from China, armed with the Chinese economic
miracle, the economy of the state with particular reference to the
agricultural sector, will be greatly enhanced.
Jones, a public affairs
commentator and media consultant, lives in Lagos
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