Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State says the state government and its partners (federal government) had made arrangements to set up mini gas plants in the 17 local government areas of the state, to enable villagers have access to cooking gas.
He made this known on Tuesday, when
Participants of Syndicate 5 of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 15 and 5 Faculty members from the National Institute for Security Studies, Abuja, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Enugu.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ugwuanyi said “there is an engagement with the federal government to establish gas plant in local government areas of the state. The reason is to take the gas to all the local government areas so that gas culture will start penetrating in those areas.
“It will be a gradual process whereby villagers will imbibe the culture of using gas,” he said.
The governor said that there is a federal government project to distribute free cylinders to people (villagers). He expressed the hope that villagers will key into the use of gas in near future.
The governor told the Participants that the Course under study will help them develop policy that will help in governing Nigeria.
He added that the theme , “The Global Climate Challenge: Prospects and Priorities for Economic Development and Conflict Resolution in Africa,” was topical. Climate change, security, and development of Africa”, was apt.
“This present Course is a reminder of a strategic role that you and those of you that were called upon to help in shaping our nation, charting a course in developing policy that will help the growth of our country “, he said
Ugwuanyi said that ” We have never taken climate change seriously , we have been compelled by circumstances , by what human beings were doing to take our climate change seriously.
He was optimistic that “at the end of the Course, the participants would have taken into consideration, the peculiarities of this country. The consequences of desert in the northern part of this country, against the background of the mangrove of the south”.
He said in Enugu State, we take security seriously because you cannot do anything without security. “In Enugu State, we talk about peace because we know that without peace, you cannot talk about security. Without security ,we can’t talk about peace. Without security, we can’t talk about growth”.
He highlighted the activities of the state government including the infrastructural development, security and peace building programmes of the state government, describing Ugwuanyi as an Apostle of political Eccumenism and attributing the gaint stride recorded in all sectors to peace.
Fielding questions from the participants on erosion control, coal, mining and security, Governor Ugwuanyi said that the state government has tried to address some of these challenges , building bridges, building roads, so people can also go home to visit their loved ones.
On the issue of waste management, he said , ” The state government set-up contractors designated across Enugu state with respect to waste. There are some critical areas. In Ogbete, there are contractors dealing with waste. In Abakpa, there are contractors dealing with waste.coming from Abakpa. In Ogui, this is where we are. So, there are designated people that are dealing with waste on a daily basis.
“There is Enugu clean team. They sweep the streets from 6am to 10am. There can never be a time you will have hundred percent compliance There may be a spill over but those spill over does not last till 24 hours’ he said .
On the issue of coal /mining, he said that some investors had come and talked about their capacity to mine coal, it could not take place because mining is in exclusive list. The federal government gives licenses to people but they do not give room for implementation.” That had accounted for the kind of scenerio seen in mining. There isn’t mining activities in Enugu as such. to link it to climatic change.
On security, Ugwuanyi told the team that Enugu state in compliance with the decisions of the South East Governors Forum, established Forest guard, neighborhood watch , community policing to enhance security in the state.
Ugwuanyi urged them to pursue the Course wholistically, looking at security, education, health, Agriculture and others.
“So, we will expect, that at the end of the course, we would have had a detailed study on how this country will grow.,policies formulated ,for our country to deal with climate change.
In his brief remarks, the leader of the team, Syndicate Supervisor Jubril Yaro, told the governor that they were Participants of Syndicate 5 of the Executive2 National Institute for Security Studies, Abuja, on a study tour to Enugu.
He said that the Theme of this year’s Course is, “The Global Climate Challenge: Prospects and Priorities for Economic Development and Conflict Resolution in Africa.”
Giving detailed information about the team, the Director of Staff, Dr. Nka Obi-Bisong, said that the participants were 16 in number.
“Syndicate 5 members are drawn from a class of 78 participants of EIMC 15. The rest of the class are currently on a similar tour of 4 northern states”.
Obi-Bisong added that they had visited Benue, Bayelsa, Osun, Oyo, Enugu and Gombe, and would travel to some African countries for the study.
“The Course Participants are drawn from 21 agencies in Nigeria as well four African countries of the Gambia, Ghana, Niger and Rwanda. They are Deputy Directors and above or its equivalent in the Armed Forces
“”The Participants are undergoing a 10-month Course in the Institute leading to the award of Fellow Security Institute (fsi) If found worthy learning and in character.
“The purpose of the Course is to impart on the Participants the required knowledge to address the dynamic and complex security challenges in their respective countries, as well as foster inter- agency synergy and international corporation,” she said.
