Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has praised the World Bank for its consistent support to the state and assured that his administration will continue to keep faith with programmes of the bank.
Ikpeazu, who was a guest at the Nigeria office of the bank in Abuja, particularly thanked the bank for accepting to fund the expansion of the YESSO programme throughout the 17 Local Government Areas of the state by, updating the database from the current six LGAs to cover the entire state.
He also commended Endi Ezengwa for his efforts in ensuring that the YESSO programme succeeded.
In the words of the Governor, “In Endi Ezengwa, we have a solid man in the area of youth empowerment and job creation, at YESSO, where he is driving the vision of the Governor, great strides have been achieved and the World Bank is impressed.”
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Onyebuchi Ememanka, chief press secretary to the Governor, in a press release, said the meeting was organised to do a comprehensive appraisal of how the state had fared in its collaboration with the World Bank in several areas, where the bank worked with state to strengthen governance and implement projects.
He stated that most of the interventions of the bank were activated under several stringent conditions, including payment of counterpart funds, by states and adherence to strict standards of fiscal transparency and institutional compliance.
He revealed that Rachid Benmessaoud, World Bank country director in Nigeria chaired the session addressed by team leaders of the various areas of intervention.
He noted that Abia had remained a top performer in practically all the areas where the bank was involved, stressing that the state had performed creditably in the payment of counterpart funds, save for a few areas.
In the implementation of Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), the World Bank said, “Abia has the most organised and fastest NEWMAP system in Nigeria,” both in terms of payment of counterpart funds and organisational efficiency.
The reason for this, according to the World Bank, is because “Governor Ikpeazu has provided great and strong leadership and has shown personal commitment to the success of NEWMAP in Abia State.
“This commitment by the Governor has resulted to stronger confidence on our part and more projects are underway. Indeed, the Abia NEWMAP will soon host the biggest NEWMAP Project in Nigeria.”
The Erosion and Watershed Management Project for Nigeria (NEWMAP) aims at reducing vulnerability to soil erosion in targeted sub-watersheds.
