In spite of the negative effects of the Coronavirus pandemic across the globe, the Delta State Government on Monday reassured the people of its commitment to boost the economy of the state.
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The Delta State Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, gave this assurance while addressing journalists of Warri, Ughelli, Isoko and Sapele Correspondents Chapels in Warri.
Aniagwu noted that the state will not only strive to be the number one most viable economy in the country but it will ensure that majority of the people live above the world poverty index.
He said the ranking of the state as second least poor state in the country by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in May this year was because of the various empowerment and job creation programmes created by the Governor Ifaenyi Okowa’s administration.
According to the Bureau in its Poverty Index Report, Delta came second after Lagos among the states with low poverty rate, adding that 40.1 per cent of Nigeria’s total population was poor.
It had noted that an average of four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria have real per capita expenditures below N137, 430 per year, meaning that monthly income of an individual in this category is less than N11,500 while income per day is N383.03.
Aniagwu said the state government’s empowerment programmers will continue to lift a lot of youths out of the unemployment market noting most of the people they have trained have trained others to become self reliant.
While stressing that government cannot employ everybody, Aniagwu said the only way people could get out of poverty was for people to acquire skills that can make them become entrepreneurs.
He said: “In the last five years, we have done a lot to create jobs, get our people engaged, and we have also done a lot to keep the oil facilities working as this has greatly improved our local economy.”
“We all know that government cannot employ everybody because the more workforce we have in the government the more money that will be used to pay salaries.
“If this happens it only means that other areas of the economy like infrastructures will suffer because there will not be enough money to carry out this constructions,” Aniagwu said.
“Our Governor is passionate about the health of Deltans and is also committed to meeting with his electoral promises and we can see what is going on with the Warri/Uvwie and Environs Development Agency.
“A lot of roads have been completed and a lot are still being constructed. Work has gone far on the Section A, Section C1 and C2 of the Ughelli/Asaba road project; the Warri Trans Ode-Itsekiri bridge has also reached advanced stage, with several others being constructed across the state.
“We are on course and as we approach 2023, government will not be distracted and will continue to do those things it has promised to achieve.
“Every of our statements is backed by verifiable facts and I appeal to you to always verify your facts before going to press,” the commissioner said.
