Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has assured the Department for International Development (DFID) in the state of the government’s continued collaboration in its determination to enhance the welfare of the people and strengthen institutions.
The governor who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, gave this assurance when he received members of the Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER), an arm of DFID at the Government House, Enugu.
He stated that Enugu State has enjoyed a cordial relationship with DFID in the past 17 years and commended them for their effort in strengthening relevant institutions in the state.
Governor Ugwuanyi noted that his administration has since inception taken steps to improve the lives of the people through massive infrastructural development, and listed the state’s free maternal and child health care programme, massive road construction, procurement of fertilizer for farmers, expansion of Adani Irrigation Scheme, passage of the child rights act, and youth empowerment projects as some of these. He thanked the organization for including Enugu State in the programme’s pilot scheme.
“We are currently reviewing and updating the existing legal framework in line with best practices to make our IGR administration more robust and responsive without imposing unnecessary tax burden on the good people of Enugu State,” he said, assuring them of adequate security in Enugu State.
The leader of the team, Mr. Ademola Henry, informed the governor that the organisation has introduced indices that strengthen the capacity of states to sufficiently determine their actual monthly entitlement from the federation account, adding that a partnership in that regard will benefit Enugu State.
He paid glowing tribute to the governor for his “people oriented programmes” and assured him of their continued support.