The Deputy Senate President,
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on Sunday said the current financial challenges arising
from the fall in oil prices give Nigeria another opportunity to explore other
mineral deposits in the country.
Ekweremadu, according to a
statement by his Special Adviser, Media, Uche Anichukwu, made this remark while
delivering a keynote address at the 2015 Annual National Convention of the
Enugu State Association, USA in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The statement added that
Ekweremadu was addressing the convention from Enugu via tele-conferencing in
the early hours of Sunday.
According to him, Enugu and 35
other states of the federation have not lived up to their full potentials
despite the concentration of rich mineral resources in them because extant laws
bar them from doing so while little attention is paid to agriculture.
He said: “It is rather ironical
that Enugu State is in financial distress considering that the State sits on
enormous mineral and natural resources.
“Unfortunately, like the rest of
the 36 states, the hands of the state government are tied. The federal
government which has the constitutional powers to exploit them has not also
bothered to do so because attention is fixated on free oil money.”
He noted that Enugu State was
blessed with rich farmlands and could still blossom economically if the
government takes immediate steps to “move on to mechanised and commercial
farming.”
He urged the Enugu State diaspora
community to partner with the state government to boost the agricultural,
educational, health, tourism and industrial sector and consequently create
wealth and employment in the state.
Ekweremadu observed that while
the government could not provide employment for everyone, it was its major
business to provide the requisite environment and policies that will attract
and help businesses to thrive.
“The Enugu State Government needs
to consciously activate private sector presence in Enugu State and set up
industrial layout in every local government supported with the requisite
infrastructure,” he added.
While commending former Governor
Sullivan Chime’s administration for rehabilitating the Sunrise Flour Mills,
Emene, Enugu, Ekweremadu called on the Enugu diaspora community to help the
government to get foreign investors to partner with the government in
resuscitating moribund industries in the state.
He listed such industries to
include: Premier Cashew Industry, Ezeagu; Anambra/Enugu Vegetable Oil Products
Company Ltd. (AVOP); the Nigergas Aluminum Factory Ohebedim and Star Printing
and Publishing Company Enugu, among others.
He also commended the Enugu
Association, United States for their contributions towards the development of
the state, especially the Annual Medical Mission, which he said had given a new
lease of life to many.
Thisday
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