Felix Ikem, Nsukka
It was jubilation galore when the Executive Chairman of Udenu Local Government Area, Hon. Frank Ugwu, rolled out an Agro Entrepreneurship Empowerment initiative for the staff of the council area.
The event, held at the local government secretariat, saw the donations of point-of-lay Agritted pullets and pigs to beneficiaries.
While addressing the beneficiaries, Ugwu explained that “the initiative is part of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s Empowerment programmes in Udenu LGA.
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“To day our Entrepreneurship drive and empowerment is focused on the staff of Udenu LG and we shall distribute 3000 point-of-lay agritted pullets to about 25 poultry farmers and 100 pigs to about thirty five pig farmers. They have all been trained by Vision farm Ltd, our partner in the endeavor.
“This is the first phase and our idea is for the staff to make extra cash by getting up early to take care of his or her farm and still be in the office on time.
“This initiative is public service compliant. It is not a certificate for lateness to or absenteeism from duty. By this arrangement we are also preparing you for retirement.
“We thank the management of Vision Farms for honestly partnering with the local government in this initiative. We request that you continue to provide direction to these staff farmers.
“We also wish to request the co-operative officer attached to the LG to continually train the staff farmers and facilitate their registration for easy access to loan,” he said.
In a remark, the Chairman Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Enugu State Chapter Mr. Kenneth Ugwueze who was at the local government to witness the empowerment said, “this is the first of its kind in the history of local government system. We are here to show the LG Boss solidarity and to thank him for the kind gesture. I urge other local government to emulate and follow suit.”
Two of the beneficiaries, Eze Ifeanyi and Onah Gloria, expressed their gratitude to the chairman promising that the farming programme would not affect their punctuality at work.
The highlight of the event was the handing over of the pullets and pigs to the beneficiaries by the local government chairman.