Politics
–
The African Development Bank, AfDB, is to assisting the Abia state government to rehabilitate rural roads in Umuahia and Aba
THE Abia State government is to partner with the African Development Bank, AfDB, to rehabilitate rural road in the state. The AfDB has also made a proposal for an integrated project to tackle rural roads, erosion menace and waste management in Aba and Umuahia, the states two major cities.
Ousmane Dore, country representative of the bank, who was on a preliminary on-the-site assessment visit in Abia State recently, said the bank will work with the state to tackle the infrastructure deficit in the state. He said that Theodore Orji, Abia State Governor, was one of the first governor’s to reach out to the bank for assistance, adding that the AfDB had a tradition of partnering with states and that rural roads in the two cities will be strategically rehabilitated and upgraded.
According to him, the bank’s rapid assessment team has been sent to the state for assessment and implored the state to cooperate with the team to fast track the project. Dore
’s team was led by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy. They were received by Governor Theodore Orji who assured that the state would co-operate with the bank as it was ready to abide by the rules as well as contribute its quota to the project. He stated that the perennial problem of rural roads, erosion and waste management has continued to plague Aba despite the huge sums of money being sunk into the city by the state government to address the problems.
The governor said there was need for an external body like the AfDB to assist the state as the problems were beyond its scope and thanked the federal government for the interest it has shown in Abia State.
Okonjo-Iweala had earlier said the AfDB agreed to work with the Abia State government to bring some more benefits to the people and that the action was to cement the governor’s legacies in the state. According to her, President Goodluck Jonathan is desirous to work with states to make things better.
— Oct. 20, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT |
Tags: AfDB African Development Bank Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Ousmane Dore Theodore Orji
