By ANAYO OKOLI
UMUAHIA—ABIA State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, yesterday directed NEPAD coordinators in the 17 local government areas of the state to embark on a project/programme that would be of benefit to the rural people.

Consequently, no fewer than 1,200 indigent residents of the state had been shortlisted for empowerment under the National Poverty Eradication Programme, NAPEP, tagged Social Subsidy Scheme.

Special Adviser to the Governor/State Coordinator on NEPAD, Prince Emeka Nwachukwu, explained that the aim of the governor’s directive was to ensure that the rural people felt impact of governance which would better their living standard.

According to Nwachukwu, NEPAD has already identified two sites in Aba and Umuahia for an open market where commodities, especially food stuffs, fruits and crops, would be sold without the involvement of market unions who influence the hike in prices of goods.

With such markets, Nwachukwu said, traders from the North or elsewhere would be able to sell direct to the consumers at cheaper rates to the benefit of poor people.

Besides, the coordinator announced that NEPAD coordinators had in line with the governor’s directive, put up proposals, ranging from cultivation of cassava, vegetables, poultry, piggery and fish farming in their various local government areas, bearing in mind comparative advantages of the councils over each other.

According to him, in Umunneochi Local Government Area, which has large expanse of cashew plantations, a European firm has indicated interest to set up a cashew processing plant.

According to him,  this will provide jobs for the rural people and shore up the internal revenue of the council.

Nwachukwu also disclosed that under NEPAD , the state planned to set up three functional Skill Acquisition Academy in each of the senatorial districts for training of unemployed in various trades.

He said school leavers  planning to write UTME could still attend the academy while waiting to write the examination.

On graduation, he explained that NEPAD will liaise with National Directorate of Employment [NDE] to set them up in their chosen trades.

Nwachukwu said that the empowerment programme would be sponsored by NAPEP, Abuja, in conjunction with the office of the Abia governor’s wife.

He said that the social welfare scheme would be targeted at children between 14 years and below as well as widows and other vulnerable groups.

“Already, the NAPEP office in Abuja has undertaken assessment and advocacy visit to the affected areas and has shortlisted beneficiaries of the project.

“The beneficiaries will be given a stipend of N5000 on monthly basis and at the end of nine months, they will receive additional N100, 000 as pay-off grant,” he said.

Nwachukwu said that the N100, 000 would assist the beneficiaries to establish a business of their choice.

“The essence of this programme is to assist the vulnerable in the state to establish businesses or other money yielding services,” he said.

He described the empowerment as a necessary move that would enhance the economic status of the needy in Abia.

Nwachukwu said that one local government area each from the three senatorial zones in the state had been selected for the pilot scheme.

He gave the names of the selected local government areas as Ohafia (Abia North), Umuahia South (Abia Central) and Aba North (Abia South).

Nwachukwu added that about 400 beneficiaries would be drawn from each of the selected local government areas in the pilot scheme which would begin in June.