In an effort to reduce dependence on federal allocation, the Aba South Local Government Area (LGA), one of the biggest LGAs in AbIa State has established a livestock farm, in Nnentu community, to create jobs and increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The farm, which sits on 21-plots of land will have poultry and piggery farms, as well as a training centre to train the locals on mechanised farming.
Obialor Anyanwu, Mayor Aba South LGA, made this known in an interview with journalists at the council’s secretariat to mark his two years in office.
Anyanwu said that his administration is concerned that a day will come when the local government, as a tier of government will need to rely on itself to perform and function, hence the need to set up genuine revenue generation ventures..
The mayor, who was full of praise for Uche Wogu , his predecessor, said that he inherited a good foundation and added that in as much as government is a continuum, what he saw on the ground helped him kick-start, as he did not struggle so much and did not start from scratch because he had a good foundation.
He explained that the move will not just stop at the establishment of farms, but will go further to create a training centre at the farm, where people of the locality will be trained and tutored in animal farming to make them self-reliant and successful.
‘We don’t believe in all these 10 kg of rice empowerment. What we want in Aba South is giving our people that level of empowerment that will make them self-sustaining and employ others. So, we’ll teach the techniques needed to succeed in the business,’ he said.
Anyanwu said that presently, the three buildings in the poultry section are up, two are already roofed, and the staff quarters are at the lintel stage, because it’s a proper farm and people must reside there.
‘Possibly by the end of the year, everything will take off. So, we’re envisaging such a future. We, this tier of government, must stand for ourselves, and it has pushed us into doing commercial poultry and commercial pig farming.
‘Our poultry sits on14 plots of land, while the piggery sits in seven plots of land. Our vision, especially at the piggery farm, is to generate funds for the LGA, we can equally be teaching people and transferring the knowledge to the locals.
‘It’ll definitely create some employment for some people, and then we are envisaging more growth. Some of the staff in our agric department will be engaged.’
Reading his two-year scorecard on health, Anyanwu said that the Council has 22 Glycoster World Primary Health Centres fully erected and functionalised.
‘It’s a project done in partnership with the state. So, it’s a counterpart fund project. When we say ‘functionalised’, we mean equipped and commissioned for use. We have done some free medical tests and treatments as well.’
He said that the LGA is supporting the back-to-school free educational programme of Governor Alex Otti, with provisions of 4,000 school bags to primary schools across Aba South.
According to him, ‘Our target was 10,000, but after enumeration at the schools, we discovered it was more than 10,000, so we now decided to do it in phases.’
He equally explained that there is also a joint project between the LGA and the state government in primary schools.
He added, ‘We focus on primary schools. In Etche Road, you have an ongoing smart school project there.’ It’s a joint project with the State’
Still on education, Anyanwu said that Aba South LGA, has invested in human capital development, as over 130 persons have been offered digital training by the council.
‘We divided them into Cohorts 1, 2 and 3. Cohort 1 graduated 50 graduands, Cohort 2 had 30, while Cohort 3 had 50 as well from this Aba South LGA,’ he said.
He thanked security agencies and their heads in Aba South LGA for showing serious dedication, commitment and high level of professionalism in the discharge of their duties, stressing that Aba South has remained peaceful.
He described the relationship between Aba South LGA and the state government as cordial and thanked the governor for his inputs in the area of road infrastructure in Aba South LGA, stressing that the recent roads awarded when completed will place Aba South far ahead of many other LGAs within Nigeria.
‘The decay of abandonment is much. He commended the government for ongoing work at Obohia Road that has the drainage size to pick flood water from different parts of Aba to the Aba river.
‘Umuebeke Road will be awarded at any time. It’s not for grading, but to be properly tarred. With the award of Uratta and Old Express Roads, a whole lot of areas will be recovered, and Aba South will surely take back its real position.
‘The Old Express Uratta Road has a spur at Amaukwu Road, so this will help address some concerns around areas in Aba South. By the time those areas are addressed, the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) can surely penetrate into those areas.