Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, yesterday at a town hall meeting with stakeholders of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Awka South Local Government Area of the state revealed his government’s plan to employ no fewer than 5,000 rice workers in its farms across the state.

He said the drive was in fulfillment of his campaign promise to create job opportunities for the teeming youth of the state as well as to invest heavily in agriculture.

The governor, who was represented on the occasion by his Special Assistant on Investment, Mr. Ifeanyi Anugwu, stressed that the State Government has improved on the Internally General Revenue of the state from N500 million monthly where it met it in 2014 to N1.2 billion monthly in less than two years.

He noted that in a few months time, the state would not only have enough rice for domestic consumption, but would also resume the exportation of the product.

The governor maintained that a cluster of investors were already in the state for rice production.

“We are just counting days when we shall export ‘Anambra rice’ to other states of the federation,” Obiano stated.

He stressed that his administration had since exceeded his campaign promise of attracting N2 billion investments yearly for the state.

While imploring the people of the state for their continued cooperation, he said the state was in a hurry to join the club of most industrialised states in the country.

In his speech, the Chairman of APGA for Akwa South, Mr. Obiora Udeoba, commended Governor Obiano for giving Awka, the state capital, a befitting look by building three flyovers on the Awka/Onitsha Highway, adding that the housing projects the Obiano administration has embarked on in Awka and environs are also commendable.

He charged the people of the area to reciprocate the gesture at the best opportune time, starting with the re-run election in Anambra central district in March, next year.

Udeoba described the Anambra central re-run poll as a litmus test for the survival or otherwise of APGA in the state.

•Photo shows Governor Obiano.

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