The Minister of National Planning, Alhaji Abubakar Olarewaju Suleiman has scored Delta State high in capturing the objectives of the State Employment and Expenditure for Result Project.

He was elated that within two years the state had generated close to 6,000 jobs to beat counterpart states in the South-South zone, including Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers.

SEEFOR, an initiative of the World Bank and European Union, has helped the Federal Government in its crusade against criminality and insurgency, war against poverty via jobs creation.

The Minister, at the Validation Workshop on the Informal Sector and Economic Development in Asaba, at the weekend, encouraged the benefitting states to deepen their Internally Generated Revenue in order not to run into terrible poverty as the country’s revenue earnings decline.

“I am pleased to inform you that in less than two years into the implementation of the SEEFOR project, 8,605 jobs have been created mainly in the informal sector, with Delta State accounting for 5,444 of the jobs created.

“I can confirm from my inspection visits to some of the SEEFOR projects located in Delta State that the state is doing well with respect to the implementation of SEEFOR projects,” he said.

The Minister also commended Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for off-setting the state’s $150 million counterpart funds, appealing to him to expedite action on the signing of the bureaucratic compliances.

While the Minister expressed optimism that the tempo would be sustained, he urged other participating states to gear up.

•Photo shows Suleiman