24,000 OGUN WOMEN TO BENEFIT FROM N400m GOVT LOAN

About 24,000 women in Ogun State will benefit from the N400 million micro-credit revolving loan scheme, which the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, in conjunction with ECObank Plc, is disbursing.

Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Elizabeth Sonubi, disclosed this in a chat with reporters in Abeokuta. She said that beneficiaries are to be given funds ranging between N20, 000 and N200, 000

Mrs Sonubi said the N400 million loan is the third phase of the revolving scheme given to women involved in petty trading and small scale businesses to boost their operations and empower them to perform their roles as wives and mothers effectively.

“This gesture on revolving loan is to assist beneficiaries, who are basically women, to expand their businesses, make them productive and self-reliant so that they can also assist their husbands and perform their motherly roles effectively at the home front'', she added.

The commissioner noted that the first two phases, during which N300 million was disbursed, saw about 10,000 women benefitting. She assured that the ministry would embark on activities that would make life better for all.

Mrs. Sonubi said the loans attract a single digit interest, adding that non-governmental organisations working on micro-credit and reputable micro-finance banks are the implementing partners to disburse to the beneficiaries spread across the state.

The Public Sector Head, Lagos and South West Region of ECObank, Mrs. Mojisola Oguntoyinbo, said the decision of the bank to increase funds for the loan scheme from N100 million in the first phase to N200 million in the second and now N400 million, was borne out of the desire to partner the state government, which had demonstrated its commitment to empower women.

She said beneficiaries of the first two phases had repaid the loans they collected, adding that that was a good development which would encourage her bank to do more for them.

The recent ban on fish importation has prompted the Ogun State government to partner the Federal Government to introduce the “cage culture system”, to enhance natural fish breeding in the state.

The cage culture system is a practice whereby nets containing fishes would be placed in flowing rivers and guarded with floating materials to make the fishes grow in a controlled environment and protect them from being washed away, even when the river overflows.

Inspecting the pilot cage presented to the Adijagun Fishermen and Fish Sellers Cooperative Union, Iwopin, Ogun Waterside, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, said government would take steps to enhance food production .

According to her, the method would take only four months for the fishes to mature, as against longer time that would be needed for other methods and more of such cages would be provided for fish farmers.

“We believe this will make fish farming easier because our fishes will be protected in the cage. Sorting and harvesting will also be an easy task. It will increase production because fishes in the cage will grow faster than the ones in the river”, she said.

Owners of industrial concerns at the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), Industrial Estate, Agbara have lauded the government for matching its words with action on the reconstruction of roads in the estate.

The President of Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA) Secretariat, trade Fair Complex,OGUNCCIMA, Mr. Bayo Ikujenyo and the Group Technical Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Engr. Stephen Ndukwe, who are representatives of the industrialists, gave the commendation in Abeokuta at a meeting with the government on the ways to fine tune the terms of funding the state's ongoing 5.2 km road construction.

Ikujenyo and Ndukwe hailed the ongoing road construction, decribing it as a reflection of good governance in the state. They assured the commitment of companies in the state to an earlier agreement to partner government in the execution of the project estimated at N1.27 billion.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, stressed the importance of private partnership in project execution, saying government would to deliver on its promise.

“This is a sincere government, whatever we promise, we always deliver. We appeal to thel industries operating in Agbara to support the project. Let us work together to move the state forward”.

He underscored the need for others yet to show commitment to do so, as they stand to benefit maximally, saying “we can all see construction works going on, so government would want the unwilling industries to ensure they contribute their own quota”.

The Managing Director of OPIC, Mr. Jide Odusolu, praised the partnership, saying it is a unique public/ private joint funding model. He added that the ongoing road construction project was part of government's urban renewal project which could not be accomplished alone by government, emphasising that “we want all the industries to see it as part of their corporate social responsibilities. Government will play its part, they will also play their part and everything will work as planned”.

Ogun State government is on the verge of ensuring suitable rural electrification in the state through the provision of renewable solar power energy and hydro power in the rural areas between this year and 2017.

Government is not doing this alone, as it is partnering the German Agency for International Corporation (GIZ), with which it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the project.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun signed the MoU on behalf of the state, while the German Consul-General to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Derus, signed on behalf of GIZ.

Amosun described the partnership for the project as another demonstration of his administration's resolve to bring development to the rural areas, saying access to electricity in the rural areas would reduce rural-urban drift.

He recalled that the government, in collaboration with GIZ, had implemented a project on pro-poor growth with emphasis on the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises and other value chains.

The governor commended GIZ for considering Ogun State for the project, saying the German organization, which had been gathering data and information about the state's potential, would assist in drawing policy and institutional frameworks, capacity building and capital development programmes.

“GIZ is a reliable partner. They should continue to partner us in other areas of the five-cardinal programmes of our administration. Our government will not take their support for granted. We will provide the necessary political will to support the successful implementation of our joint projects”, he said.

Welcoming the representatives of GIZ, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, said the desire to give a new lease of life to rural dwellers,as  their urban counterparts, informed the decision of the state government to partner GIZ. She added that government's commitment in ensuring even development of the state is unwavering.

Mrs Abiola-Costello said when installed, the device would enhance socio-economic growth in the rural areas and kick-start activities, which hitherto were not feasible.

“When installed, the renewable solar power and hydro power device will supply electricity at an affordable rate to the drive economic activities, which hitherto had been impossible. It will enhance the welfare and lifestyle of dwellers of such rural community”, she said.

GIZ's Programme Director, Daniel Werner, said five states were captured in a survey undertaken and that Ogun State was selected because it had over time demonstrated an unparallelled willingness to enhance the standard of living of its people.

He disclosed that the project has four components, which focus on policy reform on-grid renewal energy, energy efficiency, rural electrification and capacity development, saying its pilot would be implemented in two rural areas to be selected by the state government.