The senior special assistant (SSA) to the president on community development, Mrs Chioma Nweze, has said the federal government will partner with South East governors to end insecurity and develop the region.
Mrs Nweze who spoke shortly after the official handover of agricultural equipment to IFAD beneficiaries in Onuebonyi, Ebonyi State, maintained that agriculture is one of the policy trusts of the federal government to end insecurity and boost food security in the Southeast.
He said, “Mr. President is interested in what happens at the grassroots level. The President has recognized that communities are the strength of the nation. When the people in the communities are strong, that means the government is strong.
“This IFAD programme will end in a year plus. We are sure that, with what we are seeing and the positive impact/ benefits, the programme will continue and we are going to expand it.”
Nweze during a courtesy visit to Governor Francis Nwifuru urged states to release more funds for agricultural programmes in the grassroot and commended the Ebonyi State Government for the release of N100 million to IFAD as the state’s counterpart fund.
“I encourage states to release more funds to IFAD because IFAD is about the people in the grassroots, the communities. The beneficiaries shouldn’t eat their seed money, there was a time they gave people rice to plant and they ate it. Once you plant, you will reap.
“The more you plant, the more you reap. The next generation of billionaires are going to be agriculturists. The people that are going to make money in this country are people who take agriculture to the next level,” she said.
