Our Vision
I stand here to assure you that this is a new dawn in Enugu State. Our elders
see visions. In youth we dream dreams. Our common vision and dream are of
a greater tomorrow for our men, women and children. A vision and dream of
a new Enugu State. We are projecting a foreseeable future when the basic
needs of human existence such as reliable infrastructure, social services,
and improved quality of life would become facts of our everyday living. Our
participatory government intends to make all our people stake-holders in
the sustainable development and growth of this young state so that we can
all in turn become the beneficiaries of the rewards of our common struggle.
Our Mission
This Administration will be oriented towards people-centered development
through the creation of an environment that will encourage the full development
of our human and natural resources, the rekindling of our social services,
and rehabilitation of our vital infrastructure. Thus, we should propel
our state along the path of eradicating poverty, and promoting full
and productive
employment of our citizens.
Thrust of Policy
This Administration is aware, and painfully so, that the problems of
the state include a fledgling or weak industrial base, low level of
agricultural production, a weak private sector, inefficient public
utilities, low
quality
of social services, wide-spread unemployment and severe under-employment
which have all combined to lead to our sluggish growth.
This Administration's policy thrust will therefore aim at remedying
the above deficiencies through direct intervention, particularly in
the social
services
sector, and also by way of creating an enabling environment that would
encourage a vibrancy in the private sector, thereby making us all,
including local
communities, partners in progress.
Policies:-
EDUCATION
Objectives of Policy
Given that the literacy rate in our state is around less than 20 percent,
this Administration will pursue an educational policy that will make
it possible for all citizens of the relevant age groups to achieve
basic levels of educational
competence. In order to raise the literacy rate to 80 percent within
the first 1,000 days of my Administration, our innovative two-pronged
approach
to education will focus on:
1. Introduction of Neighbour-hood schools,
2. Introduction of free (tuition) and compulsory education, up to
junior secondary school level, by the year 2000.
NEIGHBOUR-HOOD SCHOOLS
The entire state is to be structured into school districts. Each
school district is to have a district office; well-equipped library,
computer-center
and
a clinic which is capable of running eye and ear tests. There will
also be transportation system to be operated with private transport
companies
for
each locality, with expected community support and participation.
It is our expectation that the provision of local transport facility
for
children
within
the school districts will eliminate the need for "school-runs" and
give workers the freedom to concentrate on their jobs, thereby
raising the level of productivity.
Our target is to improve literacy and numeracy rate from the present:-
(a) 50% for men by the year 2000 and
(b) 40% for women by the year 2000.
This, we wish to achieve within a time frame of between one and
3 years.
With everybody's co-operation we hope to achieve improvement
in education that will embody:
- Investments in the future of our state and country
- Improvements in literacy and numeracy rates.
- Improved productivity through enhanced skills capacity building
- Avenue for poverty alleviation
- The promotion of social, cultural and civil awareness.
HEALTH
Objectives of Policy
The thrust of our health policy will be on Primary Health Care
(PHC), which is to be administered in a holistic manner involving
the state
government,
local governments and our various communities. Within this
context, our objective is to provide health services that are promotive,
preventive, curative, and
rehabilitative. Furthermore, our people-friendly PHC programme
will make
essential health care accessible, acceptable, and affordable
to the poor in the communities.
Our priority activities shall therefore, include:
• Establishment/reinforcement of two PHC Centres per LGA, i.e., a maternity
and a Health Center; each to be well-equipped with up-to-date facilities
including one ambulance per centre. Periodic rounds are to be made by qualified
doctors to each PHC center.
• Establishment of one State Hospital for each of the three senatorial
districts in the state, with each to be well-equipped and staffed.
• All the afore-mentioned health facilities would have direct links to
referral centres in UNTH, Park Lane Hospital, and the Orthopaedic
Hospital in Enugu.
The target and time frame are to increase in access of communities
to heath-care from the present level of about 50% to 70% by the year 2000.
It is my belief that my health policy objective will make
health-care available to the broadest masses of the people
in our urban
and rural areas. It will
equally ensure a wide heath-care coverage which should
help in:
(i) Raising life expectancy from the present level of 51
years,
(ii) Lowering maternal maternity rate (MMR) from the present
1,000 per 10,000 live births,
(iii) Lowering infant mortality rate (IMR) from the present
level of 82 per 1,000 live births, and
(iv) Lowering the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) from
the present 191 per 1,000 live births.
ROADS
Objectives of Policy
In order to further open up the different localities in
our youthful state, where the communities are essentially
rural,
and improve
accessibility to
the vast majority of our people; this Administration
will focus attention on expanding our network of roads.
Our priorities shall be:
1. Provision of Ring-roads linking up the Headquarters of the 17 LGAs in
the state.
2. Provision of state roads radiating from LGA Headquarters.
Our target is to link the entire state with an accessible road net-work
within a time-frame of between 6 months and 3 years. This policy will facilitate
movement of goods and persons, as well as provide basis for raising the
tempo of commerce, industry and agriculture, state-wide.
WATER SUPPLY
Objectives of Policy
Because of the vital nature of this resource, I want to assure you of
my Administration's determination to pay special attention to it. The
low
levels of access to safe drinking water, which is less than 30% of our
population, and the attendant poor sanitation, point to the potential
hazards of endemic diseases to which the masses of our people are exposed.
Realizing the severe deprivation which this deficiency represents, this
Administration intends to vigorously embark on policies that will ameliorate
the inadequacy. We strongly believe that the availability of safe, potable,
water would have multiplier effects on education and productivity.
My Administration's priority in the first place is to take steps to determine
the appropriate combination of pipe-line projects vis-à-vis water
schemes, bore-hole programmes, etc. Our programme shall run in phases
as follows:
Phase I: Provision of safe drinking water within the Enugu metropolis.
Phase II: Provision of safe drinking water in 17 Local Government Area
Headquarters
Phase III: Ensuring that all citizens of the state have access to adequate
and reliable pipe-borne water.
We shall approach the project through the digging of bore-holes and
consolidation of water schemes.
Targets and Time Frame
Rural:
(a) To raise the proportion of the rural population with access to
safe drinking
water to at least 60% from the present 36% by the year 2000;
(b) Raise from 20% to 50% the proportion of the population with access
to proper
sanitation by the year 2000.
Urban: (a) Raise from 57% to 80% the proportion of urban population
with access to safe drinking water by the year 2000;
(c) Raise from 30% to 60% the proportion of the population with access
to proper
sanitation by the year 2000.
Our water policy will ensure availability of adequate supply of potable
water, engender good health and general well-being of citizens,
enhance the quality of life of our people and facilitate prompt disposal
of refuse and sewage.
POWER AND ENERGY
Objectives of Policy
Energy and its ready availability are so fundamental to meaningful
existence and development that it is becoming increasingly difficult
to imagine
any type of human activity that is not power-driven. Up to the
present time,
NEPA continues to be the primary agency for providing electric
power in the country. With the promulgation of our new constitution,
and
the placement
of energy in the concurrent legislative list, our state, like others,
has now assumed the authority for power generation, transmission,
and distribution.
While taking a hard look at the gaps in our energy needs, this
Administration intends to work with NEPA in the first stage in order
to maximize
the power generated and transmitted by the agency in our state.
In conjunction with NEPA, our priority shall be to design a grid-type
system to combine poles and transformers in order to reach the
widest range of
consumers dispersed in our urban and rural communities. We shall
lay less emphasis on the present rural electrification mode of
energy provision.
By this method, our benefits shall be constant availability of
electric power which is a prerequisite for rapid economic growth
and development,
as well as improvement in living standards. Specifically, energy
availability shall spur industrial growth, substantially lower
costs of industrial
and commercial productive activities, and free up resources for
other growth-generating
economic activities.
STATE PUBLIC SERVICE
Objectives of Policy
Recognizing that the state's Recurrent Expenditure eats up a more
than proportionate share of revenue from the Federation Account,
this Administration
will take a look at the short, medium, and long term revenue
prospects of the state government.A determination may have to be made
regarding
whether the size of the workforce, and the wage bill, is consistent
with a level
that can free up resources for economic growth and sustainable
development. It may also be necessary to streamline the bureaucracy
in order to
be able to operate with a structure and size consistent with
an effective and efficient
state machinery. The streamlining will likely commence with the
leadership of the state bureaucracy. Basically, this
Administration being uncomfortable with an apparent pattern of
dependency on the federal/state relationship, is desirous of
exploring prospects
for generating sources of financing not only for resource augmentation
but
more importantly for implementing development projects that will
be beneficial to the broad masses of our people.
As one of the key initial steps, in order to inculcate a new
democratic culture into the workforce, orientation programmes
in governance
may need to be organised for workers.
Our target in this direction will be to restructure and overhaul
of the entire Public Service within a time frame of between 7
days and
2 years
of the inception of this Administration.
My good people of Enugu State, one might be excused to wonder
how we shall be able to fund all these programmes. Let me assure
you
that
laudable programmes
such as we have enjoy international attention, national support
and community co-operation. To this end, our anticipated sources
of funding
shall include:
1. External:- UNESCO, UNlCEF, WORLD BANK,UNDP,EU, ILO, ODA, USAID,
ADB, UNlDO, JICA, Global 2000, IDA, UNFPA, Ford Foundation, Carnagie
Foundation,
etc.
2. National :- FGN, FMOH, NPHCDA (National Primary Health Care
Development Agency), etc.
3. State:- BlR, Commerce and Industry
4. Community Participation.
CONCLUSION
My dear good people of Enugu State, we have always maintained
that we were in search of the power to do good. Our interest
is in those
people
who
time has forgotten, those who civilization has left behind;
our brothers and sisters who are outside the 'belt-way'.
The mother in Umulokpa, who dies from normal child birth; the
baby in Ndiabor who dies from simple diarrhea, the child who
drowns
swimming across Agu
Iduma Aniyi River in Amagunze to get to School, and the father
in Ugwugo -Nike who agonizes over the payment of school fees.
Never, Never, Never again! Never again shall have two societies
in Enugu State. No more two societies: one for the rich, one
for the
poor; one
for those at Coal Camp, a different system for those in G .R.A.
A school system
for those at Abakpa, a different school system for those inIndependence
Layout. Lack of water supply in Isi-uzo, but water supply for
the rich in Enugu. They buy as much water as they want. A system
where
our land
is shared amongst the rich few who pay little or no taxes,
who send their wives abroad to be delivered of their babies,
send
their children
abroad
for education and jet all over the globe for social activities.
Today, change will start. Indeed it has started. Change to
one great society, where that mother in Umulokpa will have
equal
access to
healthcare as the
mother in G.R.A., the child ar Amagunze will have he same access
to education as the child in Independence Layout. The child
in Ndiabor will have the
same access to healthcare as the child in Ekulu, Enugu. That,
we pledge
and more.
This is the beginning of the journey of inclusion. Our people
want to be counted. "Ana guo, si anaguye ha. Tufu akpagbure, si ana ajuo ha ihe
ha chere". That to me is democracy. Democracy is God's
gift to man. It is only with the democratic process, that we
all can indeed be equal.
The struggle continues! Victory is certain.
God bless Enugu State.