[Nigeria] Anambra to partner with Islamic bank on poverty alleviation

from The Tide

Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra said Thursday in Awka that the state would cooperate with the Islamic Development Bank for the success of its poverty alleviation programmes.

Obi made the pledge when a 13-man delegation of the bank, national facilitators and consultants of the National Special Programme for Food Security and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Finance called on him.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chidi Ezeoke, the governor said agriculture was central to government’s programmes and policies.

He said government was gradually attracting international donor agencies having missed their services for a long time.

Obi gave the assurance that government would partner fully with the bank in all its projects aimed at bringing succour and development. Earlier, the country representative of the bank, Mr Musa Sillah, said the bank was pleased to be associated with the food security programme in Nigeria.

He said Anambra was the first state to get the bank’s assistance since Nigeria joined the bank as its 56th member in 2005. Sillah said the bank had nothing to do with religion and politics, but was concerned with rural development and poverty reduction.