CBN Rates Delta Best In Poverty Alleviation

Delta state was on Thursday adjudged the number one state in the fight against poverty by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following its success in Micro-credit financing.

In a citation during the CBN's third Annual Micro-Finance Conference and Entrepreneurship Award held in Abuja, the apex bank acknowledged that Delta State has committed over N750 million into its Micro-Credit Scheme a record figure that surpassed other states in the alleviation of poverty.

The Delta state Micro-credit scheme has so far empowered 25,537 people in the state.

The state has N500 million micro-finance partnership with Oceanic Bank and N1 billion MOU with Bank of Industries for small scale enterprises scheme (SME).

Receiving the award at the Abuja Sheraton and Towers, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan said the award will propel the State to do more in the agricultural sector.

Thanking the CBN for the recognition, Governor Uduaghan said: "We want to thank Central Bank for recognizing our role in the Micro-Credit area and we are saying that Delta is not just all about oil, Delta is about other things including Agriculture. We have put a lot of emphasis on agriculture and we are happy that we are being recognized.

"We are one state that is putting a lot of emphasis on agriculture and I want to assure all of us here that whether the price of oil is falling or not Delta will continue to rise.

"Agriculture does not depend on OPEC, agric does not depend on Shell, agric does not depend on Chevron, agric depends on you and I, it depends on the peasant farmers, it depends on those population Dr. Soludo says have access to less than one dollar per day," Uduaghan said.

He envisioned that the agricultural sector in the state will employ over two million people and went on to say that the state Micro- Credit Programme, which has been hugely augmented by a separate N1.2 billion Micro-Credit disbursement by the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), has helped in ensuring peace and security in the state.

Governor Uduaghan who also inspected stands put up by the State Micro-Credit Programme and later presented items produced by beneficiaries of the scheme to some dignitaries including President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (who was represented by Vice President Good luck Jonathan and was also given a personal presentation) and the Governor of the Central Bank Professor Chukwuma Soludo.

While declaring ceremony open, Vice President Good luck Jonathan said the theme of the conference, "Commercial Micro- Finance as a Tool for Poverty Alleviation", was timely and will focus attention on various ways of eradicating poverty.


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