Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has been commended by a project task team of from the World Bank, for his commitment towards tackling the menace of erosion in the state.
Governor Sule received the commendation when he hosted the World Bank project team led by Ms Joy Agyene, at the Government House, on Tuesday.
The World Bank project team consists of representatives from the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), as well as ACReSAL, which is the next phase of intervention by the World Bank.
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The Project Task Team Leader, Ms Joy Agyene, commended Governor Sule for his commitment to putting interventions in place to address the plight of poor communities across the state.
While expressing satisfaction with the quality and standard of work so far executed, Ms Agyene said the World Bank is willing to work with Nasarawa State in the next phase of the project called ACReSAL.
She disclosed further that already the World Bank has approved USD7m to Nasarawa State, with USD5m already disbursed for the NEWMAP projects in the state.
“We want to highlight on your leadership, your overall commitment to the implementation of NEWMAP,” she stated.
She particularly commended the Governor for effectively engaging with NEWMAP officials, as well as routine monitoring of the projects.
Ms Joy further disclosed that with NEWMAP transiting to ACReSAL, the World Bank has already gotten ready the Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) for states participating in the project to sign.
She solicited for the Governor to accompany her team to inspect the completed NEWMAP project at the Rice Mill area of Lafia.
Earlier in an opening remarks, Nasarawa State Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Kwanta Yakubu, disclosed that NEWMAP undertook the construction of storm water and erosion drainage in three communities within the Lafia metropolis.
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Hon Kwanta then solicited for further technical assistance from World Bank to tackle problems of climate change and food security.
Responding, Governor Abdullahi Sule, appreciated the World Bank for providing technical support to help address problems of erosion that had plagued the people of the affected areas for many years.
Governor Sule noted that the state has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the NEWMAP and ACReSAL.
He specifically thanked NEWMAP for solving the perennial issues of flooding that has plagued particularly Lafia, the state capital.
The governor used the opportunity to plead with the beneficiaries of the NEWMAP projects to maintain the facilities.
