*Agric, empowerment, private sector devt top Edo's collaboration with World Bank - Obaseki*

...as Edo govt targets accelerated growth

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the new development deal being pursued by his administration with the World Bank will accelerate the state's growth following the adoption of key socio-economic drivers.

Obaseki said after hours of strategy meetings with officials of the World Bank, during their visit to the state last week, "The World Bank has gained deeper understanding of the issues in the state from the insights provided by the Edo State government."

He explained that specific interventions were identified at the expert meeting while clear timelines were discussed.

"The meeting illuminated the subject matter and cleared grey areas. We also discussed some variables that are largely extraneous but could impact on our strategies.

"We had a lot of takeaways from the session and the World Bank experts are now going to link their interventions with existing World Bank support instruments.

"Over the next couple of weeks, the state government will work together with the World Bank to fine-tune intervention towards activating World Bank support along the three areas, which are: Job Creation through agriculture; Private Sector development; and curbing illegal migration through skills development," the governor disclosed.

He maintained that the state government team highlighted the creativity of Edo youths and their readiness to leverage on the empowerment initiatives of his administration, such as the technology hubs and agricultural programmes, amongst others.

"With our profile as an investment-friendly state, we are confident that more support growth instrument will be extended to us by the bank and other development partners," he added.

Obaseki noted that his administration is committed to reversing the trends fuelling illegal migration as it has claimed several lives of Edo youths in the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.

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PHOTO CAPTION

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R-L: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud; Country Manager, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Nigeria Office, Eme Essien, during a meeting between the governor and the World Bank team, at Government House in Benin City, on Thursday, May 24, 2018.