-to set up Road Traffic Authority
In keeping with its vowed commitment to continue to give priority
attention to education, the Enugu State Government has placed order
for the purchase of three hundred new buses for distribution to all
the public secondary schools in the state.
The State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke who announced
this while briefing the press at the end of the State Executive
Council Meeting in Enugu chaired by the Governor, Mr. Sullivan I.
Chime, said that the sum of more than One point five N1.551 billion
has been set aside for the purchase of the buses.
The Commissioner who was accompanied by his Culture and Tourism
counterpart, Mr. Joe Mmamelu, that of Education, Dr. Simon Ortuanya
and Mrs. Patricia Alum of Science and Technology said that government
embarked on the project to ease the problems of transportation facing
secondary schools in the state, especially during exams and schools
outings.
Mr. Ugwoke also said that the council approved a loan guarantee of
N200 million for the refurbishment of Nike Lake Resort Hotels to
improve on its first class hospitality to customers.
The Commissioner explained that money which will be paid back to the
bank that provided the facility by the operators of the hotel will be
spent on the total refurbishment of 88 standard rooms and 12 suites
now, while refurbishment in other sections will be carried out in
phases.
The council according to the Commissioner also approved that a draft
bill for the establishment of the State Road Traffic Management
Authority be sent to the State House of Assembly for its consideration
and possible passage into law.
He said that the bill if approved and passed into law would help
regulate control and manage road traffic within the state.
Mr. Ugwoke stated that the council approved the payment of the state
counterpart fund for the participation of three local governments in
the state in the Conditional Grant Scheme to the Local Government
Millennium Development Goals.
The six hundred million naira package will be shared in the ratio of
three hundred million naira representing fifty percent by the federal
government, one hundred and eighty million naira representing thirty
percent by the state government while the three benefiting council
areas of Aninri, Igbo-Etiti and Isi-Uzo will contribute N120 million
representing twenty percent of the entire fund.
Approval of the council was also given for the constitution of a
special committee to review all the agric related World Bank Assisted
projects/programmes in the state.
The committee to be headed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on
Health, Dr. Mrs. Edith Okolo, would help ensure that the impacts of
the programmes/projects are in line with the counterpart contributions
made or paid by government to finance them.
