EMMA OBI, Calabar
Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Okon Owuna, has allayed the fears of skeptics who have been peddling rumors that the ongoing Federal Government, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Life Project recruitment exercise in the state is political.
Owuna made this clarification while addressing journalists Wednesday in Calabar during the recruitment exercise of prospective workers into the various positions advertised for the commencement of the Life Niger Delta (ND) Project for Cross River.
According to Owuna, transparency will be the watch word in the recruitment exercise adding that it will not be like the usual political appointments disclosing that the programme is an intervention put together by different stakeholders to empower the locals who are into agriculture.
It would be recalled that the Life ND Project is a partnership between the Federal Government, NDDC and IFAD to boost food production, create jobs for the teeming unemployed in society and to reduce tension particularly, amongst the youths.
The commissioner further disclosed that stakeholders met and selected “Cross River as one of the states leading in agricultural revolution thought it necessary for the interview to hold on July 28 and 29 in the state to support our agribusiness development”.
“The programme is not just an incentive but comes as a form of empowerment to support the growth and development of agriculture in our rural communities and nation at large,” he stressed.
Also speaking, Mr Abiodun Sani, National Coordinator of the project reiterated that the recruitment exercise would be transparent and seen to be highly competitive.
“Ordinarily you would have expected people to be selected without consideration of due process but failure of any project starts from the beginning when you don’t get the right people to man it.
“We also have systemic checks to ensure that things flow normally and all the challenges associated with project failure are mitigated, he added.
Similarly, Dr Bright Watergire, Director, Project Coordinating Unit, Federal Ministry of Agriculture said the project was meant to be implemented in the nine states of Niger Delta region; six of the states to be funded by IFAD while the remaining three by NDDC.
He assured that the project will kick off within the shortest possible time since much time has already been lost.
Some of the positions advertised for include; State Project Coordinator, State Agribusiness Promotion Officer and others.
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