Created on August 7, 1991, out of old Anambra, Enugu state is located in South-East Nigeria. The capital, Enugu, was the headquarters of the old Eastern Nigeria, now made up of the South-East and part of the South-South geo-political zones. It sits on top of a hilly land mass area of 7,534.0 sq. km with estimated population of 4.41 million people. Its status as the base of the old colonial administrative headquarters confers some aura of myth and admiration of the place, popularly called the Coal City, (after its huge deposit of coal).
Agriculture plays an important role in the state’s economy and offers the largest window of employment among the people who engage in the production of yams, oil palm, taro, corn, rice and cassava – their major crops. The state is rich in mineral resources such as coal and iron ore. There are also huge deposits of limestone, fine clay, marble, and silica sand.
Enugu has many places of tourist attraction – both natural and man-made. These include: the Enugu Museum, Milken Hills, Ezeagu Complex, Awhum Cave and Waterfall, Ngwo Caves and Waterfall, Awhum Monastery in Udi, Opi Lake Complex, Ogelube Lake. Others are Polo Amusement Park, Nike Lake Resort, Ngwo Pine Forest, Ogelube Lake, Polo Amusement Park, Ani Ozalla Lake, Eastern Region Parliamentary Building, Bona Gallery, Silicon Hill, Ugwueme, Udi Hills.
The Projects Development Institute (PRODA), a Federal Government parastatal under the Ministry of Science Technology and Immovation, liaises with the state government to carry out research into, and production of locally fabricated instruments for industry and agriculture.
Fact-File
2021 Budget: N169.84 billion
Total Revenue @ 2020: N73,53 billion
FAAC @ 2020: N49.88 billion (68.74% of total revenue)
IGR @ 2020: N23.65 billion (32.16% of total revenue)
Total Tax @ 2020: N13.45 billion
Domestic Debt: N68,088 billion
External Debt: $24.23 million
Pupils in Primary Schools: 246,751 (2009)
Public Primary Schools: 1,485 (2009)
Public Secondary schools: 498 (2009)
Private secondary schools: 102 (2007)
Enrolment in public secondary schools: 75,643 (2009)
Universities: Six – 1 federal, 1 state, 4 private
Polytechnics: Four – 1 state, 3 private
Colleges of education: Five – 1 state, 4 private
Local Government Areas: 17
Numbers of businesses: 3,357 companies
‘There are Practical Moves to Boost Food Production in Enugu’
THEWILL findings showed that Enugu possesses potentials of eco-tourism. Its peculiar geographical values have been discovered as an appropriate site for groundwater exploration. Recently, the state government in its determination to ensure progress in the agricultural sector supplied infrastructure and other essential support to boost productivity.
In appreciation of this intervention, farmers in the state, under the aegis of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), commended the Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his administration’s efforts in the agricultural sector, which include the provision of seed inputs, infrastructure and mechanisation for over 11,000 farmers under the FADAMA III Additional Finance. They also applauded the provision of basic inputs as empowerment to over 700 commercial farmers and co-operatives all over the state through the Commercial Agricultural Development Programme (CADP).
The profiling and listing of 1,700 farmers and farmers’ cooperatives under the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) will soon commence. There will be pre-disbursement training and the provision of intervention fund in support of agricultural development in rice and cassava production in five local government areas: Aninri, Nkanu East, Isi-Uzo, Enugu East and Udenu. This will be executed under the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The Chairman of AFAN, Enugu State chapter, Chief Romanus Ezeh, on behalf of the farmers, commended Governor Ugwuanyi for the provision of critical infrastructure for the production of rice, cassava and sorghum in partnership with the African Development Bank through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme I (ATAPS1). According to him, the provision of farm inputs, fertilizers, improved seeds and agro chemicals to over 2,000 rice and cassava farmers under the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (CARES), was a giant stride in this direction.
Challenging Factors: Multiple taxes by local and state governments; notoriously poor electricity supply; menace of road transport touts; bad roads to the rural areas.
ENDOWNMENT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
