The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Monday signed the bill establishing the Edo State College of Agriculture into law, assuring that the agricultural sector in the state will get a new lease of life with the new institution.
The governor, while signing the bill at Government House in Benin City, described the law as historical and significant as it was the first bill to be assented to from the Seventh Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA).
He said the essence of the Edo College of Agriculture Law was to have three schools of agriculture that would train the needed manpower to drive and sustain the ongoing reforms in the state’s agricultural sector.
“When this government came on board, we said our emphasis will be on fostering economic growth and the projected growth will come from our natural resources.
“For us to take the full advantage of the natural resources in the state, we decided to restructure our college of agriculture which will train middle and high-level manpower to sustain the agricultural revolution we have started.”
He said the three schools have one governance arrangement and would partner with private investors in the state.
According to him, “We have one College of Agriculture which is made up of the School of Agricultural Technology and Engineering situated at Iguoriakhi; the School of Aquaculture and Marine Technology located at Agenebode and the School of Forestry and Environmental Technology located at Uromi.”
He said with the signing of the bill into law, work will commence immediately at the different schools.
“I want to assure citizens of the state that this first law under the seventh Edo House of Assembly is quite significant. With the law, we will swing into action to commence the building of the schools,” he added.
Presenting the bill to the governor for his assent, Speaker, EDHA, Rt. Hon. Frank Okiye, said due consideration was made with inputs from the house members as well as other relevant stakeholders to arrive at the bill.
“We looked at the spread of the schools, their composition and the expectations of the initiator of the bill,” he noted.
He added that the bill would boost economic activity in the state as it would train experts and encourage more investments in agriculture.
