Photo: Gov Mutfwang, 7th from right, with Amb. Samuela Isopi, Head of EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, 6th from right, alongside Sen Napoleon Bali, Rep Beni Lar, Rep Musa Bagos, Rep Peter Gyendeng, Rep Isaac Kwallu and other top political associates and PDP functionaries during the visit.
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has called for the deepening and strengthening of relations between the state and the European Union (EU) with the view to achieving developmental goals that would better the living conditions of the people of the state.
Gov Mutfwang made this known during a courtesy visit to Amb. Samuela Isopi, Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, in Abuja.
According to the governor, deepening and strengthening the relations between the duo would enhance human capital development, help the implementation of climate adaptation programmes, the mainstreaming of gender and youth development, improve agricultural value chain and promote investments in digital economy within the state.
He noted that, apart from Lagos, Jos was the only city in Nigeria with the largest concentration of Europeans and other foreign nationals during the pre-independence period, which was largely due to Plateau’s favourable climatic conditions, touristic features and the people’s hospitable nature.
Mutfwang expressed gratitude to the EU for its significant past intervention programs in Plateau through projects in the water and sanitation sector, which directly benefited citizens, especially those in rural communities.
The Governor noted that his administration would count on support from the EU and its member states for advancements in key thematic sectors, such as water and sanitation, renewable energy, green economy and infrastructural development.
He, however, stressed the importance of security as the foundation or fulcrum on which every meaningful development could take place.
Mutfwang pointed out that Plateau was among the states in Nigeria, which had already domesticated the Child Rights Act, Gender and Equal Opportunities Act, and reiterated his administration’s commitment to combating Gender-Based Violence in the state.
Responding, Amb. Isopi said the EU had carried out interventions at Government Science School, Kuru, as well as projects in Mangu, Shimankar and other rural communities in Plateau.
She expressed the EU’s commitment to further support the state for the benefit of the people, adding that the EU had been providing technical assistance to Nigeria in human capital development, digital economy, climate change, water and sanitation.
A statement issued on Thursday by Gyang Bere, the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, said Mutfwang also visited the Acting Ambassador/Charge D’Affairs, U.S Mission to Nigeria, Mr. David Greene, in Abuja, where he also solicited for support to address insecurity in Plateau State and improve the living conditions of the people.
Periscope International reports that the Governor was accompanied on the visit by Sen Napoleon Bali, Rep Beni Lar, Rep Musa Bagos, Rep Peter Gyendeng, Rep Isaac Kwallu and other top political associates and PDP functionaries.