• Gov inaugurates civil service commission, ESUT, IMT, ESCET governing councils
• Charges new LG chairmen to be active partners in state’s devt

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has commended the Peter Mbah Administration in Enugu State for consistently allocating over 33 per cent of the state’s budget to education for three fiscal years.

UNICEF has also expressed readiness to strengthen its partnership with the Enugu State Government in education, child nutrition, healthcare and other areas of human development.

The UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Ms Wafaa Saeed, stated this when she led a delegation of the organisation on a courtesy visit to Mbah at the Government House, Enugu.

Saeed commended the state government’s investment in education, describing it as an investment in the future of Enugu children.

She noted that while UNICEF had been advocating that governments devote between 15 and 20 per cent of their budgets to education, Enugu’s commitment of about 33 per cent demonstrates a stronger prioritisation of the sector.

“We appreciate what Enugu State has done. Almost one-third of the state’s budget is devoted to education, far above the United Nations recommendation. It actually shows that ‘tomorrow is here’,” she said.

According to her, the level of state investment provides an opportunity for UNICEF to deepen its engagement with Enugu through the organisation’s global knowledge, experience and technical expertise.

The UNICEF County Representative said developments in Enugu could also provide an example of how investment in children and human development could contribute to the future of the African continent.

MEANWHILE, Mbah has inaugurated the recently reconstituted Enugu State Civil Service Commission and the Governing Councils of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, and the Enugu State College of Education Technical (ESCET).

The governor also inaugurated the newly reconstituted Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Board.

At the brief ceremony at the Government House, Enugu, Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the rejigging of the leadership of the various governing councils, boards, and commissions was in line with his administration’s determination to build strong institutions.

He said the administration would count on the new leadership in pursuit of its vision to grow the state’s economy from $4.4 to $30 billion, noting that such could not be achieved without an effective and efficient civil service and skilled manpower that fit into a 21st-century economy.

ALSO, Mbah has charged the newly sworn-in chairmen of the 17 local council areas in the state to immediately commence work, stressing that the local government system is not a passive arm of government in the state but an active partner in the state government’s development agenda.

The governor gave the charge following the swearing-in of the newly elected local council chairmen and vice chairmen at the Government House, Enugu.

The Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) had, on Sunday, declared candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winners of the 17 chairmanship and 260 councillorship seats in the council election conducted across the state on Saturday.