Obaseki signs bill establishing Edo College of Agric into law

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo, on Monday, signed the bill establishing the Edo State College of Agriculture and Natural Resources into law.

He said the essence of the law was to have three schools of agriculture that would be training the needed manpower to drive and sustain the ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector in the state.

“When this government came on board, we said that our emphasis would be on fostering economic growth through our natural resources.

“For us to take full advantage of the natural resources in the state, we decided to restructure our college of agriculture which will be training middle and high level manpower to sustain the agricultural revolution which we have started,” the governor said.

Obaseki, who performed the signing of the bill at the Government House, Benin, said that the three schools had one governance arrangement and that it would partner with private investors in the state.

“We have one college of agriculture which is made up the School of Agricultural Technology and Engineering situated at Iguorhiaki, the School of Aquaculture and Marine Technology at Agenebode and the School of Forestry and Environmental Technology at Uromi,” he said.

According to the governor, signing of the bill into law shows that work will commence immediately at the three schools.

He described the occasion as historic and significant, as it was the first bill by the Seventh Edo House of Assembly.

Presenting the bill to the governor for his assent, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Frank Okiye, said due consideration were made with inputs from the lawmakers and other relevant stakeholders.

“We looked at the spread of the schools, their composition and the expectations of the initiator of the bill,” he said.

The speaker added that the bill would boost the economic hub of the state as it would train manpower and encourage more investment in agriculture.