By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has underscored his commitment to take every opportunity he has to stem the incidence of multidimensional poverty in the society.
Agba said that he had long resolved to efficiently deploy the instrumentality of public office in empowering the vulnerable, who did not have access to education, health, sanitation, and water, among other basic necessities of life.
“This is because if they do not have access to these basic necessities, then, it means that they are multidimensionally poor.
“They may even have money in their pockets and may still not have access because the amenities are not provided,” he explained to a delegation from Ekwostor community in Edo North Senatorial zone who paid courtesy visit on him in his office in Abuja on Thursday evening.
The mission of the delegation, under the auspices of Ekwostor United Association, was to express gratitude to the Federal Government for the construction of the Ekwostor-Ivhukwe Road, in Edo State, which had, for decades, remained impassable.
The delegation, led by its President General, High Chief Sunday Ameh, also presented an award to the minister as a symbolic reciprocal gesture for facilitating the dividend (road construction) of democracy to the people of the Ekwostor community.
While receiving the award, the minister reflected on the motivation behind the facilitation of the project, which, according to him, was his unwavering belief in rural development.
He said that he did not facilitate the construction of Ekwostor-Ivhukwe Road because he was expecting any form of gratification.
He stated that he believed in rural development and that his colleagues in the cabinet were aware of his interest in developing the rural areas.
Agba explained that he saw his membership of the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) under the chair of the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, and the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to direct critical interventions to the most deprived communities countrywide.