Water project: FG grants Ebonyi N1.2bn import duty waiver

PRESIDENTGoodluckJonathan has granted the Ebonyi State government waiver of import duty on all the ductile iron pipes and accessories meant for the reticulation of the multi-million naira water scheme project constructed by the state government to the tune of N1.2 billion.The state governor, Chief Martin Elechi, disclosed this in Abakaliki, the state capital, on Monday, while addressing stakeholders, opinion leaders, clerics, youth organisations, students, traditional rulers, market women, members of the State Executive Council (SEC), the legislature, among others, on the occasion of Nigeria's 52nd independence anniversary celebration and the 16th anniversary of the creation of the state.He said the Oferekpe water scheme located in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state had been completed, with all the pumps and generators required for the scheme installed for eventual fixtures and connections.Elechi disclosed that the state government had granted pardon to 92 prisoners on death row.He said death sentences passed to 18 others between 2007 and 2011 were reduced to life imprisonment.He added that a total of nine prisoners were pardoned unconditionally.Speaking against the backdrop of communal crisis in the state, Elechi said that the Department of Peace and Conflict Resolution in the Governor's Office had intervened in a total of 110 communal clashes and disputes in the state as of July this year.He appealed to the citizenry to maintain peace and eschew bitterness among themselves, maintaining that the incidence of kidnapping, unrest, crimes, insecurity brought about by the Boko Haram sect in the Northern states had worsened the pains of the people.
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