David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi and Obinna Odogwu, Awka
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, yesterday, splashed N1,050,000 cash and laptops on nine former corps members from Anambra State for distinguishing themselves during their service year.
The beneficiaries, drawn from 2018 Batch ‘C’ set, were honoured with the state governor’s award, with the first three positions receiving N200,000, N150,000 and N100,000, including a laptop each while the remaining six received N100,000 each.
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Coordinator, Kehinde Aremu, who spoke on behalf of Governor Obiano during the presentation, said the awards were in recognition of the contributions of the corps members to the development of the state.
He described the award as a burden and responsibility, charging the awardees to see themselves as ambassadors of both the state and the scheme.
The first prize winner, Amune Vera, on behalf of the awardees, thanked the Governor for the honour, as well as the NYSC management for providing the platform, praying God to reward them immensely.
Meanwhile, Governor Obiano said the state fire service is now better equipped to fight fire outbreaks.
He said with the recent employment of 120 fire fighters and acquisition of new equipment for the state’s fire service, any fire outbreak in any part of the state would be immediately contained.
The governor revealed that he had acquired new gadgets and also made new appointments into the workforce to improve their efficiency.
Speaking on Governor Obiano’s achievements, Commissioner for Public Utilities, Emeka Ezenwanne, at the second edition of Meet the Media organised by the governor’s media team, said a lot had been done to strengthen the fire service operations.
He said the state government has fortified the fire service unit of the Ministry of Public Utilities to respond promptly and effectively whenever the need arises.
Ezenwanne said preparatory to the upgrade, the governor appointed Ben Chiobi as the managing director of the fire service and also improved the staff strength of the unit with employment of 120 fire fighters.
He said the Obiano administration has reviewed the monthly hazard allowance for firefighters from N10,000 to N20,000 with periodic trainings and opportunities for capacity building.
“We’ve provided 13 utility vehicles, refurbished more than 15 units of fire trucks, bought five new ones and approved renovation of their offices,” he said.