The Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has
said that his four pillars of economic blueprint including Agriculture,
Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil and Gas, has started yielding
dividends, even as the state still savouring the exportation of vegetables
(Ugu) punkin leaves and (Onugbu) bitter leaf,
valued at $5 million to Europe, NaijaAgroNet reports.
Experts also defined Ugu as Telfairia occidentalis,
a tropical vine grown in West Africa as a leaf vegetable and for its edible
seeds. Common names for the plant include fluted gourd, fluted pumpkin, and
ugu.
While Onugbu - Bitter leaf also known as Vernonia
amygdalina, is a vegetable used for preparing the popular Bitter leaf soup.
Also known as Onugbu, Shiwaka and Ewuro by the Igbos,
Speaking in Abuja in an interactive session which
attracted Ndi Anambra residing in the North central part of the country at
Transcorp Hilton recently, Gov. Obiano said that the state is now a socially
stable, business-friendly environment attracting both indigenes and foreigners
to seek wealth-creating opportunities.
He also told the profile audience which comprised
the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, Dr.
Oby Ezekwesili both PDP and APC members of the National Assembly, former
Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju and leadership of the Anambra State Investment
Agency (ANSIPPA), charged with the mandate of attracting and fast-tracking
investments in the state has so far attracted over $4.2 billion deals to the
state.
The latest investment he confirmed was sealed on
Tuesday last week with Zolt Energy Limited to build a 40 megawatts Embedded
Power Generating Plant in Ogbaru. When completed in the next 18 months as
scheduled, all the power generated from it will be distributed mainly in
Anambra State.
On the state of
agriculture, Obiano who was giving a score card of his two and half years stay
in office disclosed that “in January this year, Anambra made headlines when it
became the first state in Nigeria to export vegetables (Ugu and Onugbu) valued
at $5million to Europe.
Further, Obiano said "Our locally produced brand of rice
known as Anambra Rice recently emerged the Best Rice in Africa at an African
Products Forum in Lagos. Anambra Rice was adjudged better and more wholesome
than other competing brands from South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Namibia
and Cameroon.”
