Chief Frank Nweke Jr, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Enugu State, has promised to leverage the Agricultural Innovation Centre at Adaba, Uzo-uwani to boost economic transformation.

Nweke made the promise in continuation of his campaign in the Adaba Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area on Thursday.

He assured the people of Uzo-uwani that his administration would leverage the center with functional markets and a good road network if elected.

He assured people of the community that the needs they enumerated to him were among his top priority for the state.

Nweke promised the community, a firm resolution to the terror of herdsmen attacks, ensuring that itinerant farmers would return to their trade without fear.

He promised to provide them with extension services through Agricultural Innovation Centers set up across the state.

“We will help you to set up agricultural cooperatives and work through these to widen access to factors of production such as capital, and capacity building.

“Others include equipment, land, seedlings for rural farmers, people transitioning from the civil service, and a new generation of agro-food entrepreneurs.

“My government will also revive the era of farming estates and attract large-scale farmers in order to open up the entire Uzo-Uwani to accelerate development.

“These settlements will have all the needed infrastructure needed to live comfortably such as good roads, water, healthcare, schools, markets, and more,” he assured.

He said such will speed up rural development and reduce congestion in the major cities.

Nweke also said the community’s dilapidated roads would receive priority attention under his administration’s Strategic Road Construction and Rehabilitation Programme.

He said that such will give access to easy transportation of agricultural produce from the farms to the markets.

Earlier, Mr. Chimezie Agu, a youth leader from the community said that the PDP government failed to keep its promises to Adaba and its surrounding communities in Uzo-uwani.

Agu, who is a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party, listed agricultural machines, inputs, a functional market, and good roads as the pressing needs of the people.

“PDP administration has failed us, hence we the youths, have vowed to throw our weight behind the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the coming elections,” he said.