The Nasarawa State Government has announced its plan to establish an agency that would be saddled with the responsibility of alleviating poverty in the state.

Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma stated this when the special elders’ council of Lafia Division Unity Forum (LADUF) paid him a courtesy visit, last week.

He said: "Government will create a bureau for economic empowerment so that people can be taught how to get involved in commerce and commercial activities. Poverty alleviation through economic empowerment forms part of the cardinal policies of this administration and we would not waver".

The governor expressed his displeasure at the high rate of poverty among the people, assuring that different packages would be introduced to alleviate poverty in the state.

He commended LADUF for promoting unity among the people of the former Lafia division which now formed the present Nasarawa South Senatorial District.

The governor, who enjoined LADUF to continue with the struggle for a united and prosperous Nasarawa State, applauded the council members for supporting his administration’s people-oriented programmes.

He urged LADUF to support government’s effort to reduce the level of poverty in the state by encouraging the youths to be self reliant."

He called on the people of the state to return to the old tradition of hard work and self-reliance saying, "that is the panacea for poverty eradication."

Governor Doma also stressed the need for LADUF and other relevant groups to engage the government on issues that are development driven. He assured of his commitment to offer purposeful leadership, saying, "I am now focused and determined to justify the confidence that you have reposed in me."

Earlier, LADUF chairman, His Royal Highness, the emir of Lafia, Dr. Isa Mustapha Agwai I said, the forum was conceived to champion the common interests of the people of the zone and the state as a whole.

The emir commended Governor Doma for his focused leadership, assuring that they would continue to support the government.

He said LADUF, as a keen observer of events in the state, was appreciative of the level of development so far recorded by the present administration in the state.

"The successes so far recorded in the areas of roads construction across the state, urban renewal programme, water supply, health, education and above all, the handling of security and political issues in the state have placed you amongst the visionary leaders not only of our state but the country as a whole," the emir stated.

LADUF is a forum of the people of the defunct Lafia Division, presently known and referred to as Nasarawa South Senatorial District.