Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper West Regional Minister, has advised all in the region to continue to give education the utmost priority to get rid of poverty in the region.
He said the Upper West Region and the entire North was still grappling with poverty, probably due to the low level of formal education in the area, which must be addressed.
Mr Yakubu gave the advice on Friday when he paid courtesy calls on some chiefs in the region to introduce himself and to seek their blessings and support to serve them.
The minister visited the Dorimon Naa, Naa Alhaji Seidu Tungbani Salimbele II, the Sankana naa, Naa Pagranige Sakoe Mornah III, Takpo Naa, Naa Widaana-Nanga II, as well as the Wechiau Naa.
Mr Yakubu said he was in the region to build on what his predecessor, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih left and that he could only do that with the full support of all the people, especially the chiefs and opinion leaders.
He said bridging the South-North gap required the concerted effort of all indigenes of the north to take up education and farming seriously.
On farming, Mr Yakubu advised that the people took farming seriously since there were vast lands in the north, especially in the Upper West Region, saying farming was not meant for only those without formal education.
He said realising the importance of farming in the development of a country, the government had introduced the Planting for Food and Jobs, as means of helping address poverty, and urged the people to embrace it to empower themselves.
He also appealed for peace and unity in the region to propel the needed development for the benefit of meaningful youth employment.
Mr Yakubu advocated for a massive vote for the New Patriotic Party to retain power to continue to exert good governance to the people.
He said in the Upper West, the voting pattern must change saying, “You must not always put your eggs in one basket. You need to separate them so that if you lose one basket you still have some eggs to depend on.”
All the chiefs he visited expressed appreciation and asked him to use his influence to lobby for the construction of roads to link the various district capitals.
They also requested improvement in educational infrastructure in their respective jurisdiction to enhance standards in education in the region.
GNA