No governor, in the history of Nigeria democracy has stepped away with his work complete, campaign promises fulfilled, nor without some baggage left behind for his predecessor, but Governor David Umahi is about to break that jinx for good.
Governor Umahi was unarguably, the only governor in the South East whose victory was predictable in 2019. While his counterparts struggled with identity crisis, he trudged on confidently, mainly on account of his shining vista of accomplishments. Not surprisingly, he polled the highest number of votes in each of the 13 local government areas of the state and was returned with a bang.
Without a speck of doubt, Umahi has justifiably stamped himself as one of the poster boys of good governance in the current dispensation. And his rich developmental track records have consistently won him bipartisan praise, a phenomenon rarely seen in Nigeria.
For instance, in 2016, Governor Umahi was crowned winner of the prestigious 2016 Zik Prize for Good Governance and Outstanding Leadership, awarded to him by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre, PPRAC. That watershed moment saw Chief Umahi top the list of three nominated governors which included Kashim Shettima of Borno State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano who emerged runners-up in the good governance category.
The story and narrative around the annual Zik Prize in Leadership intertwine with the wonderful trajectory of the life of the man who inspired the award, Rt. Hon Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria of blessed memory. And since its inception in 1995, Nigerians of true distinction and character in public service have been singled out and celebrated.
The award itself was a testament of how far Governor Umahi had gone to bring Ebonyi state to its admirable level from the backlogs of infrastructural deficit. His vision to put Ebonyi in the same rank of such important cities like Dubai in UAE, Jakarta in Indonesia, Rio in Brazil, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, among others was simply awe-inspiring. The award which flew in barely two years after he mounted the saddle, showed just how thoroughly the governor had invested in humanity through innumerable intervention projects in education, health, agriculture and other humanitarian services and how the embarrassingly knotty issue of underdevelopment had been dealt a fatal punch.
Just like the preceding year, 2016 again proved unique and colourful under Umahi as Ebonyi people continued experiencing the taste of the sweet flavour of development being dished out from the kitchen of the political Master Chef, Dave. The state soared like a falcon to endless heights and progress blew across the land like ocean breeze.
But perhaps, the most glaring achievement of 2016 was youth empowerment. Ebonyi became the state that pioneered massive engagement of youths in governance in Nigeria's political topography, with the inauguration of 191 new sets of Special Assistants, tagged, ‘Technical Assistants’ and 'Senior Technical Assistants' in August 2016.
Two things were significant in the appointments. One, the list was dripping with names of unemployed youths. Two; the appointment was
surprisingly dominated
by nominees from the opposition parties in the state such as the Labour Party (LP), All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and very little of the then ruling party. The Umahi's formular apart from justifying geo-political
realities in the state, immediately created refuge for the unemployed; more people were brought on board, until the number of appointees spiked to over a thousand.
The governor also stepped into the education sector with his magic wand. The immediate past administrations were unable to secure billions of naira in counterpart funding from the Universal Basic Education Commission. The Umahi's government stepped up and paid its contribution and obtained the money with which it began reconstructing and equipping of schools. This novel intervention birthed the era of UBEC projects in the state. He equally approved the promotion of the state university staff – a decision that had stalled for years.
The administration declared emergency in the health sector and began reconstruction of general hospitals simultaneously across the thirteen local government areas of the state.
Another resounding achievement of the state government in 2016 was its agricultural initiative. The administration poured billions of naira into the sector as soft loans to farmers, targeting expanded rice farming. The plan worked and rice production tripled. The government also procured parboiling machines for its three rice mills.
Meanwhile, the regime of projects and road construction continued unabated. Unsurprisingly, as a civil engineer, Governor Umahi placed infrastructure at the centre of the development matrix. The governor envisaged a prosperous Ebonyi state: an Ebonyi that is easily accessible, open to foreigners and Nigerians to pursue their potentials; a safe and clean environment; an Ebonyi that has connectivity and mobility.
Some of the blockbuster projects birthed by the administration in 2016 included the 700 metre twin bridges at Akanu Ibiam roundabout and the Presco junction and the pedestrian bridge at EBSU Permanent Site gate.
Generally, there were landmark records in road construction, box culverts and massive drainage channels in every part of the state. Contracts were awarded for construction of several bridges scattered across different towns and villages including the two number span bridges at Amangwu Edda, 6 span bridge across Ebonyi river in Onicha local government area and the strategic two number span reinforced concrete bridge at Odumoke road. The 3 span Ngbo-Agbaja bridge among others, was also constructed to connect communities that were previously cut off.
It is on record today that Ebonyi State is pioneering the use of cement technology or what experts call rigid pavement technology in road construction in which engineers have to cast with concrete over a mass of iron before asphalting the road. The idea is to extend the lifespan of the roads and to ensure durability.
Inspite of these far-reaching exploits, Governor Umahi's passion for service to Ebonyi people has remained unshaken and unwavering as he continues to zip open more bags of goodies for his subjects, and will remain so.
Barr. Mrs Chioma Nweze
Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Ebonyi State
Publisher: Don Martyn L.O
Ikeduru APC Media Hub
08032950897
Ikeduruapcmediahub@gmail.com
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