By Edwin Obune
I read the poorly written article by one Mr Odo Ugochukwu where he expressed his animosity, myopic and jaundiced sense of judgements against the government of Enugu State led by Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu).
Ordinarily, I would have maintained my calm knowing full well that the hatchet writer is one of the ungrateful elements in the state who have sworn never to see or admit any good thing coming out of the state for reasons best known to them.
But because the writer is on a catastrophic mission of demarketing the state with his shallow and uninformed views aimed at discouraging the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments in to the state, I have decided to make this necessary intervention.
Hence, contrary to the lies put out by Mr Odo that Governor Ugwuanyi’s performance is abysmal in the coal city, I want to prove the writer wrong with superior facts and evidence.
Before I proceed, I want to state again that I still could not figure out the essence of the disparaging article by Mr Odo knowing full well that elections are over. But since it seemed the writer is still campaigning even after elections are over, let me educate him a little.
Before the emergence of Gburugburu as governor, Enugu State used to be in the news for wrong reasons. The state used to be a hot-bed for insecurity, political instability and unnecessary rivalry between and among the elites and the first-class citizens of the state.
But with the emergence of Mr Ugwuanyi as governor on May 29, 2015, the whole scenario has changed. Enugu State is now a first choice destination for foreign and local investors because of its new status as the most peaceful and secured state in Nigeria.
Because of Governor Ugwuany’s pragmatic and all-inclusive style of governance, the elites as well as the political class in the state are now on the same page in all matters concerning the development of the state and the wellbeing of everyone in the coal city.
With the completion of 450 kilometres of roads in spite of the state’s meagre resources, Enugu State is now among the few states that enjoy the best network of roads in the entire country.
The government also empowered 2,400 traders with N50,000 each for them to start and sustain their businesses and livelihoods.
It also constructed and renovated more than 589 primary and secondary school blocks and procured modern learning tools and equipment for our children.
The state equally employed over 4,000 teachers and empowered another 750 youths in the state in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
It also constructed over 100 units of one bedroom apartment for 100 lucky civil servants in the state between Grade Level 1 and Grade Level 10, thereby turning civil servants in the state to landlords.
The government also rehabilitated the facilities at Ajali and Oji-River Water Treatment Plants which is providing clean and portable water to our people in the state.
It constructed and renovated district hospitals and health centres across the cities and rural areas of the state.
It constructed new court buildings and opened registries in the Judicial Divisions and Magisterial Districts of the state.
The government completed the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre started by previous administrations in the state without indebting the state or the next generations to huge debt profile.
It is also on records that Governor Ugwuanyi is the first governor to award post-election contracts immediately after he was declared winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship elections in Nigeria without giving-in to the euphoria of his second term victory.
I can go-on in listing the pragmatic and unprecedented achievements of the state government which Mr Odo wilfully refused to recognise in his article but because the realities of the moment does not call for that, I will end my article by asking investors to ignore the ill-informed piece by the hack-writer.
Dr Edwin Obune is the National Coordinator of Enugu Youth Coalition.
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