An amalgamation of several civil society organisations in Enugu North Senatorial District of Enugu State under the aegis of Nsukka Democratic Movement has said that a recent outburst of the Senatorial candidate of Labour Party in Enugu North “was born out of age-long bitterness and malice against the Governor.”
The pro-democracy coalition in a statement signed by its Founder and National Coordinator, Chief Willy Ezugwu insisted that “contrary to his allegation that no Nsukka person was made a millionaire by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, it is not the responsibility of the state government to be churning our millionaires in the state by deeping hands into the state treasury to enrich friends and family members.
“The primary responsibility of government is to create a good environment for businesses to thrive and to allow the residents of Enugu State to engage in legitimate ventures free without let or hinder.
“As a lawyer, Okey Ezea must be pitied, if his concept of good governance is by the number of kinsmen of the Governor who has become millionaires in the last seven years of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration.
“His reasoning is that for Governor Ugwuanyi to be an excellent performer, the Governor’s successes should be measured by how much of state funds he deployed to enriching NdiNsukka.
“The reason for this bizarre thinking is because, for a long time, good governance lost its meaning in Enugu State until Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi took charge in 2015.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it may be argued that Governor Ugwuanyi has not done enough in Enugu North as human wants are endless, but it is equally obvious that Nsukka zone has never had it so good.
“As a university town, Nsukka was completely cut off from the state capital due to bad roads.
“The Enugu – Opi junction bypass road and the Opi – Nsukka dual carriage way were the first efforts by the government of Enugu State to reconnect Nsukka to the State capital, Enugu, since there was no motorable federal roads in the Nsukka axis, even as an ancient border town to Benue and Kogi states as well as a gateway to Northern Nigeria.
“It is shocking that Okey Ezea would measure good governance in Enugu State by the number of Nsukka persons raised by the Governor as millionaire and billionaires, claiming that former governors, Chimaroke Nnamani and Sullivan Chime made their people billionaires.
“For the purpose of argument, is that the model of good governance – for a governor to enrich his kinsmen at the expense of the development of the entire state?
“Is it the responsibility of governments all over the world to be making people billionaires overnight?
“Is the responsibility of governments globally no longer to create social amenities and conducive environments for the private sector to thrive and create employment opportunities as governments provide necessary infrastructure and improve on human capital development?
“Where did Okey Ezea get his concept of sharing the state funds as model for good governance from?”, the coalition of pro-democracy groups queried.
Accusing the Labour Party Senatorial candidate of embarking “on peddling of outright lies and falsehoods against Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and presenting himself as a lover of Nsukka people, Okey Ezea should be reminded that severally he has contested to be Governor of the state and lost.
“Nsukka people can now see that their choice of Governor Ugwuanyi in place of Okey Ezea was a blessing for the entire people of Enugu State.
“It would have been a big mistake to have elected Okey Ezea as the state Governor. Electing him even as a Senator would be a disaster for Nsukka zone with his display of ignorance of how governments work.
“The peace and tranquility that reigned in Enugu State in the last seven years due to the leadership style of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who has consistently carried all parts of the state along and has given all residents a sense of belonging.
“The result is the glaring even development in all parts of Enugu State, without the clanish preferential treatment model of governance as advocated by Okey Ezea who continuously loses out due to his lack of understanding of governance.
“Okey Ezea took his politics of bitterness and misplaced aggression too far when he erroneously accused Governor Ugwuanyi of representing Nsukka at the House of Representatives when, in fact fact, he represented the people of Igbo-Eze North/Udenu federation Constituency at the house of reps.
“Therefore, if Okey Ezea wishes to find out the achievements of the Governor during his 12 years in the House of Representatives, the right place to make enquiries is among the people of Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, not a different federal consituency like Nsukka.
“Even though it is needless itemising all the infrastructural developments in Nsukka under the current administration, the opening up of rural communities through road infrastructure, the construction and upgrading of hospital facilities in Nsukka and across the state, the education and youth support programmes, even as Governor Ugwuanyi gave Nsukka zone three tertiary institutions.
“The State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, the Federal Polytechnic Ohodo, and a campus of Enugu State Polytechnic now located at Ezimo are footprints of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Nsukka zone.
“Governor Ugwuanyi also gave Nsukka a stadium, a secretariat annex at Ede Oballa, Udenu Ring Road, and a host of roads reconstructed inside Nsukka town.
“How about rural roads across Nsukka, linking them to the urban centres and three hospitals in the six zones of Enugu North all by the Governor Ugwuanyi administration?
“Governor Ugwuanyi has also appointed many of our youths – sons and daughters – in his administration.
“Governor Ugwuanyi has so far renovated old blocks and constructed new state-of-the-art education facilities for many primary and secondary schools in Nsukka through ENSUBEB and PPSMB interventions, just to mention but a few.
“Okey Ezea must know that he is not more Nsukka man than all of us and must be advised to desist from claiming to be the only voice in Nsukka zone”, the group warned.