Prof. Echiagu Emmanuel, is the Chief of Staff to the Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru and has in this exclusive interview with The Nations News Nigeria correspondent, Uchenna Okeh enumerated the governor’s achievements within one year in office, Excerpt:

The governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru is just one year in office, is there anything to celebrate?

The one year in office of the state governor, Francis Nwifuru has been very interesting, very fulfilling to a large extent. I’m privileged to have been appointed chief of staff by the governor and within this short period of time, he has made his marks in a number of ways. 

I’m one of those who developed the governor’s manifesto. I was the chairman and during that time, the brief we got was that his emphasis will be on human capital development.  And his predecessor has done a lot in infrastructure. It is not that he won’t do anything about infrastructure, but that the main emphasis is on human capital development. 

Health sector:

In infrastructure, take for example, when he came in, he realized that most of our general hospitals, are just hospitals in name, they are not staffed, if you go there, you won’t find any medical doctor or nurses to attend to you. The first thing the governor did, was to direct that medical doctors and other medical staffs be recruited for the general hospitals.

And this was done, and now all the general hospitals have qualified doctors and nurses that are manning them. He didn’t stop there, he gave them an SUV cars to enable them move freely because before now, every sick person ends up at the Alex Ekwueme federal medical centre, FETHA, which supposed to be a tertiary institution. You are not supposed to go there in the first place. You are supposed to be referred to FETHA. Indeed, the governor has done well to make sure that our health sector receive a great boost. 

Civil servants:

The problem of gratuity and pension in Nigeria, people will work for the government, hoping that when they retire, they retire in peace but you know what has been the situation in Nigeria at the federal and in some states. When they retire, they go for their gratuity. And gratuity supposed to be a bulk sum of money they can use to start up something. Pension is paid to you monthly until the person dies. 

But you know what has been the issue all over Nigeria, and so, when the governor, Francis Nwifuru assumed office, he directed that all arrays of pension and gratuity be paid from the creation of the state in 1996 to 2023. And that was done. And over four billion naria was spent on that. And now, the second phase of it, will take us from 2021 to 2023, and that one is being paid right now. 

Where in Nigeria have you ever seen a governor that paid pension and gratuity completely?. And so, the governor is doing very well, and of course, you are aware that when the issue of fuel subsidy was announced, he increased the salaries of all civil servants in the state by ten thousand naria. And during the last May day, he added another ten thousand naria making it twenty thousand naria.

Also, last December, he gave a bonus of one hundred thousand naria to civil servants in the state, which is something very great. 

In Ebonyi state university, which has been in a comatose position. And before now, people were not being paid their salaries, and there was arrays of salaries up to seven months, but when the governor assumed office, he increased the subvention of the university, with that, they were able to pay some of the backlog salaries. 

Then, during the last convocation, you are aware that he (Nwifuru) increased the salaries of all the university staff, academic staff by twenty percent and the non academic by ten percent. He reduced the school fees and again, increased the subvention to the state University. And so, with that, the university should be doing greatly well.

Infrastructural development:

The governor has done a lot on infrastructural development. For example, you know that the last administration did an international airport which was commissioned at the end of that administration. But there was a problem, because the runway was made of concrete, and the few airlines that tried to land there didn’t like it and they got damaged, because of the vibrations. But the only condition is that, if the runway can be done with asphalt.

The governor, Francis Nwifuru gave the contract to the infrastructure Development Company, IDC, to the tune of N17.3 billion to overlay asphalt, which is 300mm thick on top of that concrete, and the contract is almost completed. And so, with that, you will be expecting airlines to start landing at the Chuba Okadigbo’s international airport, Onueke Ezza South LGA, very soon.

Roads in the urban areas:

If you go to kpirikpiri area, you will see a good number of new roads that was created by the governor, Francis Nwifuru. All of them are concretes and many of them are overlayed with asphalt. And in the rural areas, the governor created new roads which the commissioner for works and commissioner for infrastructure will be in the better position to give you details.

Infact, part of the activities marking the one year anniversary of the governor, Francis Nwifuru, some of the roads will be commissioned. In different parts of the state; in Izzi, Abakaliki, Ikwo LGA, Afikpo, Ebonyi LGAs, there are many road projects going on there. 

Building of palace for traditional rulers:

He decided to build palace for the traditional rulers in the state. And contracts have been awarded, and some of the projects have started. We have about sixty four traditional rulers that are recognized by the state and all of them are getting new palaces. And any new one that gets recognized will equally get the same thing. 

Industry:

The former governor, Chief Martin Elechi set up a pipe making industry, and of course, you know the value if it is functional. You know the need for pipes in different sectors; water supply, in buildings and so on. But unfortunately, that industry was allowed to go moribund during the last administration and the facilities were vandalized.

When governor Francis Nwifuru came in, he decided that the pipe industry be rehabilitated, because it will generate revenue and create employment. He now ordered for new equipment from Chinqa that will make a different grade of PVC pipes. Now, the place has been fully reactivated and started producing pipes.

And If you have ever gone to the market in the recent time to buy pipe, you will know how expensive pipes are.

Security:

Ebonyi has been lucky in a way. You know that Ebonyi is the only state in South East region where people go to work on Mondays. And the governor has maintained that, and ensuring that the state is secured. Of course, like every place in Nigeria, there are occasional incidences of killing and other security issues. But most of the time, the culprits are apprehended. 

I will say that the governor has done well, and he has been funding security agencies to help them to do their work effectively. 

By Ene Ene, Calabar

A non-governmental organization known as Girls Leading Africa, GLA, at the weekend said it has completed the training of 21 girls, to reduce unemployment and poverty in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State.

The organization revealed its effort to accelerate the development of communities by providing girls and young mothers access to employable trades in the state.

The Organizers of the program said that it was a deliberate way of giving back to the community and to help young girls affected by social ills gain vocational training, confidence in financial management and long-term sustainable solutions to increase their economic opportunities and reduce unemployment and poverty in the state.

The GLA Board Member, Oluwafunmilola Ojo who spoke to newsmen at the graduation ceremony of the teenage girls, said that most girls in rural areas are deprived of empowerment. 

The Nations News Nigeria reports that the benefiticaries were trained on three main basic skills; computer operation, pastry making and tailoring for 12 months.

In a valedictory speech delivered by one of the Graduands, Eme Okon noted that this year’s theme “Roots and Wings: Empowering Young Women in Rural Communities to soar” reflects their journey as Girls Leading Africa.

She commended all GLA facilitators and staff for their tireless efforts and expressed her appreciation to the sponsor and the Board of Trustees for the kind gesture.

On her part, Admin Finance Officer, GLA, 

Nkoyo Effiong said: “We have gotten the necessary support that we need from the rural dweller, especially from the Head of Okoyong community, the Kabenta, this is his premises he voluntarily gave it out for us to use.

One of the best graduating students (Tailoring School), Elizabeth Asuquo, expressed appreciation to the NGO for the gesture, and pledged to make judicious use of both the training and the equipments given to her.