AFIKPO NORTH HOLDS FESTIVAL OF THANKS FOR GOV. UMAHI

By Monday Eze
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His Excl. Enger. Dave UmahiGovernor, Ebonyi State

Thursday, 3rd July, 2017 was a special day in Afikpo North Local Government Area. The occasion was the project tour by appointees of Ebonyi State Government of Afikpo North extraction; and the purpose was to inspect the qualities and progress of works at the sites of the various projects being done by the Divine Mandate administration of His Excellency, Deacon David Nweze Umahi in Afikpo North. Leading the impressive array of honourable male and female political appointees to the project inspection tour were the Honourable commissioner for Solid Mineral Development, Engr. Francis Orji; Former Secretary of Ebonyi state chapter of PDP, Chief Okpani Ndukwe and the Special Assistant to the Governor of Ebonyi state on Labour Relations, Mrs. Grace Chukwu. For both the team of political appointees and the respective contractors handling the various jobs, the excercise was a routine inspection tour, but for the pastoral community folks, it was something more than a project inspection tour. It was an opportunity for the community people comprising youths, women, men and even nonegerians to pour out torrential hearty appreciations on the Divine Mandate administration of His Excellency, Chief David Nweze Umahi for making life easier and more meaningful for them through the numerous life-enhancing projects.

The supervision train commenced work at the Bishop Michael Okoro Regional Market where the contractors were busy on the two bridges constructed apiece at the points of ingress and egress of the regional market. There, Engr Francis Orji, Chief Okpani Ndukwe and even women like Mrs. Grace Chukwu and Mrs. Cecilia Akanu climbed up the bridges to ensure that the formations as well as the quality and quantity of the materials used conformed with the job specifications. Thereafter, the team of project inspectors proceded to Ngodo - Amangbala - Eke Market road. The road contractor had done a good job on the drainages or water ways. A greater part of the road had been asphalted while the rest which level had already been taken with laterite would be sealed at the end of the rainy season. At the Amangbala junction, the villagers surged out expressing joy that after a long period of neglect, Governor David Nweze Umahi's administration had remembered them and was building a brand new road in place of the death trap which Ngodo - Amangbala - Eke Market road had been.

Elder Ibiam Idam Ibiam
The inspection team moved to Amangbala - Amizu - Nkpoghoro road where a lot of progress was being made by the contractor to deliver the job on schedule. Like in Ngodo and Amangbala, the rural - dwellers comprising men, women and youths whose lives had been made miserable by the completely dilapidated road, rejoiced over the road project which marked a new and positive dawn in their community. The people appreciated His Excellency, Deacon David Nweze Umahi and his Divine Mandate team for breaking the perennial jinx which the dilapidation of Amangbala - Amizu - Nkpoghoro road had been and promised to continue to support Governor Umahi especially in his second term bid come 2019. The contractor who was handling Ngodo - Amangbala - Eke Market and Amangbala - Amizu - Nkpoghoro road projects, Engr. Matthew Ibemgbo was full of thanks to Ebonyi State Government for providing all the logistics necessary for timely delivery of the projects. He explained that the delay in the commencement of the reconstruction, rehabilitation and dualisation of McGregor road was due to the failure of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company - EEDC - to relocate electricity poles and installations from the roadside to give room for the dualisation. Engr. Ibemgbo expressed hope that with the last interaction between the relevant authorities and EEDC, all obstacles to the McGregor road project will be cleared in a matter of weeks and the project will take off by the end of the month.

The high point of the project inspection tour was the visit to what passed for an emotional project at Unwana in the same Afikpo North Local Government Area. The project is the reconstruction of Dr. Akanu Ibiam road which leads to the country home of the former Governor of East Central State of Nigeria and late traditional ruler of Unwana community, His Excellency, Ezeogo (Dr.) Francis Akanu Ibiam. The degree of dilapidation of that road and other major roads in Afikpo North Local Government Area was enough justification for the description of Afikpo North as one of the "Gentile" areas of Ebonyi state which had not seen meaningful government projects for decades by a public affairs analyst. That this road leads to the home of a former governor of the entire Eastern region leaves no one in doubt about the wide gap that existed between the preachments and the actions of previous administrations in Ebonyi state as regards respect for our founding fathers, senior citizens or "our heroes past"! The truth is that Umahi's performances have given him out as the only governor in the history of Ebonyi state who is developing every part of the state simultaneously and without regard to minor passions. The ordinary masses of Unwana, nay Afikpo North Local Government Area are conscious and appreciative of this fact. This was why Unwana people surged out to receive the team of project inspectors with ecstatic songs of appreciation for His Excellency, Chief David Nweze Umahi whom they referred to in their songs as "the Governor of the governorless". From that point, the project tour was hijacked by ecstatic pastoral folks of Unwana who turned it into a festival of thanks for their benevolent governor - Engr. David Nweze Umahi. The positive passion which they infused in their appreciation was overwhelming, and the project inspection team had no other choice than to allow them to vent their gratitude to Umahi - a governor who has been touching Ebonyi people's lives through positively different projects.

The project inspection team leader and commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Engr. Francis Orji appreciated the people and urged them to continue to support Governor Umahi's administration in its avowed bid to develop Ebonyi into a model state.

For the former Ebonyi state chapter Secretary of the PDP and member of Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board, Chief Okpani Ndukwe, who was one of the earliest supporters of Chief Umahi in 2014, Umahi's projects in Afikpo North Local Government Area and the impromptu festival of thanks it elicited from Afikpo people was a mark of vindication for him. According to Chief Okpani Ndukwe, "The projects which His Excellency, Governor David Nweze Umahi is doing in Afikpo North Local Government Area and the reaction of the people has vindicated the members of the 2015 Divine Mandate campaign organization. It is a summary proof that we did not deceive you. Governor Umahi whom we presented to you and asked you to support and vote for is delivering on his promises. He has re-integrated Afikpo North into mainstream Ebonyi state and he deserves our total support and votes in the 2019 elections to win his second term. One can only vote if one is a registered voter. So, I charge you, especially the youths who are just attaining the age of franchise to ensure that you register and obtain your voter cards. That is the only way we can sustain this tempo of development in Ebonyi state."

The icing on the cake of the festival of thanks for Governor Umahi was the presence of the aged including the oldest man in Unwana, healthy and agile Elder Ibiam Idam-Ibiam, who celebrated his 94th birthday in March 2017. Elder Ibiam Idam-Ibiam, a former aide of His Excellency, Dr. Francis Akanu Ibiam, who was visibly excited said that "It is a thing of joy that after many years of neglect, God has sent Governor David Nweze Umahi to come and develop Unwana community. I urge our people to support Engr. Umahi's administration and I pray that Chief David Umahi should remain in power for as long as possible".

The leader of Afikpo North legislature, Mrs. Helen Oluchi Ama and other Councilors as well students of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana all praised Governor Umahi for his projects in Unwana, Afikpo North Local Government Area and the entire Ebonyi state. They pledged their unalloyed support for Governor Umahi and his administration.

An eye-witness to the torrential rain of hearty appreciations for Engr. David Umahi asked in open-souled amazement: "What manner of governor is Chief David Nweze Umahi?" Recalling that Afikpo North festival of thanks for Umahi was not an isolated case, one finds a ready answer in the wise words of Elder Ibiam Idam-Ibiam: "God has sent Governor David Umahi to come and develop Unwana community, nay Ebonyi state!