Group Celebrates The Conferment Of Anti-corruption Commander On Governor Umahi By Icpc

A non-governmental organization championing the cause for probity, due process and good-governance in Ebonyi state, Ohaukwu Vanguard for Good Governance, has commended the executive governor of Ebonyi state - His Excellency, Dr. David Nweze Umahi - who was bestowed with the honour of Anti-corruption Commander by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, at the International Conference Center, Abuja on 10th October, 2017. Rising from its well-attended 21st general summit held on Sunday, 16th October, 2017 at 135, Ezzamgbo in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, the group congratulated the recipient of the honour whom the group described as a role-model and a good example for other managers of the public trust in Nigeria to copy.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the summit, the director of media and publicity of Ohaukwu Vanguard for Good Governance, OVGG, Mr. Monday Eze, said the group is happy because the ordinary masses of Ebonyi state are the ultimate beneficiaries of Governor Umahi's zero-tolerance for corruption. He said that it was the funds that Umahi saved through his Anti-corruption policies and effective blockage of channels of financial leakages that gave rise to the numerous and high quality life-enhancing projects which dot the entire landscape of Ebonyi state. According Mr. Eze, "It is on record that within twenty-nine months of the Divine mandate administration in Ebonyi state, Governor David Nweze Umahi has completed concrete - based rehabilitation of over forty-four roads and streets that make up the internal road network of Abakaliki urban. Over 30 other road projects are on-going across the 13 Local Government Areas and in new towns of Echi Aba, Hilltop, Hausa quarters, Agu Ogboriga Mbukobe all in Abakaliki. Umahi has also intervened in the reconstruction of some federal roads with a total distance of 54.5 kilometers; a virgin concrete-based road is being constructed from Hilltop to Nwofe Agbaja while street lights have been installed along nearly all the roads, streets and avenues in the state capital and in all the headquarters of the 13 council areas.

"Bull-dozzers have been acquired for each of the 13 local government areas to enable them open up the hinterlands. I will not forget the three overhead bridges, the Virology Centre at Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, the fabrication of biomass gasification power plant, the agricultural and industrial revolutions which are designed to create alternative economy for Ebonyi state and her people and the unprecedented empowerment of about 15,000 youths, women, widows, and the physically-challenged Ebonyi people including those in the Diaspora among other projects!" Eze submitted that it is only an honest and frugal man that can build such quantum and quality of projects from the meager resources of a low-income profile state like Ebonyi; adding that in two years and five months of recession, Umahi has achieved for Ebonyi people what the previous administration which enjoyed income boom all through could not achieve in eight years.

Expressing the appreciation of the group for the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission for encouraging Umahi whom the media and publicity director said "chose honesty as a vocation", Mr. Monday Eze added that "ICPC has demonstrated that it knows its job well because by rewarding good conduct, it has given people reasons to be good. I call on other anti-graft agencies to adopt this reward-and-punishment approach in the fight against corruption in Nigeria because an honour such as the one given to Umahi is equally a challenge for the recipient to continue on the path of integrity". The group called for a full-scale investigation of the unviable Ebonyi Power Plant project.

It could be recalled that Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state made zero-tolerance for corruption a core component of his Divine mandate administration in Ebonyi state right from its inception in May 2015. Investigation of the management of local government council funds at the twilight of the immediate past administration by the present fifth session of Ebonyi State House of Assembly revealed mind-boggling graft like lodging local government funds in personal accounts of agents of government or their sons, award of fictitious contracts, abuse of due process and so on. The implementation of Ebonyi State House of Assembly Investigation report was stalled through a frivolous court injunction. Joint measurement exercises on some uncompleted road contracts, the international market and the centenary secretariat projects exposed high profile graft which set some conniving contractors on the run. Even the much taunted Ebonyi Power Plant has been certified by dispassionate professionals as an unviable project which was used to divert humongous chunk of Ebonyi people's collective patrimony into private pockets.