PDP’s attack on Gov Nwifuru ill-motivated — Unwuekumenyi Forum

Group known as Unwuekumenyi United Youth Forum Tuesday berated the 2023 governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii on the comment by his campaign organization on the inauguration of the rehabilitated runway of Chuba Okadigbo Airport.

The head of Media, Anychuks campaign organization, Moses Idika had in a statement after the inauguration of Chuba Okadigbo Airport runway criticized Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state for recklessly spending the state fund on the airport and on the visit of the President’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and wives of Governors to the state.

They also alleged that the state under Governor Nwifuru incurred a high-profit debt.

But briefing journalists in Abakaliki, President of the group, Prince Uche Ali Ega flanked with publicity Secretary, Ali Daniel among other members described the statement as act of desperation and ill-fated motivated aspersions on Nwifuru’s administration.

The group, however, outlined the achievements of the present administration and the governor’s resolution to uphold the interest of the state via the People’s Charter of Needs mantra.

The text of the briefing by Ega reads, “the attention of the Unwuekumenyi United Youths Forum has been drawn to a Sponsored Press Release signed by one Moses Idika, representing a group christened Anyi’ Ga Emeya Movement in which he cast obviously ill-motivated aspersions on the people-oriented administration of our illustrious son and Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt Hon. Bldr. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.

“The Release which conveys the desperate and ill-intents of the sponsor, Chief Ifeanyichukwu Odii, aka Anyichuks, is no doubt one of his usual early but fruitless ploys aimed at provoking ill feeling among Ebonyi people and constituted authorities.

“Having unmasked the man behind All the media arrows and their attendant distractions against the People’s Governor, we are most grievously compelled to remind Chief Ifeanyi Odi (Anyichuks) that in as much as he is free to exercise his political rights by contesting for whatever position he wants to contest for, as many times as he wishes, he must NOT test the depth of the river with both legs through unwarranted and frivolous media provocations and attacks at this early stage of Governor Nwifuru’s First Term.

“That Governor Francis Nwifuru from inception of his administration vowed to strategically address the needs of Ebonyi people by strictly adhering to the documented People’s Charter of Needs encompassing all sectors of the state economy. In doing that, he covenanted never to take any domestic or foreign loans. His administration has unwaveringly kept to that vow. There’s no record anywhere of the present administration contracting any loan arrangement to enable it to deliver quality governance to the people. Yet from available records, the state has continued to advance in leaps across sectors.

“That, Chief Odi and a handful of supporters failed to understand the fact that government is a continuum because if he had researched well, he would have realized that the loan statistics he quoted as emanating from the Debt Management Office, DMO was not pointing directly to this administration but an accumulation from previous administrations, which the Governor in his determination to make the state self-sufficient has significantly decimated within these few months in office. It is on record that as at March 31, 2024, Governor Nwifuru had already cut the state’s domestic debt down from N76.14 billion to N70.44 billion, down by N6.30 billion. Going by that, it is obvious that as it stands today, the domestic debt profile of the state has gone far below what the writer quoted. Same justifiably goes for the foreign loan profile.

ALSO READ: You’re wasting Ebonyi resources on Airport, PDP’s Odii tells Nwifuru

“Anyichuks should be reminded that the statistics he quoted through his paid agent, from DMO has remained a contentious one as the state government had earlier refuted the claim that Ebonyi was among the 17 states that borrowed $125.1m (#112.24 billion) from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These erroneously documented record has already cast doubt on the authenticity of the statistics quoted by this writer. Let us assure our beloved people of the state that debt profile is a relative term, and the state’s debt profile is not as high as represented in the write-up.

“As it stands, Ebonyi State is still the least in both domestic and foreign debts among the South East states.

“On the Chuba Okadigbo International Airport, Onueke which the writer erroneously designated as Cargo Airport, we wish to state that his position betrays his ignorance of simple economic principle. The Governor from the beginning made his position clear concerning the reason for awarding the contract for the reconstruction of the faulted runway.

“The Governor in full cognizance of the fact that government is a continuum found it more valuable to redeem the huge investment of the previous administration on the airport by making it fit for flight operation. The money spent by his administration to totally reconstruct the runway is far less injurious than letting the entire mega Investment die away simply because the runway constructed with concrete pavement was declared unfit for flights operation by aviation authorities. It would have been an economic miscalculation and disaster to have abandoned such huge investment to go moribund. If that had happened, some pathetic critics like this writer could have taken to the streets and media spaces calling for the head of this administration.”

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