2020 (JUNE 12) DEMOCRACY DAY & THE CELEBRATION OF 5 YEARS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL HALLMARKS OF EBONYI STATE GOVERNMENT UNDER HIS ECCELLENCY, ENGR CHIEF DAVID NWEZE UMAHI FNSE FNATE, GOVERNOR OF EBONYI STATE.

YOU TOO CAN SHARE IN THE OVERWHELMING TESTIMONIES OF GOVERNOR UMAHI’S EXTRA-ORDINARY LEADERSHIP.

As Ebonyi State marks 21 years of democratic governance and 5 years of innovative transformation by a Divine Mandate Administration piloted by a God fearing statesman and leadership role model, His Excellency Engr Chief David Nweze Umahi FNSE FNATE ,Governor of Ebonyi State, this year’s Democracy Day Celebration offers us another opportunity to reflect on Ebonyi before, Ebonyi today, the progress made so far and the Governor’s stewardship in the face of daunting economic challenges of the time.

In his mission to enhance the welfare of Ebonyi people and to empower them to be self reliant through the compassionate delivery of transparent and God fearing governance that is based on Integrity and dignity, the Governor’s Administration reflects his five -fold covenant with God and the prophetic proclamations he made at his 1st and 2nd inaugurations as Governor of Ebonyi, with his supportive Deputy, His Excellency Barr Eric Kelechi Igwe, PhD
The Governor has demonstrated that Nigeria has potentials for greatness. The 5 years of innovative governance of Umahi has turned Ebonyi State into a centre of excellence, where the state that was hitherto the most backward, is now the fastest growing economy and the most conducive environment for investment due to the level of developmental actualizations, infrastructural and human capital development it has attained in the last five years.
Ebonyi State under Governor Umahi celebrates:

1) the smoothest, strongest and highest number of network of roads ever built by a state government in the last five years. This is made up of 25 km concrete roads done in each of the 13 local Government Areas with bridges where desirable, with over 800 km concrete roads within the satellite and urban towns and over 300 km Federal Highway constructed by the State Government. Apart from dualizing the Abakaliki/ Enugu and Abakaliki /Afikpo Federal Roads, the state Government is dualizing not less than 23 km road along the locations of each of the flyovers that are being constructed in the state.

2) Ebonyi State is now reckoned with as the fastest developing state in the history of Nigeria and neatest state capital city in Nigeria, with numerous beautiful round about, CCTV Camera, digital LED facilities as well as 24 hours street lights scattered in virtually all the streets of the capital city and each of the local government areas measuring 20 km per LGA

3) Ebonyi has emerged today as the State with the highest number of flyovers after Lagos and Abuja and having the most beautifully adorned flyovers in Nigeria.

4.) The Governor’s zeal to lift the face and status of Ebonyi State can be seen in the way and manner he renovated the old Governor’s Office, the beautiful reconstruction made on the Old Governor’s office, the Old President Lodge, and the Old Government House premises before he commenced the conceptualization and construction of the brand new Government House, housing Nigeria’s most beautiful Governor’s Lodge, Presidential Lodge and Governor’s Office , a three- arm concept that is better visited than described; heaven on earth strategically linked with network of concrete roads connecting to Ocho Udo Centenary City and also connecting the new Stadium road from the main gate that is newly constructed to match the aesthetics of the New Government House.

5) We have made the list as the State with the highest number of modern water fountains in Nigeria and Africa’s biggest fountain. These fountains together with ornamentals planted to beautify the state are part of the inviting features for the creative industry and tourism.

6) We celebrate a State with the biggest light tunnel in Africa, 29 span , 4 – way tunnel with beautiful state -of- the- art facilities, including water fountains on top and underneath, linking the old Government House with the Ocho- Udo Centenary City, the shopping mall, and the Ecumenical Centre.

7) The State is building the biggest shopping mall ever built by a Government in Nigeria, and the biggest international market in the South East; one of the most beautiful International Markets in Nigeria,with a target of raising indigenous importers and exporters and attracting foreign and local investors to boost the economy of the state.

8) The Governor is building an International Airport that is set to be one of the three biggest in Nigeria fashioned after Lagos and Abuja Airport, sitting on 4×4 km land and 3.5 km runway. This cargo airport is going to be revenue spinner like Ethiopian Air business. This will promote international trade, attract multinational investors, be a feeder facility to our commercial ventures and other going concerns in the state. It will create thousands of jobs and wealth for the immediate communities and the state, in addition to land value and businesses activities that will appreciate in the area.

9) The Governor within three years in office reconstructed the state township stadium called Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium and made it the best in the South East with a modern guest house for accommodation of athletes and a glass sporting state box. He commenced the construction of a world class stadium, that will be one of the biggest in Nigeria with sporting facilities that will keep investors and residents physically fit to go about their businesses. It will promote tourism , stimulate talent development and generate revenue through sporting events. It is expected to be a frontline stadium in hosting national and international sporting events and games

10) The State Christian Ecumenical Centre, located at one end of President Muhammadu Buhari 4- way Light Tunnel is simply amazing. With its 20,000 sitting capacity main ball which looks like God’s abode on Earth and it’s numerous state- of- the- art facilities, including lobbies, reception units, lifts, world class mobile stage, escalators, barisol, 4- number water fountains adorning up and downstairs, front view fountain,3 offices, 7 suits, 11 single rooms, 500 capacity conference hall and VIP entrance lobby, the centre is world class facility. The ecumenical centre is a multi – functional edifice that also hosts national and international conferences and corporate social events. It also generates huge revenues for the state.

11) All the communities are now connected to the capital to make Ebonyi State a global village and encourage urban – rural migration, reduce the gap between the rich and the poor and trigger even economic development’ amongst communities of the state The Governor has commenced the construction of 189 K/M ring roads to connect the 9 Local Government Areas within Ebonyi North and Central Zones in partnership with African Development Bank (AFDB). He has concluded all processes with World Bank and Federal Government to construct not less than 46 km in each of the Local Government Areas in the state, under the Rural Access and Agricultural Market Project. The Governor is committed to doing all these roads in 8 inches concrete pavement with 50 years guarantee. This is part of the Governor’s plan to transform agriculture and solid mineral which are areas of our comparative advantage. This will promote entrepreneurship, enhance value chain in Agriculture, and Industrialization and thus boost our economy.

12) In Agriculture, one man one hectare, mechanization and commercialization, second address scheme, cluster farming through creation of Agriculture and Industrial Clusters, and investment in processing industries are the hallmarks of the policy trust of the Umahi Administration.
Under the Umahi administration, not less than 53,000 farmers are profiled yearly to queue into the state and Federal Government CBN agricultural Programmes.
With the state government owned rice milling plants totaling 24 M/T capacity per hour, the parboiling plant totaling 32 M/T capacity per hour and the over 1500 individually owned rice milling clusters, Ebonyi State is a leading rice processing state in West Africa. The role of Umahi’s administration in the procurement and or reactivation of these milling facilities cannot be over-emphasized.

13) Part of the efforts of his Administration to boost agriculture includes, reactivation of the 40 MT capacity Fertilizer Blending Plant built by his predecessor and the establishment of another 40 M/T capacity Fertilizer Blending Plant to provide the NPK fertilizer needs of South East and South South. This facility is the biggest in Southern Nigeria. It has been playing active role in the Presidential Agricultural Initiative of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, for which the state government remains grateful.
The Cassava value chain has been greatly enhanced with the introduction of hybrid vitamin A & C cassava stems and procurement of 4 – number 5 tonnes per hour cassava processing plants for starch and flour.

14) Ebonyi State under Governor Umahi established the largest Mushroom Farm in Nigeria, a glass Agricultural show room and exhibition house for all our agricultural and solid mineral products and a waste to wealth recycling plant called Pulverization Plant that has 200 m/t capacity per hour , the only one in the South East and one of the biggest in Nigeria.

15) The establishment of Smart City security system in the major junctions of the state with CCTV mounted to monitor road users and track criminals to their hiding place is the present administration’s initiative to reduce insecurity to its barest minimum. The Governor introduced, recruited and trained 4000 Neighborhood Watch members to add value to the security architecture of the state.
The security agencies have been motivated by the provision of over 100 Hilux jeeps and other security gadgets and the provision of social amenities in the barracks and Headquarters of the agencies including internal roads, water supply, street lights, landscaping and parameter fencing of their premises. Today, the State’ Police Command has the most beautiful parameter fence and the most sophisticated security gate among the states of Nigeria. The Army barracks in Abakaliki now has litany of roads done in concrete pavement, to mention but a few.

16) Governor Umahi values education and human empowerment as a bedrock of economic development . In education, he has embarked on massive construction school blocks in each of the wards of the state. School Agricultural Programme, Free and Compulsory Education for Out of School Children, where he injected not less than 7billion Naira for teachers’ equipment and pupils’ scholarship, are all geared towards raising the quality of education in the state.
He introduced special education, including Vocational College, King David Gifted School, Adult School and Agricultural Vocational Institute. The schools are doing alot in the area of raising capacities for artisans, entrepreneurs, craftsmen, technicians and other talent development initiatives.
That is why today , there is low insecurity, Everywhere in Ebonyi State is a construction site, the state has the lowest incident of capital flight, there’s increase in school enrollment, street hawking has been reduced ,and we now have a sense of self esteem instead of inferiority complex that used to be our indulgence

17) Ebonyi state has manifest improvement in its human capital development and education profile which is a product of the policy and programme of the Umahi led Administration. In 2017, the Education Index of National Universities Commission showed a geometric improvement in the state’s education system with a JAMB student from Ebonyi State emerging as the best JAMB Candidate in Medicine and Surgery. Also a Local Government Area in Ebonyi State produced the highest number of undergraduates amongst the 774 Local Government Areas in the Country in the same year 2017. WAEC Education index since 2017 has Ebonyi State as one of the 10 best States in WAEC Performance. This is a compelling pointer to the fact that Ebonyi State is performing above average in education and human capital development.

19) The State Government empowerment module places premium on training and retraining of entrepreneurs, bridging the gap between the rich and the poor through financial and moral empowerment of the youths, women, the down trodden, civil servants, farmers and indeed all classes of people.
The Governor has empowered 3000 youths and women with N750m. Ebonyi indigenes in Lagos who were hawking in the streets of Lagos have been empowered with N130m to go into enterprises of their choice. Over 53,000 farmers are given facility of N250,000 each to engage in farming and this has made them profit not less than N500,000 each annually. Under the State Government’s Second Address Scheme, 5008 clergy men and women have received N500,800,00( Five Hundred Million, Eight Hundred Thousand) grant to go into farming and related businesses.
N4 billion facility was set aside for the empowerment of Civil Servants in the state. Wives of officials of Security Agencies were trained and empowered with N80.6 m (Eighty Million Six Hundred Thousand. 400 Enonyi youths and women of very low means of livelihood, including those at Onitsha Anambra State were each given a brand new tricycle worth over N260m.The Governor’s covenant to empower the widows and enhance the living standard of the down trodden has received divine accomplishment as his administration has raised over 4000 poorest of the poor widows from poverty to prosperity. Over N400.3 m grant was given to 4,300 widows to go into dignifying trades. Over 50 women have each been empowered with brand new electric tricycles.

20) We have community empowerment programme where over 140 autonomous communities were given N10m each to go into social development project for the socio – economic good of the people. The traditional rulers of the various autonomous communities in the state received donation of brand new Jeeps. farmers received empowerment of 96 Sienna buses to provide transport services to farmers

21) The Family Soccour and Upliftment Foundation of the wife of the Governor, Her Excellency Chief (Mrs.) Rachel Ogonna Umahi (Ogoo Nwanyi) has made tremendous impact on the lives of the less privileged and the women. The Foundation has promoted greatly the course of the women through gender mainstreaming and positive disposition to Affirmative Action.

Through Her Excellency’s pet project, the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has drastically reduced the harmful practice to the barest minimum. Ebonyi State was the first to pass and assent to law the Violence Against Persons Prohibition VAPP Law. The State First Lady’s regular visit to hospitals and her regular settlement of hospital bills of the less privileged and the monthly stipends to the poor and downtrodden worth over N58m are all geared towards changing the psych and status of the less privileged. Today, Ebonyi women are given a pride of place in the state’s socio- political and economic affairs, courtesy of a woman of honour and compassion, Her Excellency, Wife of our dear Governor, who has dedicated her virtues to the service of humanity.

22) In the area of Heath Care Service, the state government has developed the primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems and made them accessible to the rural population.
The primary care centres are in the various health wards, while the General Hospital are in the various Local Government Areas of the State. The state Government has made great impact in repositioning the tertiary health care system through the construction of Lasser Fever Centre. COVID-19 Centre of Excellence, the State Hospital Emergency complex and Ultra modern College of medicine among others.

Today we are set to have a Centre of Excellence for critical Heath issues such as blood and heart diseases, liver and organ transplant and many terminal diseases which used to take Nigerians to India and Western World for treatment. Work on the project is on advanced level.

23) We are thankful to God Almighty for blessing Ebonyi State with the right leadership and for decorating our dear Governor, His Excellency Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi FNSE FNATE with the divine Leadership qualities; for the wonderful track records of his life endeavours as an accomplished Captain of Industry, former State PDP Chairman, third Civilian Deputy Governor and now third Civilian Governor and first Deputy Governor in the World’s History to become Governor at the stiffest opposition of his boss. We thank God for making him a voice of national Unity and peace, a bridge builder and a passionate leader of contemporary global society.

On this ceremony we are reminded of the Divine Mandate Actualizations which have become a reference point and governance model for all generations. To God be the glory

Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji
(Commissioner for Information and State Orientation and Ag. Commissioner, Human Capital Development and Monitoring)