Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, Ebonyi APC Gubernatorial Candidate.
From James Nwakpa
It has remained historic that at a critical moment in history when the case of Ebonyi State was so pathetic to a point that the masses started losing confidence and trust in their highly placed leaders and stakeholders who seem not to be holding any stake for their subjects, the masses cried out to God who answered their prayers and perfected the creation of Ebonyi State in the year 1996 by General Sani Abacha.
Since then till now, Ebonyians have been aiming higher. Their expectations were far beyond setting a target of getting their daily food through the tilling of farmlands. These expectations include their quest to acquire Western education and to witness infrastructural and human capital development like other places to be reckoned.
Luckily, God in his way of doing things provided the people of the state with leaders who have been addressing the needs and yearnings of the people in their order of hierarchy.
The first executive governor of the state, Dr Sam Ominyi Egwu from Ebonyi North zone broke the jinx of education backwardness and provided the people with enabling environment, manpower and all the needed facilities to acquire skills and education at little or no cost, which paved way for the unprecedented achievements we have recorded to that effect.
As that stage was advancing, God also brought another elder statesman, Chief Martin Nwancho Elechi from Ebonyi Central, who discovered the need to bring Ebonyians together through the provision of unity bridges, which has today linked the entire parts of the state.
The success story became more illuminating when the quest for a modernized state was at its high peak, and another super master who came under the platform of a divine mandate emerged from Ebonyi South in the name of Engr. David Nweze Umahi has not only performed wonders in the area of infrastructure but has also lifted the face of the state to attain the status of the fastest developing state not just in Nigeria but in the whole of Africa.
As Ebonyians, both at home and in the diaspora are pouring encomiums with a standing ovation on the wonder-working governor, the question of who takes the mantle of leadership as the next governor of the state becomes intensified. The masses are not only concerned about the credibility of the person who should be entrusted with the people's mandate, but is also mindful of the equity and zoning arrangements which have taken the state to this enviable height.
The chronological, justifiable and logical considerations in deciding who takes over from the present government, have no doubt painted a mental picture of a governorship position to be so prestigious but tasking, to the extent that it is only those who are prepared physically, emotionally, psychologically and even spiritually that are bound to leave legacies that can stand the test of time.
This presupposes that the business of governance is not a comers affair, where the charlatans and inexperienced persons trade their ignorance and myopic points of view. Rather, it is a business for serious-minded persons, who have shown their commitment to impact lives positively and have expressed their readiness to take the lead for others to follow.
Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, the APC Gubernatorial Candidate from Ebonyi North zone has not only distinguished himself as a determined, focused, compassionate and kindhearted young man but has also proven his experience, competence and probity in public administration, which he has displayed in the course of his legislative duties, as a Speaker with the most peaceful State House of Assembly in Nigeria.
As a man of divine providence, he has always obtained favour from God, and that is why he has lived from grass to grace today, he is growing in leaps and bounds, to the glory of God and the benefit of mankind.
Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru (FON) knows the needs of the Ebonyi people and that is why he has identified education, human empowerment and rural development as the cardinal points of his administration when elected in 2023.
It is not only right to allow him to sustain the developmental strides in the state, but also just to give him all the needed support to match Ebonyi State progressively to the next level of achieving the laudable dreams of our founding fathers who paid the noble prize for the creation of the state.
Remember that Ebonyi State is our sacred cow, let us not only think about how to milk her but intensify efforts on how to take her to the greener pastures.
James Nwakpa is the Special Assistant on Media to the Executive Chairman of the Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
