SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE SPEAKER OF EBONYI STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY AND ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE OF EBONYI STATE, RT. HON. FRANCIS OGBONNA NWIFURU, ON THE OCCASION OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) PRESIDENTIAL RALLY AND FLAG OFF OF THE GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN IN EBONYI STATE, AT PA NGELE ORUTA TOWNSHIP STADIUM, ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2022.
Protocol
In You O Lord We put our trust, may we not be put to shame in Jesus' name, Amen.
You can agree with me Your Excellencies, Distinguished Leaders that are here present, that sometimes we must hurt to grow, sometimes we must fail to know and sometimes we must lose, to gain, because some lessons are best learnt through pains.
“Though He who watches over me and you, does not sleep nor slumber, the Lord watches over me and you, the Lord is our shield at our right hand.” – Psalm 121
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of us here, today. In a very special way, I join my voice in welcoming you to the Salt of the Nation, Your Excellency, Sen. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the incoming President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and your revered entourage.
I return all thanks to God Almighty for His Grace over us, as we strive to serve His people with every sense of duty and love. May His Grace never depart from us, Amen.
I appreciate you greatly, as well, our father, leader and Governor of Ebonyi State, Your Excellency, Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi (FNSE, FNATE, CON) – Governor of Ebonyi State of Nigeria, for your mettle in keeping us all together and functioning optimally.
I am by the Grace of God Almighty, the Gubernatorial Candidate of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ebonyi State. I am a home-grown leader, whose business in Government is to bridge the gap between the needs of the people and the priority of Government, with emphasis to:
1.0. GODLINESS AND ATTITUDINAL CHANGE
1.1. we intend to bring about discipline, order and respect for the Rule of Law. Our attitudinal change will focus on discipline, Human Management and the general behaviour of the people.
2.0. INDUSTRIALIZATION, ICT, CEMENTS PRODUCTION AND MINING
2.1. The present administration has in the past seven (7) years, made Ebonyi one of the best States in the economic performance index, thereby stabilizing the economy of the State. We envision a unique era of industrialization, growing the economy of the State, through an angle of production. This will be achieved through a communist framework, where individuals, groups and the citizenry will be offered opportunities to develop and suggest practicable ideas, while Government provides the infrastructures, enabling environment and resources, for exceptional and realistic concepts in the area of production.
2.2. Today, life and services in the contemporary world are driven by digital technology. Our administration shall employ digital technology in service delivery. We shall expand the training of public and civil servants in ICT and provide internet services in public institutions, to make life easier for Ebonyians, students and staff of the Government.
2.3. Ebonyi is richly endowed with abundant mineral resources. We shall strengthen the existing solid minerals policy to enhance investment opportunities. We shall ensure that all the mineral resources explored from our State are bagged and exported from the State, to enhance host community participation and ensure the communities receive their due royalties.
3.0. HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION
3.1. Our administration will dwell much in alleviating the poverty level of our dear citizens. Our Government will always be open and ready for individuals who have the knowledge, skill, experience and technical know-how in various areas. The Government will be available to work with those persons and give opportunities to the youths for them to gain employment. Since Government will form part of the industries, they will decide with the management of the industries to ensure adequate remuneration and job security for their employees – our youths, just as in Government institutions.
4.0. INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS AND MAINTENANCE IN RURAL AND URBAN
4.1. I am hugely excited, and so grateful to God, for giving us His Excellency, Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi (FNSE, FNATE, CON) – Governor of Ebonyi State. He has been able to put in place, tremendous and gigantic projects in the State. These superlative achievements need a successor with the capacity, strength and all-around experience, to maintain them so that our people can draw optimal benefits from them. This is what we mean by Consolidation and Continuity.
4.2. All the rural and urban roads that this brilliant Government has not visited, must get the attention of the next Government. Rural roads will be paramount in our Government because Ebonyi is an agrarian State.
5.0. SECURITY
5.1. I must use this opportunity to thank the State Chairman of our great Party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha. He is a leader who believes in the unity and progress of our dear State, one who sacrifices a whole lot for the peace of our dear State. His Excellency, the Governor, chose our dear Party Chairman as a security consultant to Ebonyi State and our case became different.
5.2. We shall remodel the operations of the Ebubeagu Security Outfit, through training and expansion of their services and intelligence gathering, to be technology driven.
6.0. EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
6.1 This shall be the most important sector in our administration because I believe that Education is life. Our administration will invest greatly in education. We shall introduce our dialects in the curriculum of our primary and secondary schools to export our cultures, the pride and class therein.
6.2. We shall improve the quality of our public schools. I will lead by example, by taking all my children to our public schools and ensuring that all my appointees follow suit – to enrol their children in our Public schools. If our children attend our schools, we can know what constraints and problems our Public schools face and we will be eager to resolve them qualitatively.
7.0. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, POWER AND ENERGY PRODUCTION
7.1. This is key to healthy living. Health is wealth. We are going to engage workers, students and graduates of Environmental Health to drive our environmental policies. We shall as well, revitalize our waste recycling system for wealth creation and importantly, sustain flood and erosion control programs.
7.2. Energy is a critical resource for the industrial and overall socio-economic development of our society. Today, maintaining reliable energy is tasking. Our Government will leverage the ongoing amendment of the Power Generation Act, to provide an alternative power supply in Ebonyi State. We will partner with energy investors to provide an alternative power supply for industrial and domestic use and importantly, employ the use of solar energy. We will build more solar systems and a solar farm.
8.0. FUNCTIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
8.1. Today, we can boast of owning the best medical centre in Nigeria, David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu. It was built to give Ebonyi people the best health care service delivery. The magnificent project has been commissioned by the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari. I must thank Mr President for taking over the University as that of the Federal Government.
8.1. Nevertheless, our administration will bring healthcare closer to Abakaliki City. We will build a world-class Ebonyi State Specialist Hospital, to be run by Ebonyi State University and ensure the optimal functioning of our general hospitals.
9.0. CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS
9.1. We will do more in Civil Service Reforms. The reform will include the norms, functionalities, activities and mode of operation of Civil Servants and all will conform to the dictates of the Civil Service Rule. We will be very productive. We will ensure the regular promotion of workers and prompt payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities. We shall train and retrain our State workforce for improved service delivery.
10. FOOD SECURITY
10.1. We are proud that Ebonyi is an agrarian State with arable land and a hardworking farming population. Our administration shall ensure that at all times, our people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.
IN WRAPPING UP
I want to once more, thank God Almighty, for this wonderful day. I appreciate our revered visitors and National Leaders, especially the incoming President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Your Excellency, Sen. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and your entourage. I thank you very profoundly, Your Excellency, our father and leader, the Governor of Ebonyi State, the Deputy Governor, all our stakeholders and the good people of Ebonyi State.
I urge all of us to come together and vote for APC at all levels because we have the ability, strength, capacity, experience and knowledge to consolidate and continue on this Divine Mandate path of success. I want you, to know that people with great destinies have greater battles to fight because the devil does not fight an empty man. Never quit because victory awaits us all in Jesus' name, Amen!
It is on this note, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, that I, Nwifuru Francis Ogbonna, Gubernatorial Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), hereby flag off the Campaign for the Gubernatorial election of Ebonyi State, come March 11, 2023.
Thank you all and God bless us.
