*Assures retirees' welfare
From Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki
Ebonyi Gubernatorial Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Architect Edward Nkwegu, has reiterated his preparedness to industrialize his state, assuring of creating 250,000 jobs within two years of assuming office if he wins the 11th March governorship election.
Architect Nkwegu who stated this on Tuesday during the interactive section with the Association of Retirees in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State urged the eligible voters in the forthcoming elections to consider the character, competence, capacity and commitment of the candidates before casting their votes in the 2023 polls.
The Labour Party governorship hopeful said, "When I said that I'm going to industrialize Ebonyi State, that I will create 13,000 Micro Small Medium Enterprises to generate indirect employment of 250,000 people in two years, you should not take it as a mere promise.
"I know that some candidates when they heard that I assured Ebonyi people of the rapid industrialisation of our State, they began to make the same promise, but your assessment should be; who among us assuring the industrialization of our state has at least a garri processing factory, even if it's not presently functioning. The character, competence, capacity and commitment of every candidate should not be taken for granted at this time around, you have to verify.
"We in Labour Party, have verified all these attributes and we are happy that our presidential candidate Peter Obi merits all of them. That's why when others see problems, we see solutions, where they see violence we see peace, they have created poverty and now multiplying it. Ebonyi State is 79. 5 per cent poor, it's presently the poorest state in the Southern Nigeria, according to the Bureau of Statics. This is a very big problem because the unemployment level of Ebonyi State is very high."
Nkwegu recalled that "when Ebonyi was created, the state had about 13,000 employees, teachers were about 12,000, and now many have retired, reducing the number of workforce to about 9,000, yet there is no promotion, people are not paid their severity, Internally generated Revenue (IGR) of the state is on the top of the roof, even the dead people paid IGR.
"If you go to the mortuary, you see the human corpse kept there waiting for IGR clearance, you must pay tax to carry dead body and these are some of the reasons, we should rise without comprise to threats and intimidation from anybody or group, to create a better Ebonyi State and Nigeria with our PVCs on the election days by voting Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate.
"Ebonyi State is blessed, but what we need is to employ somebody who has a creative idea on how to create wealth for the betterment of the citizens to be the Chief Servant of our State. The Labour Party is for the people of visions and ideas, that will salvage us from socio-political economic and cultural madness. In all your ballot papers, vote for Labour Party, vote for the Papa, Mama and Pikinthe Holy party logo represents Holy Family - Joseph, Mary and Jesus."
He, therefore, assured the retirees of an instant intervention on their welfare, by paying their pensions and gratuities, to be able to take care of their families if emerged victorious at the gubernatorial poll, come 11th March 2023.
The Director General of the Ebonyi Liberation Campaign Council, Barr. George Ukpai who is one of the retirees in the state testified that his gratuity has not been paid, but disclosed that the state governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Architect Nkwegu had redesigned a plan to solve the problems of the retirees by recreating the Ministry of Labour and Productivity in Ebonyi.
Ukpai, the former Auditor General in Ebonyi noted that the Ministry of Labour and Productivity has the responsibility of establishing pensions and gratuities but it has been removed in the state and assured the pensioners and workers in general of immediate interventions from Nkwegu following his expected victory at March gubernatorial poll. "I will work to stop our suffering as retirees and workers in the state come May 29th 2023, the day our principal, Dr Edward Nkwegu will be sworn in as our governor in Ebonyi State," Ukpai assured.
Reacting, the Chairman of the Association of the Retirees in Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Mr John Ebenyi urged the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party to keep to his promises when he assumed office as the governor of Ebonyi state while assuring him of unwavering support at the poll.
He called on his fellow retirees in the state to canvass massive support and votes for Edward Nkwegu and all other LP candidates to ensure their landslide victory at the 2023 polls.
NATIONAL PANEL reports that the occasion was massively honoured by the inhabitants of the Ohaukwu Council Area who were drumming support for the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the state LP governorship candidate, Architect Edward Nkwegu and other candidates of the party in the state on the election days.
