---Award-winning coordinator lists roads, electrification, water, security and empowerment projects; credits governor’s People’s Charter of Needs agenda
Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has named the Coordinator of Ebyia Development Centre in Izzi Local Government Area, Mr Stephen Iboko, the best performing among the 64 development centre coordinators in the state, following an assessment of his stewardship and grassroots development projects.
Nwifuru, who made the declaration through his deputy, Princess Patricia Onyemaechi Obila, commended Iboko for what he described as his commitment to translating the administration's People's Charter of Needs agenda into tangible projects at the grassroots.
The governor urged the other development centre coordinators to emulate Iboko by ensuring that public resources were deployed to projects capable of directly improving the welfare of rural dwellers.
Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki following the recognition, Iboko described the award as a validation of his commitment to public service and expressed gratitude to Governor Nwifuru for giving him the opportunity to serve the people of Ebyia Development Centre.
"I am very highly delighted. First and foremost, I wish to appreciate His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, who appointed me to serve my people as a coordinator.
"He made a very good choice in me. I never knew that I would become a coordinator, but he picked and appointed me to serve my people. Since he has done that, I want to let him know that he has not made a wrong choice," Iboko said.
The coordinator said his administration took inspiration from Nwifuru's People's Charter of Needs philosophy by consulting communities and identifying their most pressing needs before embarking on projects.
According to him, Ebyia Development Centre comprises three wards, and his approach was to ensure that the needs of every ward were taken into consideration in the distribution and execution of development projects.
"He introduced the People's Charter of Needs, and I know that it is working. I started by asking my people: 'What do you want?' Even when I knew some of their challenges, I still asked them.
"Whenever I wanted to commence a project in any ward, I would ask the people what they were lacking and what they wanted. They would tell me, and that became the basis for our intervention," he said.
Iboko said security was among the first challenges his administration confronted after he assumed office, prompting the construction of barricades at strategic locations and suspected escape routes used by criminals.
He said the security intervention helped to address challenges threatening lives and property in parts of the development centre.
"Security was a major problem when I came in. I decided to block some areas that were being used as exit routes after criminal activities in rural communities.
"The first project I did was centred on the security of my people, their lives and property. After that intervention, we succeeded to a large extent in tackling the security problems," he said.
The coordinator said he subsequently shifted attention to rural road development, disclosing that one of his major interventions was the grading and lateriting of an estimated 8.9-kilometre network linking several communities in the area.
He said the intervention opened up communities and created access routes where, according to him, heavy equipment had previously found it difficult to operate.
"I decided that the first money given to me as a coordinator should be used to provide roads for my people. We created a road network measuring about 8.9 kilometres, linking several communities within the development centre," he said.
Iboko further listed the provision of solar and flood lights across the three wards among his achievements, saying improved lighting was important to security and social activities.
He said his administration also addressed water shortages through the construction of boreholes and hand-pump water facilities in communities that had experienced acute water scarcity, particularly during the dry season.
"We mounted solar lights across the three districts and when the people said water was another major challenge, we moved to provide potable water. During the dry season, our people used to suffer, and we had to intervene," he stated.
The coordinator said more than 200 bags of fertiliser and other farm inputs were distributed to farmers as part of efforts to support agriculture and improve food production.
He stressed that the projects were funded from public resources and maintained that his guiding principle was that government funds must be deployed for the benefit of the people.
"Some people began to think that the governor was giving me additional money because of the projects I was executing. But I was doing those things to let my colleagues know that government money is not personal money.
"If you use public funds properly for development, the people will see it. We were appointed to go to the rural areas and deliver the dividends of democracy," Iboko said.
One of the landmark projects listed by the award-winning coordinator was the electrification of the Edukwuachi-Ndioruta axis, which he said involved the installation of poles, wiring and the stepping down of electricity through a 33KVA transformer.
He said the project eventually brought electricity to communities that had previously lacked access to power.
"Some people thought we would only mount poles and stop there. After the poles came the wiring, and finally, by the grace of God, we succeeded in stepping down electricity with a 33KVA transformer. Today, there is light in my village," he said.
Iboko said Governor Nwifuru later commissioned the electrification project, describing the governor's recognition of the project as a major source of encouragement.
He said his performance could be independently verified through an objective assessment of projects executed by development centre coordinators across the state.
"From the beginning, I said that if there was any coordinator who would do better than me, a proper rating should determine it. I can still say today: go from one development centre to another, inspect the projects and rate us.
"I never played with the business of governance. I never played with government money. I used the money properly to better the lives of my people, which is one of the major reasons I was appointed," he said.
Iboko also listed the distribution of 15 motorcycles to beneficiaries as part of his empowerment programme, explaining that the motorcycles were intended to help residents earn a living through commercial transportation and the movement of farm produce.
He said other completed and ongoing projects included security barricades at strategic locations, the repainting and maintenance of the Ebyia Development Centre mega building at Nwofe, renovation of the Development Centre office at Liberation Estate in Abakaliki, internal road maintenance and the repair of a damaged transformer at Nwofe Agbaja Market Square.
Other interventions, according to him, included the distribution of teaching and learning materials to schools, installation of floodlights in communities and health centres, solar streetlights, construction and rehabilitation of boreholes, water reticulation to Liberation Estate, mini culverts, distribution of farm inputs and the ongoing perimeter fencing of the Ebyia Development Centre headquarters.
He also said the Ofiaonwe Agbaja Road project and a motorised borehole at Ndioruta Ndiegu were ongoing, alongside the fencing of the Development Centre premises.
Iboko attributed the achievements to the development philosophy of the Nwifuru administration, saying the People's Charter of Needs had provided political appointees with a framework for identifying and responding to the priorities of the people.
"We are there to support what our boss is doing and to let him know that we understand why we were appointed. He did not put us there simply to enjoy government money.
"He put us there to deliver the dividends of democracy and make the people feel the impact of government at the grassroots," the coordinator added.
The recognition of Iboko as the best performing coordinator came as the Ebonyi State Government continues to emphasise grassroots-oriented development under the People's Charter of Needs agenda, with the governor challenging political appointees to ensure that government interventions reach communities across the state.
