By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-Chief) @CelestineOkaf11
A chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu state and former Secretary of the Enugu North Local Government, Ozo Jude Celestine Uchechukwu Ngwu, has appraised the seven years and nine months administration of governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu state and described it as a "total failure". Ngwu who is popularly known as 'Ozo' in the state, spoke in an exclusive interview with an Abuja based leading Online/Print newspaper in Nigeria, NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER.
He pointed out in the conversation, areas where the administration has failed the people of the state, despite what he described as the "confidence and high hopes" the citizens had on Ugwuanyi and the PDP in the state at the inception of the regime in 2015. Ozo Jude Ngwu, while making interesting revelations, however maintains that the people of Enugu state will definitely respond with their votes against Ugwuanyi and his cronies in the 2023 polls. Excerpts:
Q: How do you appraise the administration of governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu state. Will you say that the governor has met your expectations as a citizen of the state in the past seven years and nine months?
In 2014 and 2015 we had very high expectations when we were campaigning for this present government in Enugu State. Sullivan Chime, governor Ugwuanyi's predecessor, did his best to beautify and deliver the dividends of democracy equitably before handing over to Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. We believed that governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi will not only consolidate the laudable programs and achievements of the Sullivan administration but will also add value to it by opening up the capital city, decongesting and initiating industrial revolution in all the nook and cranny of Enugu state. We expected him to deliver a superb social responsibility package and set very high standard of service delivery for subsequent government. But alas, the reverse is the case. So my expectations and that of majority of Ndi Enugu have not been met. The government has failed woefully!
Q: In specific terms, failure in what areas?
In the provision and maintenance of public infrastructures . Most motorable roads in Enugu state are in deplorable conditions. Even to maintain and rehabilitate the wonderful road networks he met eight years ago prio to his coming to power has become a problem. From new market, Kingsway road, Holy Ghost Church road, Central Police Station (CPS), Coal Camp, Agbani road, Gariki Awkunanuw, Zik Avenue, Uwani, Ogui road, Independence Layout, New Haven, Okpara Avenue, Abakiliki road, Abakpa Nike roads, Emene, Ebeano tunnel, Trans Ekulu and numerous other roads within the municipal in the state, the roads are in very bad shape now. The deplorable state of the roads and the absence of a single flyover in the whole capital city is responsible for the perennial traffic jam in all major areas within the municipal in Enugu state. Secondly, refuse dump has virtually taken up almost part of these terrible road networks in Enugu. The state that use to be one of the best organized, beautiful and clean state, today is the dirtiest, congested, and disorganized state in the federation. There is no industry owned by the state government or jointly owned by the state government and private concerns that is functioning now. Enugu state use to own and operate industries like Nachi Vegetable Oil, Cashew Industry at Oghe, Iron and Ore Emene, Ohebe Building Materials, etc. The Ugwuanyi led administration failed woefully in opening up the over populated and congested capital city by relocating Ogbete main market to Ugwuogo Nike where we have a table and large expanse of land, with a state of the art cattle and livestock international market, that will be very close to the main market. With the attendant dualizing of the existing Nike/Opi Nsukka road, dualizing of 9th Mile, Abor/Opi road and the construction of a dualized by-pass road from Okpatu to Ugwuogo Nike and from Awhum to Ibagwa Nsukka and the construction of alternative road network from Emene axis to Ugwuogo Nike so that these markets can be easily assessed from every nook and cranny of the state. The state government should have facilitated the relocation of the Enugu Prison, that is the Correctional Service Centre from it's present site to somewhere like Ugwu-omu and the 82 Division Army headquarters to Ugwu-omu/Idodo forest. These mentioned facilities were constructed in the 20s, 50s, and 70s respectively. Hence their present locations are no more convenient and fashionable. Coupled with spate of development and population realities. As I said earlier, Enugu state needs at least 26 flyovers at strategic places to ease the traffic in the city, reduce the rate of accidents and beautify the state. Look at Ebonyi and River states. These 2 states were able to construct and commission 23 and 16 flyovers, respectively, in the last 7 years. Funny enough, the only thing the Ugwuanyi administration can boast of is one designed jump over at Abakpa Nike T-junction, a 12km Opi/Nsukka dual carriage way, an 11km Milken Hill Ngwo road; building and commissioning of Customary Court of Appeal headquarters, a 31km Udenu Ring road, and the establishment of an on-going mini projects at the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) located at Igbo-Eno. And the Ebonyi river mini bridge Ikem in. Isi-uzo local government area. These mushroom and groundnut projects are projects a government that has accumulated and received funds running into hundreds of billions of naira can boast of after 7 years and 9months in office. May the Almighty God help us!
Q: Now, if governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi didn't do well as you claimed, why does it seem that the electorates of Enugu are still comfortable with his party, the People Democratic party (PDP), going by the choice of Barrister Peter Mbah, his chosen candidate for governorship in 2023?
It's because Enugu state, at inception, has been a PDP State. The people prefer the party as a very strong vehicle to take them to their desired destination. Unfortunately Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the governor who has been in the driver's seat since 2015, has been driving the vehicle reverse direction to a frustrating and woeful end. However, the Enugu people will not abandon the vehicle -- PDP, for him, rather, they prefer to try another driver -- Bar Peter Mba. Put more succinctly, the grouse of the people is not with the party per se but with governor Ugwuanyi who has not only failed to perform, but has equally disappointed most of us that toiled day and night to see him succeed as governor. This is a position he is enjoying today with sycophants who neither supported nor worked for his success eighth years ago. You recall that few months ago, governor Ugwuanyi was championing the movement to retire a certain legislator. His argument was that the lawmaker has spent 20 years in the upper chamber of the National Assembly hence should step aside for other quarters within that zone to make their contributions to nation building. Interestingly, governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi spent 12 solid years in the National Assembly as a House of Representatives member and just bettering himself before Sullivan Chime thrusted him upon us and we gullibly accepted him as governor. As faithful party members, we worked tirelessly for his success and that of the party, believing that he was going to do better as an executive than a legislator. What do we get in return? We got wasted 8 years of public service. "He came he saw and he left". But the most annoying and agonizing part of it, is in nominating himself again as the Senatorial candidate of PDP for Enugu North Senatorial zone. After 20 years of enriching and bettering himself and his cronies at the expense of the docile, peaceful, hardworking, and God fearing people of Enugu state, he wants to go back to the federal parliament. To do what, you may ask? Thank God, in no distant time, residents of Nsukka Senatorial zone will speak with their votes.
Q: Has the issue of Enugu water shortage been resolved?
The issue of water shortage in Enugu state is far from being resolved. Sometime early last year, most of Ndi Enugu were filled with high hopes when we learnt that French Development Agency granted a staggering sum of $50 million USD about N25 billion to the Enugu state government for expanding and increasing water production and supply in the state. The state water corporation had identified the key projects where the grant will be channelled to. Among the areas are, the: 1. Rehabilitation and revamping of Ajali and Oji river pumping station. 2. Laying of 12 km pipeline and appurtenances from Oji river to Ajali to Enugu. 3. Rehabilitation of water scheme in Nsukka and other municipalities within the state, where about 100 km pipeline and fittings will be installed. 4. Emergency rehabilitation and revamping of 9th Mile water scheme at the cost of N600 million (awarded). But so far, only the 9th Mile borehole rehabilitation project has been awarded. The current water production by Enugu water corporation is 40,000 cubic meter per day. Whereas the daily demand and consumption in Enugu is about 150,000 cubic meter per day. A deficiency of 110,000 cubic meter. So with the dry season fast approaching, one can only but imagine what will be the lot of Ndi Enugu.
Q: So what is the problem? Why can't there be water supply in Enugu?
Apparently the $50 million USD about N25 billion naira grant by the French Development Agency might have been diverted to a different interest by the governor. The alleged diversion can easily be based on the fact that if the grant or a substantial part of it has been judiciously utilized in the water project, there would have been sufficient water supply for the citizens of the state. The water problem, at least in Enugu urban, must certainly be solved. It's unfortunate and disappointing that the present administration in Enugu state is playing politics with this fundamental need of the people and it looks like acts of wickedness!
Q: What were those acts of wickedness associated to the present administration in Enugu state?
The wickedness include, not allowing merit but mediocrity to thrive; killing the internal democracy in the party; being the only person that will determine the political fate and future of others in the party; creating a system where no interested aspirant in any public position can showcase his aspiration or test his popularity unless the Governor endorses his candidature. And having created such system, the governor will instigate two or more aspirants to fight and kill themselves in one and same political position by surreptitiously giving each of them false endorsement to contest for same position. He will not let each of them know that he had given the other or others same endorsement to contest for that same position. Ugwuanyi derive much pleasure seeing other people suffering or incurring losses or spending their money on fruitless ventures. Until he is satisfied that the people he gave the false endorsement have spent much money in campaign and acquired a good number of political enemies for themselves before he would give the position to either one or none of them without any apology or compensation to the victims of his false endorsement. Is this not more than wickedness?
Q: Let's talk about Kenyatta Market. Recently we heard that bulldozers were moved into that market to pull down shops and other structures belonging to the traders. What actually were the reasons for that action by the Enugu state government?
Kenyatta market is a kind of industrial market where they sell building materials and other accessories. Some years ago, government mapped out an area somewhere at the Independent Layout for them to go and continue their business. They completed it. But l don't know what happened eventually. I would not like to go into the matter for some reasons. I believe that there should be integrity. Let me give you an example. The Tinker market at the Coal Camp Enugu has been there for a very long time. Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, when he was governor, mapped out an area at the Nsude-Owa of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway axis and asked the Tinker market people to use that expansive place and even do their industrial market there without disturbances. Nnamani though acquired the land but couldn't continue the project until he left office. Then Sullivan Chime came in as governor but l don't know what stopped him from completing it. Now, when we were fighting for this Ugwuanyi's government to come in, we were believing that one of the things this government will do was to move this Tinker Market from Coal Camp to that very designated new site. If government had spent money to develop the necessary infrastructural facility there, government can set up a committee to allocate shops to traders who want a shop there. And since it is a business, government will recoup it's expenses that way. Government will also give them a deadline to move out of the old Tinker market to the new one. You don't need to start politicizing that issue. That is, you leave some sacred cows at the old Tinker while others will move to the new Tinker. Nobody will read any political motive in that action. You will also decongest the old Tinker and government will recover the money they spent in constructing the new market. Another approach by government was to allocate the lands to the traders so that they can go and develop it on their own. So, everybody will now know that the Tinker market has moved from that old site at Coal Camp to the new site. I think that is the issue involved in that Kenyatta matter. If there is a new market site for them, government should ensure that it has a place that can accommodate all the Kenyatta traders. When a government is building an industrial market, you don't build what looks like a kiosk and call it a store, because people are expected to pack rods, plumbing materials and tiles, etc. You should make provisions for a warehouse, something that can contain them. If somebody is moving goods worth about N20 million or N50 million to a new site, that site should be able contain them so that you don't suffer people all in the name that you are relocating them and decongesting an area. There are things you put into consideration before you talk about relocating people from one area to another. You don't do these things because you want to do them, you do them because they are carefully planned. You have a vision of what you want to do as a government. And you get people that know about it involved. Just like the trailer park at 9th Mile Corner, they have been talking about Lion Park, but what have they done? Who are the people doing the Lion Park thing? In Enugu, we have a lot of issues!
Q: Now, considering all what you have said about the alleged poor quality of governance in Enugu state, will you blame this deficiency on the pattern of leadership selection process?
Let me be honest with you, the leadership problem of the country is a nationwide thing, not just in Enugu state. The problem had been this thing you called leadership selection process. When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo found himself as the president of the country in 1999, he tried his best. But what happened then was actually the genesis of the problem we are having presently. Obasanjo didn't allow a free hand in the selection of who leads the country. Former governor of Rivers state at the time, Dr Peter Odili, was coming on strongly for the presidency after Obasanjo in 2007 but suddenly, Obasanjo manipulated the process and gave it to ex-President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of blessed memory.
Q: From the foregoing, what suggestion would you make for a reform of the local government election system in Nigeria?
First, the state governments should have no business conducting elections for the local councils. The 774 local governments in the country receive their monthly allocations from the federation account. So matters that have to do with the local governments should be handled at the federal level. INEC should be able to take over the conduct of council elections in the country. And elective council positions should be for four years and not three years as we have it currently, because they are the closest government to the Grassroot people. When Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was president, l made a proposal to the federal government suggesting how best the local councils could manage their affairs because no matter the beautiful policies you churn out from Abuja, before it gets to the Grassroot, it might take one or two years, and meanwhile, this is supposed to be a policy that should get to the people at the Grassroot within one week. This is because sycophancy, corruption, tribalism, etc, will not allow such policy to get to the people at the right time. I therefore suggested to President Jonathan's government that the only way to prevent these ills of the society from delaying such Grassroot based policies is to have Personal or Special Assistants in charge of the six geo-political zones who will work with the president, in synergy with the relevant federal ministries to get these policies to the grassroots with the help of the state governors. Then, l also suggested that each state should have an elected ALGON Chairman who will be a member of the federal executive council and who shall be representing the interest of all the local governments in that state at that level of decision making. So when the governor of that state is there at that meeting, the chairman of ALGON will also be there. That way, governance will get to the Grassroot faster and this control on local governments by governors will be reduced. The councils will no longer be at the whims and caprices of those governors. It will eliminate corruption and the local governments will begin to have the feel of the federal largesse. You will find out that people of good characters will also start coming up to take up such positions of responsibility. I think there should be a fundamental reform in the local government management system in the country. It will be good for the system.
Q: But won't your recommendations create friction or power conflict between the ALGON chairman and the governor of his state, a situation of height-measuring between them?
No, l don't think it will. Ego doesn't come in there because both of them don't have the same focus. While one is in charge of the state, the other one is in charge of local governments. The governor will be very petty to start looking into the affairs of the local governments. The ALGON chairman will be foolish or stupid to start comparing himself with the governor. The issue of security in the state lies with the governor. I don't foresee any such conflict at all. As it is presently, there is no conflict between the chairman of the governor's forum and the President of the country, provided the rules as spelt out by the constitution is followed by every tier of government. Local Governments, as the third tier of government, is recognized by the constitution. They have all their individual roles to play and the judiciary is also there to guide them. If there is any conflict, they will head straight to the judiciary for interpretation of the provisions of the constitution for them regarding that matter. The major objective is to take governance to the Grassroot for democracy to prevail. That is the most important thing, for us to have development as they have them in other advanced democracies. Why can't we run our own system here better? Corruption, wickedness and poor mentality is certainly our problem! NNL.
