Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has re-iterated that under President Bola Tinubu administration, the development and the inclusion of the South East geopolitical region into mainstream politics in Nigeria is no longer an afterthought but a priority.
Idris who made the declaration in Enugu on Tuesday during a sensitization campaign embarked upon by the Ministry on the impact Mr. President has made in South East in the past two years tagged: “Mid-term Report of President Tinubu ‘s Administration,” pointed out that South East, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President is no longer an afterthought but a top priority that cannot be toyed with.
“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, several critical sectors are receiving the attention long overdue from Agriculture and Healthcare, as South East is no longer an afterthought but a priority now,” he declared.
Idris, represented by the Head of Centre, FIC, Enugu, Mr. Bonaventure Ngwu, noted that the establishment of the Cassava bio-ethanol in Enugu was a bold step towards food security and job creation, adding that the project would provide opportunities not only for farmers but the entire agro-processing value chain that the people would benefit from.
He cited many projects the Federal Government has embarked on in the zone to include the establishment of a cancer centre at UNTH Enugu, equipped with MRI, a facility needed for early detection and treatment of cancer as well as many road projects for ease of transportation.
“The construction of the Second Niger Bridge and the Onitsha Expressway as well as the ongoing Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway upgrades are not just regional assets, they are lifelines for trade, commerce, industry and connectivity,” he said, not adding the many flyovers ongoing in Enugu.
Chairman of the occasion, which was attended by heads of Federal ministries and parastatals, Chief Arinze Nnia Ogbodo, while appreciating Mr. President for what he has done for the South East said that Tinubu has made Ndigbo proud, pointing out that the zone had been forgotten over the years.
“Tinubu has done well for the Southeast. He is the first president to recognize South East. He has made us proud. We had been forgotten before now. We shall remember Tinubu for putting smiles on our faces. We expect more from him,” Ogbodo enthusiastically declared.
Ogbodo was particularly happy with the establishment of the cancer centre in Enugu and the resuscitation of some federal roads in the zone.
“We must commend his Excellency for remembering us because of the Oncology Centre at UNTH. The Port Harcourt Expressway that used to be a death trap has been remembered and the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway is ongoing,” he enthused, pointing out that Tinubu ‘s quick and adequate release of Federal Allocation has made it possible for Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State to perform optimally.
The special guest of honour and the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Enugu State, Dr. Malachy Agbo, said that President Tinubu had re-integrated the South East into Nigerian polity by embarking on projects that bring tangible development.
Agbo, represented by a director in the Ministry, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nebo, said Tinubu has shown a strong commitment to the physical development of the South East especially with the establishment of the South East Development Commission, SEDC.
“Then, up till now, we did not see any visible integration of the South East in the polity of Nigeria as a whole but currently as we look at what has happened along the line under two years running, you see that intense commitment that this administration has about integrating the South East into what is going on in the country. For instance, you see the level of government projects that have sprang up, the attention that is being given to massive road construction and infrastructure development of Mr. President,” Agbo commended.
Delivering a keynote speech at the occasion, the keynote speaker, Wordshort Amechi Ugwuele, while commending Mr. President’s attention to South East and indeed the entire Nigeria development, said that Tinubu is not restructuring Nigeria but carrying out a revolution, with particular reference to the removal of oil subsidy that was strangulating the country.
.”What we are seeing in Nigeria is not restructuring but a revolution. If you know the pains of the subsidy, you will appreciate Mr. President for removing the subsidy. What this means is that people had been stealing and robbing Nigerians but this has stopped,” he commended and appreciated Mr. President for the two flyovers ongoing in Enugu at Eke Obinagu and Abakpa Junction, simultaneously, the Oncology Centre at UNTH and the establishment of a University of Agriculture in Enugu as well as the appointment of an indigenous Nsukka man to become the Vice Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN after many years.
