2023 Presidency: Northern Youths Urge Ugwuanyi to Declare Interest

A group under the auspices of Northern Youth Support for Gburugburu (NYSG) has urged Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to declare interest in the 2023 presidential race as preponderance of opinions favours South-east region to produce the president of the country,

Speaking in Abuja, the National Coordinator of NYSG, Hon. Suleiman Ibrahim, who pointed out that it is the turn of the South-east region to produce the next president, reiterated commitment to the politics of equity and fairness. He stressed that Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu) has all it requires to become the president of the country in 2023.

He further eulogised Gburugburu for his leadership qualities which include peaceful disposition, humility, accountability, spirit of accommodation and called Nigerians to join hands with the NYSG to actualize the project in 2023 in the overall interest of all Nigerians.

He disclosed that their decision to support Ugwuanyi is anchored on his pan Nigerian records over the years, saying that his election will advance the unity of the country and boost the economy.

He said: “It is on record that when Ugwuanyi assumed office in 2015, he was faced with daunting financial cum economic challenges occasioned by sudden crash in the price of the crude oil globally and the economic recession that accompanied it.

“Realising the enormity of these challenges, Ugwuanyi put on his thinking cap as a financial expert and brought his wealth of experience and financial wizardry to bear. He repositioned, streamlined and strengthened electronically the state IGR which before then, was prone to manipulation, diversion and leakages.

“With plugging of the loopholes in the state IGR, the IGR improved tremendously from paltry 10b to N17 billion in 2016, from where it has moved to N31 billion per annum today. The Governor instilled fiscal discipline, due process, accountability and transparency in managing and handling government finances. Financial profligacy and mismanagement of public fund was reduced to the barest minimum if not totally eliminated.

“Governor Ugwuanyi embarked on massive infrastructural development, especially in rural areas that have been long neglected and abandoned except during election period.

On workers’ welfare, Amb. Ibrahim said that when Federal government bailout fund to state came, Ugwuanyi judiciously managed and disbursed Enugu’s share of it in offsetting the backlog of salaries, pensions and arrears his government inherited down to the local government level.

“This made the

Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration led by its Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Gumel and were in Enugu on an oversight function on the utilisation of the bailout funds to applaud the administrative ingenuity of Governor Ugwuanyi in managing the funds, describing it as impressive and in line with the principles of accountability. He described the Governor as the best in the implementation of the bailout fund and urged other states to take cue from Enugu.

“ In the same vein, on May 1, 2017, Workers of Enugu State conferred on Governor Ugwuanyi The Mostly Labour Friendly Governor Award in the history of the state. The NLC Chairman ,Comrade Virginus Nwobodo commended the Governor for the judicious use of the 100% of the local government share of the bailout to offset the arrears, salaries and pensions of the local government workers.

He continued: “In 2018, Enugu state emerged the seventh best state in the country in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ICAN-AI Report in the area of Financial Accountability and Management .

“ In November 19, 2018 Enugu State was adjudged as one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria-PSC Chairman, Smith

The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Alhaji Musilu Smith stated that Governor Ugwuanyi of Enugu state deserves commendations for keeping the state in a progressive, people-oriented and security- conscious manner convivial for business and tourism.

“ Alhaji Smith who made the statement while delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of a four day management retreat organized by the Commission appraised the peaceful and secure atmosphere of the state, saying that we are in Enugu largely because Enugu is one of the most peaceful states in the country.

“Again In 2019, Governor Ugwuanyi was given the right of first refusal for the PDP governorship ticket in the state. No one deemed it fit to contest it with him because of his soared popularity and acceptance across the state. That was first of it’s kind in the state since 1999.

Before the election, Ugwuanyi united all the major political stakeholders in the state who have been on each other’s jugular due to different and vested political interests.”

“ Following his sterling performance in office, Governor Ugwuanyi was in February 2019 conferred with different awards by four national dailies namely-The Sun, Vanguard, Daily Independent and Leadership.

The honour is unprecedented in the history of the state and media award to public office holders by national dailies in the country.

“Ugwuanyi won his re-election in 2019 with 95.4 per cent votes. This is unprecedented in the history of governorship election in the state since 1999, not even at a time the PDP was in control of power at the centre and in the state.

It was because of Ugwuanyi’s overwhelming victory in the election that opposition couldn’t go to court to challenge the outcome.

Ugwuanyi in his quest for enduring peace in the state extended olive branch to the opposition and has been carrying everybody in the state along irrespective of party differences.

“On the day he was issued his Certificate of Return for a second term in office at the INEC office Enugu, the National Commissioner for INEC incharge of Voter Education, Chief Festus Okoye stated clearly that Enugu had the most peaceful elections in Nigeria. This was no mean feat or an accident. It was because of Ugwuanyi administration unrelenting efforts in the area of security and peacemaking in the state.

“ With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Ugwuanyi took the bull by the horn by packaging and approving Life Assurance for health workers and paying Hazard allowances to them immediately. The first to do so in the country.

While the COVID-19 pandemic problems lasted, government revenue dwindled and governments at all levels struggled to live up to their financial obligations. Some states slashed salaries of political appointees by 50 per cent, some owed workers salaries.

“Ugwuanyi was not only paying workers salary promptly, he recruited workers and approved N30,000 minimum wage. He even gave 50 percent tax rebate to businesses in the state to ensure that the effect of the pandemic will not collapse their businesses.

This was different from the tax exemption he gave to medium and small scale industries and petty traders in the state at the beginning of his administration and has sustained it till date.

“ Economic Confidential, an intelligence magazine in its 2019 Annual States Viability Index ASVI declared six states in the country including Enugu State as financial viable. In December 2020, Enugu state under Ugwuanyi’s watch emerged second overall state in Nigeria behind Kaduna with 58. 2 per cent as the most Financial accountability state in the ICAN financial accountability report of 2019,” he said.

Just recently, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) honoured Governor Ugwuanyi with COVID-19 Response Champion award in recognition of his outstanding performance and commitment towards the fight against the pandemic,’ he said.

“ Governor Ugwuanyi had before becoming governor in 2015 spent 12 years in the House of Representatives, where he was Chairman House Committee on Maritime and did excellent job in our maritime industry, built network of friends and goodwill across the country. He has enormous leadership cum management experience, capacity, temperament, trackrecord and wide reach to provide the needed peace, unity and progress for the country if elected President in 2023.