BY OJUKWU INNOCENT ENE


Everything that has happened in Ebonyi State, in the form of her uncommon transformation between May 29,2015 and today, 5th Feb, 2019,had ample opportunities to have happened between May 29,1999 to May 28,2015. The questions therefore are, "why did they not happen? "."Why was the State allowed to come to ruin despite the huge allocations that accrued to her every month, especially under the last administration? ". "What informed the needless drift to the morass of underdevelopment witnessed by the State? "

The simple answer to the questions,is that all the achievements recorded by the Umahi administration is owed to the fiscal discipline, frugality, hard bargain, prioritization, grace of God and the creative ingenuity of Gov Umahi and his lieutenants. It bears repeating that the accruals from the Federal Government to the State cannot take care of her salary obligations, a fact that is public knowledge. The status of her IGR is equally in the public domain.

Despite the known precarious state of her finances, the administration has recorded the numerous achievements that have been commended as uncommon transformation even by the most implacable enemies of the administration,and have not defaulted once in the timely payment of her salary obligations, instead, it has continued to pay 13th Month and even give a raise to the workers, while so many other States with huge IGR and Federal Allocation are known to be owing their workers several months salaries.

Without doubt, making positive difference is the life long commitment of Gov Umahi, thus the welfare of Ebonyians have continued to dictate the direction of his administration. It is as a result of this,that the administration intervened on majority of the Federally owned and neglected roads in the State, despite paucity of funds,just to make life less traumatic for our people who hitherto were going through great suffering plying those roads.

It is a tribute to the power of Gov Umahi's creative leadership that he has been able to translate almost all his campaign promises to reality, despite the poor finances of the State. These were promises that looked unrealizable and farfetched even at a time of economic buoyancy due to their loftiness. Rather than feeling threatened by the economic downturn that enveloped the country when he assumed office, like most of his colleagues who became supine, overwhelmed and confused, Gov Umahi took on the situation headlong, as an invigorating challenge, demonstrating through his creativity,energy and enthusiasm that he thrives better under challenges.

May I aver, that anybody who down plays any of the Umahi infrastructural achievements, betrays a great ignorance of history and development. The consensus among development experts, is that infrastructure is very vital for sustainable development and effective service delivery. According to World Bank Development Report, the provision of infrastructure plays a very crucial role in facilitating economic growth, competitiveness and development. This implies that for a people in a hurry to catch up with a racing world, that the way out, is massive investment in infrastructural development as a means of attracting investors and keeping industries.

To this end,it is a great act of disservice to the State to refer to any of the projects as wrong priority or white Elephant project,as everything; water,light,roads,bridges,urban renewal, rural development, education, health, industrialization and poverty level were all urgently begging for attention, which Gov Umahi is giving them in an integrative manner,with the evidence there for everyone to see, from roads,urban transformation,rural development,security, health, education, human development, poverty alleviation, youth and women empowerment etc.

The administration since assuming office, approached leadership with the highest sense of decorum, responsibility, frugality, discipline and strict adherence to the extant laws, especially, as it concerns appropriation. It has continued to demonstrate capacity and discipline to transparently deploy all monies under her care to the purpose for which they are meant,with abundant evidence of tangible achievements as proof.

For the administration, it has not been business as usual. It is the high premium that it placed on the observance of the strictest standard of accountability, prudence, integrity and adherence to appropriation laws by her functionaries, that made it possible for the commissioners in charge of the front line Ministries in the State, to come out clean, immaculate and acquitted of any financial infraction or wrong doing, after many months of investigation with intense searchlight beamed at her activities by the anti graft agency, ICPC, following a petition alleging monumental corruption against them.

The absolution of the Commissioners by ICPC, is no doubt an endorsement of the incorruptibility, transparency and internal check mechanism of the Umahi administration.

May I also call our attention to the fact that the Umahi administration declared over one billion naira as profits she made in 2016 from fixing the funds that came into the State in a deposit. The policy of the administration being that no fund that is not being used immediately,should be kept without being in a fixed deposit. This is the first time that I have heard of such business mindedness in the State. I stand to be corrected on this. The truth be told, no administration in the history of Ebonyi State has shown greater transparency, frugality and adherence to extant appropriation laws, than the Umahi administration.

One question that have continued to agitate the minds of all sincere observers,who have followed the developmental strides of the Umahi administration in the three Senatorial Zones of the State and the State capital, has remained, "where is he getting the funds for all these projects?". The answer again remains, the administration's prudence, Fiscal discipline, hard bargain, grace of God and creativity in leadership. This is why Ebonyians regard the continuity of Governor Umahi as an imperative for the sustainable development of the State through the consolidation of his lofty developmental policies.