By CHARLES IWUOHA

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and pioneer Secretary of the party in Ebonyi State, Chief Chaka Nweze, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to look beyond party affiliations in choosing his successor in 2023.

In a telephone conversation with News Express from Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, the politician said that the President should shun sentiments and other forms of distractions and search for a candidate with enviable records of performance in office especially in the areas of infrastructure, security among others.

The former Executive Chairman of Ohaozara LGA of Ebonyi, further urged the President to be mindful of the zoning order which will ultimately foster national cohesion and integration.

“Two leaders in my estimation that will suffice in terms of incredible performances in the areas of infrastructure, security, economy, education, health among others, are Governors David Umahi of Ebonyi state and Prof Babagana Zulum of Borno State.

“The subsisting, growing clamour for an Igbo president will foster national cohesion and unity and I tip the combination of both leaders to do the magic for the country in 2023.”

The former Vice Chairman of the state branch of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) said that the Nigerian constitution does not provide for independent candidature during elections, so the APC has a duty to ensure that both men are presented to Nigerians to sustain the President’s legacies.

“Mr President should therefore not hesitate to urge Umahi to quickly join the APC in order to replicate his infrastructural strides in Ebonyi at the national level which the country’s presidency provides.

“Using what is presently happening in Ebonyi as a test case, the state has been magically turned around by Umahi and though I am not from the PDP which the governor belongs to, I boldly say that he has simply transformed the state even beyond the expectations of people like us in the state’s opposition.

He noted that Nigeria’s major problems are infrastructural decay and insecurity and these have slowed the rate of development in the country, scaring foreign investment which in turn, has greatly affected its economy and social sector.

“President Buhari has done a lot in addressing these challenges by revamping dilapidated infrastructure, deploying necessary resources to tackle insecurity as the country needs a leader who will ‘digitally’ consolidate on these gains.

“Umahi on the saddle of the country’s leadership, will pay unbridled attention to infrastructure as he has done in Ebonyi, especially Abakaliki the state capital which has been made the beautiful bride of the south east zone and the country.

“I am not singing Umahi’s praises but my conscience will not allow me hide the phenomenal transformation of my state with the governor, completing over eight standard, world class ‘flyovers’ and is on the verge of completing several others.

“An interesting aspect is that the trans-Saharan Abakaliki-Enugu highway has a large chunk of the flyover projects and this has strategically connected Ebonyi nay Nigeria with neighbouring countries such as Cameroon among others: improving trade, investments and other business opportunities in the process.

“This is the type of infrastructural innovation the country needs to ensure free trade, massive economic transformation, enhance business ties with its neighbours, to wriggle it from economic quagmire and become an economic hub sub-regionally, continentally and internationally,” he said.

The APC chieftain said that Umahi’s creative and passionate flair for infrastructural transformation, made him rehabilitate all the federal government owned roads in the state, making them models among such projects across the country.

“The country’s federal roads are in deplorable conditions but with what is going on in Ebonyi, it is not in doubt that Umahi’s presidency under APC will permanently solve this systematic defect other areas such as the power sector also revamped,” he said.

He said that the icing which has turned to be the most intriguing aspect of all, is that Ebonyi ranks among the least states in revenue allocation in the country and one wonders how the governor has been able to achieve all these with the scarce resources.

“This will come in handy because of the corruption witnessed in the infrastructural sector of the country with the indication that Umahi will effectively manage the nation’s scarce resources with great transformational effects,” he said.

Nweze further said that Zulum’s feat in the area of security underscores the fact that his combination with Umahi will go a long way in solving the hydra-headed monster of insecurity ravaging the country as he had made Ebonyi safe for its citizens.

“Ebonyi presently has the record of being one of the safest states in the country with minute record of crime incidences which makes businesses thrive and citizens sleeping with their two eyes closed.

“Zulum, on the other hand, has ensured that though the Boko Haram insurgency still rages, Borno is still working with massive infrastructural development adorning the landscape while offering hope and rehabilitation to indigenes displaced by the insurgency.

“The level of destruction inflicted by the Boko Haram insurgency could have made some governors not perform at all, offering the unfortunate mayhem as excuse but Zulum has braced the odds and still ensures that Borno keeps moving.

“I recently visited Maiduguri and though despondency over the onslaughts of the terrorists can still be felt, the state still thrives with massive investment in infrastructure, education, health, economic revamping among other sectors of the state.

“The same can be seen in most parts of Borno as Zulum has provided unfettered assistance to security agencies especially the military in the discharge of their duties as Nigerians wait for the end of insurgency in the state and other North-East parts of the country,”

Update news