Be loyal or risk job , Umahi warns Development Centre coordinators

Coordinators of Development Centres in Ebonyi State have been charged to be loyal or risk being sacked.
Governor David Umahi gave the warning when he granted audience to the stakeholders of Afikpo North and Afikpo South Local Government Areas who paid him a Yuletide visit at his country home in Umunaga- Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area.

“Any coordinator whose loyalty is in doubt would be dropped, no matter who nominated him,’ he said, reminding the stakeholders that loyalty is a core component of discipline in governance.

The governor, who informed the people of Afikpo North that his administration would continue to accord Afikpo town its due position as the second biggest town in the State, stated that in response to security threats in the area, that he had called for the establishment of an army post in the area.

On their request for the construction of some of their strategic roads, the governor maintained that the government had prioritized the construction of roads.He stressed that the area would get its fair share of the on-going construction of 15 kilometres of roads in each of the Local Government Areas in the state.
He disclosed that the government would by March, 2016, in conjunction with Afikpo North LGA, embark on the installation of street lights in Afikpo town,
The governor announced that he would soon inspect the Ameta- Ozziza river personally, for a possible construction of a bridge across the river.

To the people of Afikpo South LGA , the governor informed them that he had approached the Federal Government for her attention in tackling the erosion in the area especially the council headquarters that is being threatened by the menace.

Governor hinted that contract for the construction of the 10- kilometre- Amasiri- Owutu road would soon be awarded while the maintenance of other roads in the area would be intensified, especially on the Nguzu- Abia boundary road.
He stated that government would by January, 2016 turn around the fortunes of Edda Palm Plantation and the modern rice mill in Oso- Edda.

The governor used the occasion to direct the Auditor General of Local Government, Mr. Ukpai, to commence biometric audit of all the primary schools in the state. He also charged the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Dennis Ekunmankama, to recover all the COTs collected since 2010 but not remitted to the government.

Earlier in their respective remarks, the leaders of Afikpo North and Afikpo South, Ogbonnaya Oko Enyim and Eni Uduma Chima told the governor that they came to thank him for appointing their sons and daughters into various offices.
They commended the achievements of the governor within the past six months, and pledged their continued support to his administration.

The Afikpo North delegation prayed the governor to take additional measures, including preparation of an urban development Master- plan for Afikpo, extention of the on- going urban renewal and transformation programme and extension of street light to the area .

Governor Umahi, who also received the members of the State Board of Internal Revenue led by its Chairman, Ugorji Amaoti, empahaised the importance government attached to the board. He re minded the board members that their “appointment was not for political patronage but for service to the people,”
Warning that that there was no room for corruption in the board, he charged them to prepare their template for a meeting with the stakeholders slated for January, 2016.

Other groups that also paid homage to the governor were the members of staff of the Ministry of Works, PDP ward chairmen,and Ebonyi State Broadcasting Corporation.