He was given a glowing testimonial by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government, even when he is not a member of the ruling party.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Engr. Babachir avid Lawal, on January 14, 2015, in Abakaliki, poured encomium on Ebonyi State governor, Engr. David Nweze Umahi, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following what he described as his excellent performance in the last six months.
According to an apparently enthused SGF, “Really, we are not ashamed to declare that Governor David Umahi, has performed. He has performed beyond what other governors have done in the last six months.
“Ebonyi State is one of those states at the bottom of the revenue ladder both in terms of internally generated revenue (IGR), and also in terms of federal allocations.
“So what Governor Umahi has done is to judiciously use the little resources at his disposal to develop his people. This can only be possible when you have a leader who came to power to serve his people rather than self.” The SGF spoke at a banquet organised by the state government to mark the end of a one day official visit by the SGF to the state.
And going forward, the SGF urged the people of the state, especially the State House of Assembly as well as members of the state executive council to “continue to challenge the governor to do more”, saying “he is determined to do more for the greater good of the greatest number of the citizenry as well as residents of the state.”
During his one day visit to the state, Lawal commissioned the newly reconstructed Governor’s Lodge – named after the first democratically elected governor of the state, Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu. He also commissioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) road, just as he inspected the ongoing construction of three flyovers by the Umahi administration.
According to the governor, the administration embarked on the construction of the flyovers in three strategic areas to ease traffic tie-up as well as reduce road accidents in Abakaliki, the state capital.
The governor’s lodge was constructed in 2005 by Dr. Egwu, who currently represents Ebonyi North Senatorial district in the upper legislative chambers.
Though the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi lived in the lodge for eight years, he apparently did little to give the lodge a face-lift, a development that prompted Governor Umahi to redesign, as well as spruce up the building to make it fit for the habitation of the state chief executive.
Beyond the reconstruction of the Governor’s Lodge and the construction of three flyovers in the state capital, Governor Umahi has also flagged off the construction of key roads elsewhere in the state. They are the 23.7km Hilltop- Nwofe roads and the 15.5km Nkalagu/Ehamufu roads awarded to China Zunghaoi Ltd, as well as the 23.5 km Amasiri/Okposi/Uburu road awarded to CONROCK Nigeria Ltd.
He has also started construction work on a portion of the failed federal government owned Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway. (Leadership)
