Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has blasted as a huge deception of readers a report in a publication which says he is probing his predecessor calling it a deliberate attempt to create and stoke the embers of a non-existent rift among political leaders in Enugu State.
On the contrary, Ugwuanyi said, Enugu State currently enjoys visible peace, harmony and progressive actions midwifed by his administration in the state and there is no reason for anyone to create a rift between him and his predecessor in office.
Mr Uwakwe Abugu, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, who criticised a report in the African Examiner, said the story by the medium about Ugwuanyi probing his predecessor, Sullivan Chime was an embarrassing distortion of journalistic story-telling.
In his words, “The headline of the news report screamed an alleged probe of the former governor of the state by the incumbent governor when the body of the story contained nothing about any action of the governor in that regard, but purely legislative oversight functions of the Enugu State House of Assembly. Any discerning mind which goes through the report would naturally ask, ‘Whither the role or hand of the state governor in the actions of the state assembly which decided to look into the execution of some contracts in the state?’
Abugu continued, “At the moment, Governor Ugwuanyi is engrossed in several salvage actions of his administration aimed at raising the bar of performance in all spheres of governance. His is an administration embedded in momentous actions involving flag-off of development projects, continuous engagements with various stakeholder groups, business groups with a view to ensuring that no stone is left unturned in the drive to achieve all aspects of the four-point agenda of the government.
“The governor being a true democrat, and having served his people for a decade and two years as a dependable National Assembly member, would not use his present office to meddle in the affairs of the legislative arm of government in Enugu State. In fact, the state assembly goes about its constitutional duties without any form of encumbrance by the executive arm. Therefore, it is grossly unfair for The African Examiner to skew its interpretation of the constitutional function of the state assembly to mean that Governor Ugwuanyi, in its words, ‘Begins Probe of Predecessor, Godfather’.
“The general atmosphere of cordiality in Enugu’s political environment since the governor assumed office on May 29 is a direct result of his personal and official efforts to galvanize all leaders of the state into working for the general well-being of the people because he believes, and it is truly so, that his desired development for the state can only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace and harmony among the critical stakeholders.”