Enugu at 32: Frank Nweke appraises Coal City State, demands transparency, accountability in governance

Nweke shared his reservations about the heavy presence of the military across Enugu State and the South-East.

By Jeffrey Agbo

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Enugu during the March 18 poll, Frank Nweke Jnr, has called for transparency and accountability in governance as Enugu State marks her 32nd anniversary.

In his message made available to TheNiche on Monday, Nweke appreciated the Enugu State Government for introducing the Unified E-Ticket Scheme, marking the elimination of multiple taxations and levies on traders, artisans, drivers, and others in the informal sector.

He stressed the importance of focusing on three sectors: water, led by Professor Felix Nnamani; sanitation – by Prof Sam Ugwu; and health – by Prof Emmanuel Obi, noting that they remain key development indices.

“We must be determined to raise our Human Capital Index from the current 0.49 above the global average of 0.57. To this end, I am also keenly interested in the plans and implementation for our education sector, which has been assigned to Professor Ndubueze Mbah.

“We must also pay particular attention to the actions of the Commissioners of Information, Aka Eze Aka, Budget and Planning, Chris Ozongwu, Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Ngozi Enih, Water Resources, Professor Felix Nnamani; and Youth and Sports with Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, amongst others. It is also good to see a vibrant Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Rangers International Football Club – Chilavet Amobi Ezeaku,” he said.

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The former Minister of Information and National Orientation applauded the provision of new refuse trucks to improve the state’s sanitation goals.

“Our people should be sensitised through a massive public values orientation program to mobilise citizens for proper hygiene practices. Consider establishing an incentive reward system to encourage communities and neighbourhoods to compete to clean our communities,” he wrote.

Nweke shared his reservations about the heavy presence of the military across Enugu State and the South-East. He said the region’s militarisation has come with the consequences of extortion, abuse of human rights, and unnecessary harassment.

Nweke recommended the following: adopting the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative beyond rhetorics; fiscal transparency and accountability; adopting a data-driven approach to ensure inclusion in economic planning; ensuring access to information through adequate communication and stakeholder engagement; local government partnership; and monitoring and evaluation.

He added, “I encourage partnerships in the technology and media space to take up the challenge of analysing and simplifying the policies, budgets, and other financial statements from the government that may be too cumbersome for the ordinary citizen to engage with.”