An Enugu based pressure group, League of Patriot, yesterday came hard on Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo over his recent verbal attack on the Enugu State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Okonkwo had in an article published in a blog accused Ugwuanyi of bad governance, diverting local government funds, among others.
However, in a press statement issued in Enugu and signed by the group’s coordinator, Mr. Okoro Paul Ik, he described the report as an attempt by the actor to “assassinate ad tarnish the prodigious efforts of His Excellency, Rt. Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.”
Okoro, who is the immediate past administrator, Igbo-Etiti Central Development Area, said Okonkwo’s motive was clearly “steer hatred, mislead and create unnecessary confusion in the minds of people in Enugu State.
“One observed with keen interest the tragedy of his argument, logics and his inclination to choose a narrow path in his work. The more he craves to prove his points, the more one noticed hollow, emptiness and lack of his knowledge about good governance. In fairness to the writer, the issues raised gave birth to suspense of a hired mercenary.”
Reacting to Okonkwo’s accusation that Ugwuanyi had selected Nsukka town for hatred and maltreatment, the group described it as “infantile and laughable”, stressing that “anyone who had access to the inaugural speech of His Excellency on May, 29, 2015, would understand that the Governor made several mentions of government intentions to turn Nsukka metropolis into a second largest city after Enugu capital city.
“Already, works have commenced in earnest and the people of Nsukka urban are feeling the presence of Ugwuanyi’s infrastructural empowerment.
“That was the more reason the people of Nsukka came out en-masse celebrating with His Excellency when he visited Nsukka during the empowerment programme”, he said.
While reminding Okonkwo that Nsukka remained the only Local Government Area that had three commissioners with sensitive and important ministries, the Patriots equally stressed that several road projects were already at completion stage in the area.
They listed the roads as: “Opi-Nsukka Road, Obechara Road, the Post Office Round About-Odenigbo-Baracks Road and the Orba Road Junction-Orba Road.
“Surely, Mr. Okonkwo in his falsehood never mentioned the on-going construction of a massive brand new hospital block at the General Hospital, Nsukka”, he added.
On the issue of grabbing funds meant for local councils through the use of the caretaker committees, the group stressed that previous administrations in the State appointed such committees before holding elections.
“Already, government is putting every machinery in order to organize a credible local government election by appointing then chairman and members of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIEC.
“The writer should have informed the public whether the local councils under the present government is paying wages to their employees. The truth of the situation is that the local councils have almost gone into oblivion at the threshold of the present government.
“It took only the wisdom of His Excellency and his economic experts to salvage the local councils of the State with the paucity of fund as occasioned by the recession of the time.
“We equally make bold to state that the first tranch of the Parish Club refund to the Local Government Areas in Enugu State, totaling nearly N4 billion was fully released to the councils for the purposes of liquidating all outstanding salaries and pensions owed by the Local governments in the State.”
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