The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Business Development, Chief Oguzor Offia-Nwali has dismissed the Umuekumenyi Leaders’ Council, as a “nebulous and phony” political group, allegedly bankrolled to disparage the administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
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- Ebonyi commissioner dismissed the Umuekumenyi Leaders’ Council as a “phony” political group.
- He accused the group of working to discredit Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration.
- The commissioner defended the government’s record on jobs, education, and empowerment.
- He said Ebonyi’s economy and investment climate are improving.
- Offia-Nwali alleged the group is linked to PDP chieftain Chukwuma Odii.
In a statement titled: “Setting the Record Straight” and issued Sunday in Abakaliki, the commissioner accused the group of using the name “Umuekumenyi” to deceive the public while acting as a campaign structure for PDP chieftain, Chief Chukwuma Odii.
“In an electioneering period as this, there are bound to be springing up of real and fake political groups,” he said.
“The so-called Umuekumenyi Leaders’ Council… is one of the nebulous political groups in Ebonyi State.”
Offia-Nwali described as “a complete fabrication” the group’s claim that the Nwifuru government is disconnected from the masses.
He cited the highest number of youth appointments into sensitive positions, youth empowerment programmes, and scholarship awards for Ebonyi students in Nigerian and foreign universities as evidence of a government connected with the people.
He further defended the governor’s credentials, noting Governor Nwifuru’s eight years as speaker of the state House of Assembly, four years as a lawmaker, and earlier service as councilor and management committee member.
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“Therefore, the government is not in any way undergoing any form of leadership trial or experimentation, except to the greedy and enviable elements masquerading as Umuekumenyi Leaders’ Council,” he stated.
He said he state’s economy is on a “positive growth trend,” with strong ease-of-doing-business ratings and rising local and foreign investment.
He highlighted the recruitment of over 2,000 teachers and more than 600 medical professionals, including doctors, laboratory scientists, and nurses, saying the move had shifted the state “from the state of jobless people to a state of gainfully employed and engaged people.”
Describing Ebonyi as the most peaceful state in the South East and the state with the lowest cost of living, he said the influx of trucks loading foodstuffs to other states contradict claims of economic hardship.
Offia-Nwali alleged that the council is “a campaign council of Chief Chukwuma Odii, who are speaking from the benefits of him as an ATM.”
