Chief (Engr) Elias Mbam, Former Chairman Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission And Ebonyi Governorship Aspirant in the platform in 2023
Chief Elias Mbam, former Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) says that he will continue to support the administration of Gov. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi in his efforts to develop the state.
Mbam, a governorship aspirant in the platform of the All Progressives Congress ((APC) in 2023 governorship election stated this during a press briefing on Tuesday in Abakaliki while assessing the performance of of the governor in his one year in office.
The ex-RMFAC boss said that as a leader in the state that it was his wish that the state and the people moved from where they are to the next level.
He added that in achieving this, his support to the governor must be solid and unwavering stressing that he would stop at nothing to ensure that the governor enjoyed the support he needed to succeed.
“I am a primary beneficiary of the creation of Ebonyi so, I need to give back to my people and I do not think that giving back to the people is by bringing crisis.
“We have finished politics and we are now into governance and I’m an elder statesman; I’m above 65 years, if the governor isn’t doing well, I’ll work up to him, I won’t even wait to tell him,” Mbam said.
The RMFAC former Chairman while reviewing the performance of the governor noted that Nwifuru’s achievements in all the critical areas of needs has been outstanding and excellent.
He said: “I strongly believe that the administration is doing their best in all the sectors in addressing the critical needs of the people; indeed, I rate the administration very high; in many sectors , he has done well,” he said.
Mbam commended the governor for running an all inclusive administration that has made every Ebonyi man to feel being part of the administration irrespective of party affiliation or where you come from.
“So, it’s like the politics is gone we are now on governance and everybody is invited to join; this action has promoted peace, progress and unity in the state.
“If you have a state function, as you may see on May 29, you will find that leaders of different parties will be participating and they feel at home as nobody is discriminated against,” he said.
He said that peace was so paramount in the push to develop the state and maintained that the the governor had taken a giant leap in that regard.
On the education and health sectors, the APC chieftain said that the governor has left a solid foot prints in these critical areas noting that the revitalisation of the local and overseas scholarships for Ebonyi indigenes were notable achievements of the present administration.
“He reduced the tuition of students of the Ebonyi State University (EBSU) to encourage our children to go to school; increased the salaries of the academic staff by 20 per cent and non academic staff of the institution.
“The governor is constructing 39 ultra-modern model secondary schools three in each of the 13 local government areas of the state.
“He has left his mark in the health sector. He recruited medical doctors and paramedics and has furnished our general hospital with modern equipment as well as procured vehicles for the medical doctors posted to the various general hospitals,” Mbam said.
He added that the governor has equally done very well in human capital development explaining that the N1billion dolled out to encourage Ebonyi people doing hawking and petty trading in different towns and cities in Nigeria lifted beneficiaries from poverty.
“The beneficiaries who are 500 hawkers were given N2 million each to inject into their busineses; and the way the governor is relating with civil servants in the state, the civil servants are happy and this is assisting him to implement his policies efficiently.
“The N100,000 Christmas bonus to civil servants and the N20,000 wage award are good testimonies of the governor’s good relationship with workers.
“He has cleared all salary areas and pensions owed to workers from 1996 when Ebonyi was created to 2023,” he added. ENDS//