Presidential Aide Praises Ebonyi Governor’s Effort In Infrastructure Development

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement, Comrade Asefon Sunday has commended the giant strides of Governor Francis Nwifuru on human and infrastructure development in Ebonyi State.

Asefon made the commendation when he led officers of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and some Special Assistants to State Governors during a courtesy call to Governor Nwifuru at the Presidential Lodge, Centenary City, Abakaliki.

He thanked Governor Nwifuru for having developed a special love for students and described his one million Naira empowerment to the 171 students and scholarship award to over 1,000 students to study for doctorate level as a true demonstration of his passion to revolutionise education in the state.

The Tinubu’s aide also hailed the governor for building the universities of ICT, and Aerospace and Engineering in the state, noting that Ebonyi was among the last six states created in Nigeria in 1996 by late Sani Abachi, the former Head of the State in Nigeria, but it has surpassed its counterparts in terms of infrastructure development.

“We went to the Ebonyi State pipeline production factory and saw your impactful leadership spirit in action and signature project. The pipeline production industry has taken many youths out of the streets because they are now engaged meaningfully as workers in the factory. This industry has not only boosted the state economy but the nation’s treasury at large.

“You are indeed a builder, and quote me anyway because you are the only governor whom I have seen invested hugely in his people. We are grateful that you made 171 students a millionaire during your one million empowerment of over 1,000 people in Ebonyi State.

“On this note, Your Excellency, in the spirit of the Aluta, we pray after your eight years as the Governor of Ebonyi State, God will lift you to a higher position,” Asefon added.

He urged the beneficiaries of Governor Nwifuru’s financial empowerment, especially the students, to use it to establish meaningful ventures that can make them self-reliant.

He also urged other governors in the country to emulate Nwifuru, while requesting for more inclusion of NANS leaders in appointed positions as well as assisting them with mobile means.

Responding, Governor Nwifuru commended Tinubu’s aide and his team and emphasized the need to sustain the spirit of comradeship by allowing the democratic operation in the student union government leadership in Nigerian institutions.

He cautioned against the imposition of candidates during student union elections, noting that the step could further weaken the Aluta spirit in the tertiary institutions.

He urged the student leaders to see themselves and their positions as the servants of the people and stepping stones to greatness, and vice versa.

He noted that the primary aim of having a student union government in tertiary institutions was to protect the welfare and rights of the students in the institutions but frowned at the way the union had been relegated by the management of the tertiary institutions through the creation and supervision of Dean Faculty of the Student Affairs.

The governor wondered why students after graduation would reject civil service jobs, demanding to be contractors or politicians when they lacked the prerequisite knowledge and skills to excel.

He advised them not to undermine the purpose of their enrollment in the higher institutions, but to utilize the opportunity to develop themselves for the benefit of humanity both in the school and after graduation.

Earlier, the Special Assistant to the Ebonyi State Governor on Students Affairs, Comrade Joshua Nwafor, took Tinubu’s aide and the NANS leaders to different project sites, including the Ebonyi State pipeline factory, Ezzamgbo, Okadigbo International Airport, Ezza, among others.

Nwafor described his principal as the most student-friendly governor in Nigeria, noting that he had performed creditably well both in human capital and infrastructure development in less than two years in office.

Olusola Akintonde