Enugu APGA candidate meets with Nsukka professionals and denounces lack of trust in governance

The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), a candidate for Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr), decried over the weekend the current state of the trust deficit in the government and expressed disappointment at how state leadership has failed to inspire citizens in different aspects of governance.

The former Minister of Information and Communications speaking at a consultative meeting with members of the Nsukka Professionals Association (NPA), at the Best Western Hotel, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos lamented that non-industrialization has kept Enugu as a public state.

He told the elite non-partisan group of indigenous Nsukka in Enugu State that the meeting which was scheduled at his request was an opportunity for him to discuss his development agenda for the state of Enugu as a potential governor of the state with a view to garnering their support to win the election.

In his speech, which lasted more than an hour, the gubernatorial candidate began by denouncing the current state of the trust deficit inherent in government. He expressed his disappointment with the way the rulers of Enugu state failed to inspire the citizens in different aspects of governance especially the non-industrialization that kept Enugu as a state of the public service.

Nweke Jnr noted that instead of developing, the state has been steadily regressing on many fronts including infrastructure, education, service delivery, security and others, while the level of corruption has increased instead of decreasing.

Referring to the developmental exploits of a former South Eastern regional leader, the late Dr. Michael Okpara, the former minister expressed his dismay that none of the recent and current leaders of the state have been able to selflessly replicate the same level of development efforts as Okpara.

The APGA candidate explained that his adventure in the race for governor was motivated by the desire to bring back the lost glory of the state in several ways, ranging from quality education for young people, road infrastructure, attracting investors, providing safe services and secure environment, agriculture, industrialization and many more.

He hoped to leverage his domestic and international exposure as a former minister and other global standard skills on his side to create the much needed investment and employment opportunities for the citizens of the state to reduce the incidence of crime.

Nweke feared the current state of moral decay and criminality in the state was becoming alarming and blamed much of it on lack of education and unemployment, even as the state's indebtedness grew with little or nothing to show.

Regarding the escalation of insecurity in Enugu and other parts of Nigeria, Nweke said the geometric increase in population with declining state of infrastructural development and poor education was largely responsible and promised that if elected governor, in addition to creating investment and employment opportunities, he would ensure that security officers receive adequate recognition and assistance beyond what is currently obtained.

He also promised to create an enabling environment where citizens see it as their responsibility to always assist law enforcement in intelligence gathering, because fighting crime cannot be the job only security guards.

According to him, I will fully deploy modern technology in the fight against crimes in order to be a step ahead of criminals.

Earlier in his welcome speech, the President of the Association of Nsukka Professionals, Mr. Charles Nwodo (Jnr) said that the Association was not a mass movement but a limited group of people practicing legitimate professions and businesses in Lagos, Abuja and the Diaspora.

He explained that the purpose of the association largely focuses on developing the cultural area of ​​Nsukka and supporting non-state actors involved in development efforts.

According to Nwodo, “we are not partisan but have political preferences with a unifying factor which is the development of Nsukka and the whole of Enugu State.”

The NPA leader told the former minister that the association's decision to meet with him as requested one day they should be involved in a personal engagement was a demonstration of the importance the association places at the choice of who governs the state.

As many as twenty-five members of the Nsukka Professionals Association were present at the event and they included academics, business leaders, legal practitioners, journalists and gospel preachers .