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It was Professor Maurice Ene of Seton Hall University New Jersey, USA, who said that Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s greatest legacy may be the selection of Sullivan Iheanacho Chime as Governor of Enugu State.

A visit to Enugu State will show the validity of this statement in all facets. Evaluations of Chime’s journey so far as the pilot of the Enugu ship will make Professor Ene seem like a modern prophet. Let us take a look.

It is common knowledge that from day one, Chime vehemently refused the use of thugs in the elections and that he equally shut them out from the post election discussions on how to share state offices. It should be noted that prior to this time, thugs and hoodlums occupied high offices in Enugu State.

Most of these individuals were officers in a state run machinery of terror which exiled the political elite, the stakeholders, godfathers, and most law abiding citizens whose offences were that they exercised their freedom of speech. Night life was non-existent in Enugu. The coalition of cults was under the pay roll of the state government. Rapes, robberies, hired assassinations and general mayhem were the order of the day.

It was, therefore, no surprise that Governor Chime saw the imposition of law and order as his first priority. Within the first few months of his regime, he invoked his powers as the Chief Security Officer of Enugu State to see that the state apparatus of thugs was completely dismantled and consigned to the thrash heap of infamy. He went on to strengthen the hand of law enforcement agencies by providing them with operational vehicles and other equipment to fight crime. For the police, he purchased brand new vehicles and the same number for the Army and Air Force. The result is a reinvigorated and highly motivated urban patrol unit which has reduced crime to a bare minimum.

Night life has returned to Enugu . At the various relaxation centers where people eat fresh fish popularly referred to as “point and kill”, people relax in a manner which reminds one of Port Harcourt , (Pitakwa) before 1967. Now, Enugu people can truly say, “To God be the Glory.”

In talking about Governor Chime, people place too much emphasis on the fact that he redressed inequity by recalling the workers sacked by the prior administration. What is not said is how he makes sure that there is fairness and equity in all political appointments. It is known that he consults the stake holders from all the three senatorial zones in making appointments -something unheard of in the history of Enugu State . People expected that in his appointments he would favour Udi area, his place of origin.

That is not the case. The Head of Service the Commissioner for Agriculture, Information, Finance, Local Government and a host of others are from Nsukka zone. He made ambassadorial nominations from all the three senatorial zones. For Nkanu, the appointments are endless, Commissioners for Budget and Planning, Water Resources, Chief of Staff, Special Adviser political Affairs, just to name a few, and another Senior Special Assistant.

From Udi he picked the Commissioner for Environment, Commerce and Industry, Special Adviser for Budget Monitoring and Due Process, Special Adviser, Special Projects and Diaspora Matters among others.

The other parts of Enugu State have gotten a fair share of political appointments as Governor Chime seems to be trying very hard to avoid any allegation of nepotism and cronyism. In Governor Chime’s cabinet, appointees carried over from prior administration are surprised that benefits are not shared based on favoritism.

Being aware that the fathers and mothers of the state are repositories of a wealth of knowledge that will enhance the governance of Enugu State, Governor Chime went ahead and inaugurated the Enugu State Council of Elders comprising all past Enugu State Governors and Governors of other States who are from Enugu State, past Chief Judges, past ambassadors, and various stakeholders drawn from the length and breath of the polity. This Advisory Council is constituted by people who not only had hitherto been sidelined from the affairs of governance, but most of whom were banished from Enugu State . It is a new dawn in Enugu State .

The Governor of Enugu State has set up Enugu State Economic Planning Commission which is an interactive forum between the State Executive Council and the State Local Government Chairpersons. Until now, it was fashionable to keep the local governments in isolation in a perennial game of triangulation aimed at aiding the pilfering of local government funds. The underperformance of these local governments is shocking and the banality and brazenness of the corruption that pervaded them during the past regime is the current subject of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation and prosecution.

Chime, by setting up this Commission has ushered in a forum for exchange of ideas, provision of checks and balances, probity and accountability. It is known that the Governor makes sure that Local Governments keep their financial allocations that should enable them to usher in an unprecedented era of grassroots development.

Governor Chime has taken bold strides to tackle the crippled infrastructure in Enugu State . Beginning with the many kilometers of failed roads, public utilities and other state infrastructure, Governor Chime has embarked on an ambitious agenda to rehabilitate Enugu from the many years of decay and rot that buried prior to his arrival. His commitment to rebuild the roads has taken off with Enugu urban roads. His inbuilt quality control program led to the suspension of some of the contractors as he did not want to repeat the mistake of his predecessor who spent millions of naira on road construction only to see those roads fail within a short period. There is no doubt that the invigorated road reconstruction program will bring smiles to people who live in and visit Enugu .

Enugu State Ministry of Rural Development has come up with an aggressive program to plant the Governor’s Four Point Agenda at the grassroots. Towns across Enugu State will witness more rural electrification in which the lights really work, rehabilitation of rural roads, schools, health centers and other rural infrastructure which will reverse urban migration.

It is noteworthy that Governor Chime, while orchestrating these early milestones, does so with few words, no fanfare, no propaganda while prohibiting all organs of government from mounting any form of response to the daily sponsored attacks by few individuals who feel threatened by the loss of their gravy train, suckers and leeches whose sycophancy derailed the lofty dreams that Governor Chimaroke had for Enugu State when he left his lucrative medical practice in Florida to serve Enugu State.

Propagandists seeking to sow seeds of discord between Nnamani and Chime make it seem that Chime does not see anything good in the past administration. What a lie! It could not be, for he was in that administration as Special Adviser, Legal Affairs and later as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

What is wrong with him taking the lessons learned from the period and then make attempts to correct the mistakes he witnessed?
There are projects that the Governor would be wise to finish at the appropriate time like the International Center which will complement the beautiful hotels springing up all over Enugu . Another one is the hostel for students of ESUT at Agbani which will reduce the suffering of students of the University. Finally, the Ebeano tunnel must be commended and maintained. It really worked wonders for Enugu traffic. There are many others that we suggest should take their place in the priorities of the present administration.

Finally, those who wish that Enugu State return to the old days don’t wish the state well. They are agents of darkness, cowards who attack the state with fake names, pseudonyms, sponsored write-ups, and paid negative ads peddling falsehood. One of them in particular, is a lawyer who tried in vain to get Chime to retain him as Commissioner. He may also think that he will be ‘settled’ after he unleashed the negative attacks on him. If he has not realized that Chime is of a different stock then, he is definitely less perceptive than one had thought. At this time, Enugu is working not on the pages of newspapers or CNN advertorials, but for real. Better still, it is really admirable that this Enugu State government has refused to be blackmailed. Enugu is really working!!!

Madunagu writes from Enugu .