Jacob Ogodo, Abakaliki
Ebonyi state governor, Chief David Umahi said he would not use government funds to run the party Secretariat and pay the officials salaries rather the party will source for funds from private source for that purpose.
Governor Umahi made this known while inaugurating the 15 – member state Caretaker Committee of the All Progressive Congress in International Conference centre, Abakaliki.
He charged the members of the Caretaker Committee to take to social media and tackle those who chose to distract the his administration from carrying out her statutory duties adding that nothing appeals to him more than the completion of the projects.The governor specifically lauded the tenacity of the committee’s youth leader and the publicity secretary, noting that he needed to concentrate for the delivery of democratic dividends to the people.
“It is important that the 15 of you take on the social media and those who distract us.
“My mind, soul and spirit are in my state and the projects I am executing as nothing else appeals to me than the completion of the projects,” he said.
“Take-on people who distract us while I take-on the projects.
“Funds would be sourced from private and not government sources to run the secretariat and pay your salaries.
Umahi commended his predecessor, Chief Martin Elechi for attending the meeting, noting that he was grateful to God for the opportunity of correcting past mistakes.
“Party differences brought so much bitterness and enmity among our people and made us lose so much that should have been gotten at the federal level.
“We presently have a united Ebonyi and in this next level movement, everybody must be given equal opportunity to aspire for any position,” he said.
He said that registration committees would be formed at the ward and council levels and announced that the party’s headquarters directed the nomination of 30 persons into federal boards.
“We are going to allow every local government nominate two people and ensure a minimum of 40 per cent women representation as instructed by the party’s national headquarters.
“Two nominations per each local government area would amount to 26 remaining four slots and I will allow former Governor Elechi and the Minister for Science and Technology to nominate,” he said.
Chief Martin Elechi, Immediate Past Governor of the state, commended the governor for doing ‘things better presently and condemned the non-adherence to party constitutions by politicians in the country.
“I left the Peoples Democratic Party after handing over in 2015 for the APC but the situation was still the same there especially in the primaries for the 2019 elections,” he said.
Mr Stanley Okoro-Emegha, the party’s state Caretaker Chairman commended members for attending the meeting despite its short notice, noting that the state belonged to the party.