Umahi orders probe of youths death in auto crash

The Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Nweze Umahi, has directed the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bernard Odoh, to probe the circumstances that led to the death of the 10 Ebonyi youths in a motor accident at Ezzangbo on their way to the Court of Appeal, Enugu.

Governor Umahi stated this during the thanksgiving service of the Government House Chapel in Abakaliki.

According to Umahi, “Yesterday (Monday), I saw a situation that made me to almost shed tears. I saw youths were crying about the loss of 10 of our brothers and a   sister. I felt so bad.  Some of these are things we could avoid because this is a new dispensation, where there is love, where there is unity, togetherness and orderliness in the land of Ebonyi.

“I want to assure the youth that I have directed the SSG to probe the death of those 10 young people and whoever that push them into that will have to pay for that.”

The governor, who attributed the success of his government  to fervent prayers and the cordial relationship between the three tiers of government in the state, noted that the economic recession in the country could be overcome  through prayers and trust in God.

He assured that despite the poor economic situation in the country, his administration was poised to fully implement the 2016 Budget Estimate of the state.

Governor Umahi maintained that from henceforth, the government would embark on aggressive revenue generation to augment the poor federal allocation to the state.

Stressing that the state government may reconsider giving overhead to the ministries, he assured that he would approve the usage of a certain percentage of the internally generated revenue of each ministry as its overhead.

He said that in view of the harsh economic situation facing the state, the fees of tertiary institutions in the state had not been reduced.  Students of the state university, according to him, were expected to continue to pay their tuition fees as at when due until the state’s economy improved.

Governor Umahi mandated the   Commissioner for Works to, as a matter of urgency, take steps to reconstruct the three failed bridges in Izzi, Ivo and Afikpo south.

He restated that government’s policy on Agriculture and appealed to the people of the state to release their lands for the programme.

Earlier in her sermon, the Chaplain of the Government House Chapel, Pastor Eunice Oyeyemi, said the people and the state government needed to be grateful to God for his mercy.

She said that the transformation being noticed in the state under the leadership of Engr. Umahi was been prayed for during the electioneering period.

Pastor Oyeyemi also enjoined all Ebonyians to see themselves as ambassadors of the state by always speaking well about the state.

In another development, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has charged Christians to imbibe the eternal message of Christmas which is pinned on love and peace.

In a message to mark this year’s Christmas celebration, Umahi also urged the Christians to shun religion of convenience that celebrates wealth, pleasure and power without love and peace.

He said, ‘’we should be prepared to live like Jesus Christ to qualify eminently to answer Christians. We should be our brother’s keeper and respect legally constituted authorities so that it shall be well with us.

“Ebonyi is our Jerusalem and as Christians prayed for the good of Jerusalem, so we shall be praying for the good of our dear state.’’

The governor used the occasion to reiterate his determination to make the state number one in the country through the on-going aggressive infrastructural development despite dwindling allocation from the Federal Government and poor Internally Generated Revenue of the state.

“There shall be a renewal; a renewal in the transport system, a renewal in road construction and a renewal in the educational system.‘You will flow with the wind of massive transformation currently going on in the state,’’ Umahi added.