From Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagements, South-East, Chioma Nweze, has urged people of the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office, saying the country would witness greater development under his administration.

Nweze made the call while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing construction works on the Benue axis of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Kogi-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway.

She said the Federal Government’s infrastructure projects and other interventions were already having positive effects on communities, particularly in areas of education, transportation, healthcare and economic empowerment.

According to her, improved road infrastructure would make it easier for people to access schools, hospitals, markets and other essential services, while also reducing the difficulties associated with transportation.

Nweze said: “Our students are going to school, we can access small and medium loans for our women to use and trade. We also have roads, so we can trade.”

She added that better roads would also improve access to healthcare facilities, particularly for pregnant women and other vulnerable members of society.

“We are not going to give birth on the road; we are able to get to the hospital on time to be sure that we can give birth in the hospital,” she said.

Nweze further said the administration’s interventions were aimed at improving the welfare of women, noting that empowering women would have wider benefits for families and communities.

She said, “All the things the President is doing are making sure that women are okay, and they say when you train a woman, you train the nation.”

The presidential aide acknowledged that Nigerians were experiencing challenges, but expressed the view that the situation would improve as ongoing reforms and development projects continued to take effect.

She therefore appealed to South-East residents to support Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying: “We are telling people and encouraging people that they should vote for President Bola Tinubu for the second term in office. It is going to get better.”

Nweze also commended the Federal Ministry of Works for its intervention in opening up communities and strengthening connectivity across different regions,

She added that the ongoing highway project was creating direct and indirect employment opportunities while providing opportunities for increased economic activities.

She noted that improved connectivity would facilitate the movement of people, agricultural produce and other goods,

The SSA, Nweze however described the project as consistent with the Federal Government’s broader infrastructure and economic development objectives.

From Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has declared that President Bola Tinubu will win the 2027 presidential election, saying the victory would come “spiritually and physically.”

Umahi made the declaration at the weekend while speaking with journalists during an inspection of ongoing construction works on the Benue axis of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Kogi-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway.

The Minister, however, used the inspection to direct contractors handling the strategic highway to open multiple work fronts and intensify construction activities, particularly on Section Two of the project.

He ordered contractors to deploy adequate manpower, equipment and other resources to accelerate the pace of construction while ensuring that existing buildings along the alignment were adequately protected.

Umahi said the directive became necessary because of engineering challenges encountered along the route, including rivers, swampy areas and other difficult terrain.

According to him, contractors must devise engineering solutions to overcome the difficult portions without compromising the quality, durability and standard of the highway.

“I do not believe in engineering that anything is impossible. We’ve sat this morning and we’ve agreed how to cross the bridge,” the Minister said, directing the contractor handling Section Two to open at least three work fronts.

He also directed that no building should be demolished simply because it falls within the proposed alignment, insisting that proper technical assessment must first be carried out.

“My directive is that no building should be touched. Even if it’s within the alignment, I have to come and realign it,” he said.

Umahi explained that the Ministry would continue to make necessary technical adjustments to the alignment, particularly around sharp curves and built-up areas,

He stressed that such modifications would be made without imposing additional costs on the Federal Government under the project’s financing arrangement.

The Minister further directed the contractor to intensify work around river crossings and other difficult portions of Section Two, adding that temporary motability would be achieved where necessary to facilitate movement while permanent construction works continue.

He commended the project team for the progress recorded since his previous inspection and urged the contractors to sustain the momentum.

At Section One of the project, the Controller of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Federal Superhighway, Maxwell Oko, disclosed that the section, being handled by Infiouest, covers about 123 kilometres and had attained 39.33 per cent completion.

Oko said construction was progressing with rigid pavement technology from the Ndibe Beach axis through Timber Junction, Akpoha, Amudo and Onueke, among other communities.

He disclosed that Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) had progressed to about kilometre 43 on both sides of the alignment, with further construction planned towards Onueke Junction and subsequent sections.

The Project Manager of Section One, Mohammed Moustapha, said the contractor was intensifying work on the rigid pavement and would extend the current work front around kilometre 43 towards Onueke Junction before advancing through the succeeding kilometres.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all chairmanship and Councillorship seats contested in the Sept. 26 Local Government Election in Enugu State.

It would be recalled that the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) conducted elections into the 17 Chairmanship and 260 Ward Councillorship positions in the state on Saturday.

Declaring the election results at the ENSIEC headquarters in Enugu on Sunday, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof Christian Ngwu, said that the election was free and fair.

Ngwu said that the election was conducted according to rules guiding the Commission, and “subsequently, we are issuing the winners with certificates of returns.”

Speaking after collecting his certificate of return, Chairman of Enugu South Local Government Area, Chief Caleb Ani, attributed the landslide victory of the candidates of APC to the massive developmental works of Gov. Peter Mbah.

Ani urged the residents of the state to vote for Mbah en masse in the forthcoming 2027 General Election to continue the good works.

“Gov. Mbah has done well in all ramifications, this is partly while the APC candidates won overwhelmingly.

“I urge the people to vote for him, come 2027 General Elections so that he will continue with his good works and do more,” he said.

Reacting, the APC Chairman in Enugu State, Dr Martin Chukwunweike, said that the resounding victory at the polls indicated the dominance of the national ruling party, APC, in the state.

“We will not rest as we push the developmental efforts of President Bola Tinubu and our amiable governor, His Excellency Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for the world to see.

“Tinubu, Mbah and all the APC candidates will be reelected in 2027 as they have performed exceptionally well in the past three years,” he said.

In the numerical figures of the results pronounced, APC chairmanship candidates won with margins while the opposition parties trailed behind with minimal votes.

For instance, in Udenu, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Eze South local Government Areas respectively, the APC chairmen elect secured virtually the whole votes cast.