Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State(right), welcoming the Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, this weekend.
First term governors who assumed office in their respective states across the country are particularly unlucky in view of the present harsh economic realities starring the nation in the face, chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, declared in Enugu at the weekend.
Governor Yari who was accompanied by the former speaker of the House of Representatives and now governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and the governor of Enugu state, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who was their host, however, pointed out that there is hope in the current efforts to revitalize the economy.
The visiting governors who attended a burial ceremony had paid a courtey visit to Governor Ugwuanyi and said it was in the spirit of their cordial relationships during their tenures as members of the House of Representatives. The three National Assembly members were elected governors during the last governorship elections in their respective states.
Speaking to Enugu Government House reporters at the weekend shortly after a closed door session with the Enugu governor, Yari said, “each and every nation has its own problems, especially on the issue of the economy.
“We were discussing with our brother here(Ugwuanyi). We came in as governors and we can say we are not lucky but in reality, we are lucky because we won our elections. We came in at a time when the economy is down but we are managing.
“You can see we have hope for Nigeria. When we have security settled and we have the economy gradually working to ensure that all the leakages are blocked, we can enhance the revenue generation to the betterment of our nation.
“So far, I can say, is so good. We are making progress, more especially on the issue of security”, said Yari who had spoken to newsmen after Tambuwal had preferred that he address the journalists in his capacity as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
On their mission at the Government House, Enugu, he explained that it was the fact that they had good working relationship with the Enugu governor during his days at the National Assembly and that they had come to see the Government House, wish the Enugu helmsman a successful tenure as well as see the good works he has started in the Coal City state. End