With Tinubu South East No Longer Feels Marginalised, Says Enugu Senator

The lawmaker representing Enugu West, Senator Osita Ngwu has declared that under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the South East geopolitical zone no longer feels marginalised as it now occupies key positions with infrastructure transformation taking place across the axis.

Ngwu stated this while addressing senior journalists and government officials on an inspection tour of federal government projects organised by Renewed Hope Ambassadors in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team in Enugu.

Some of the key federal projects inspected include the completed 23-span Eke Obinagu Flyover Bridge on the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway, the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and the ongoing Abakpa Interchange project.

The lawmaker said the Eke Obinagu Flyover Bridge on the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway had addressed a longstanding transportation challenge along the corridor linking Ebonyi and Enugu states.

Osita noted that the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway had drastically improved travel time, and reduced a journey that once took five to six hours on deteriorated roads to just over two hours.

Ngwu said perceptions that the South-East had been sidelined by the Federal Government no longer reflected realities on the ground.

“To be honest, I was among those who previously felt that Enugu and the South-East had been neglected by the Federal Government. But that is now a thing of the past. Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, we have been carried along.

“How can we be marginalised when we have the Honourable Minister for Work for the first time? And who is performing?  We cannot be marginalised.

“How can we be marginalised when we have this flyover? How can we be marginalised when we have Enugu-Port Harcourt road done? How can we be marginalised when we have Enugu-Onitsha done? How can we be marginalised when we have Enugu going to Makurdi done? What else do you want from the government to do?

“The only thing we have to do is to continue to support the government so that these projects will be sustained. Our own governor in Enugu is collaborating very well. You know, when people ask why we joined the APC, you can see it here. Because the projects are coming. The governor is

performing wonderfully well.

“The projects from the federal government are coming perfectly well and that is the reason for democracy. The dividends are coming. The other parts can be done. Rome was not built in a day. So I urge Nigerians to be patient with the government. Things will always get better,” he added.

Speaking at the Abakpa interchange project, the engineer, Kanile Raphael Nkoko, said the 100-metre flyover and service roads being executed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) would ease congestion and reduce travel time when completed.

“The project was designed to address the heavy traffic congestion experienced at this junction, particularly during peak periods. When completed, it will improve traffic flow, reduce travel time and support economic activities within the area,” he said.

Providing details of the Eke Obinagu project, the Federal Controller of Works in Enugu State, Engr. Smart Ndem Okpi, said the flyover was conceived to tackle chronic congestion and safety concerns on the busy Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway.

“The Eke Obinagu Flyover Bridge was conceived to address the persistent traffic congestion and safety challenges along the busy Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway,” he said.

On his part, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, argued that President Tinubu the inspection of the projects has confirmed that President Tinubu has accommodated every part of country in his projects.

He said: “We have all seen the evidence of the President of Nigeria in action and what he has done in every part of Nigeria.

“Everywhere is been taken care of and the good thing is that people are going to feel the impact of the various projects, particularly the ongoing road works executed in many parts of the country.”

Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare said the projects President Tinubu have executed across the six geopolitical zones will shock Nigerians by the time they are compiled and presented to them in no distance time.

Dare said there are already myriads of testimonies of several laudable projects the Tinubu-led government executed across all the zones in the country, adding that Nigerians will shocked when the projects are chronicled.

He emphasised that by the end of the compilation, the evidence will prove many doubting the impact President Tinubu has made wrong, insisting that Nigerians will soon know that the country indeed has a performing President.

“We heard the powerful testimony by Senator Osita Ngwu who spoke about the fixing of the bridge connecting Port Harcourt and Enugu, and services the transportation of products from the North and the South which broke down completely.

“He also confirmed how the President acted promptly by fixing the bridge after his raising the problem on the floor of the senate. We have seen the Port Harcourt-Enugu expressway, the flyover and a couple of other projects.

“It shows a very responsive leadership under President Tinubu. The spread of projects we have seen in the last few days under President Tinubu in the South East alone, is amazing.

“We are compiling the evidences and by the time we finish assembling the projects in the six geopolitical zones, we will have enough evidence to show Nigerians that we indeed have a President who is at work for this country,” he said.