Mr. Nwabueze Ugwu, a former lawmaker in Enugu, has urged the incoming members of the Enugu State House of Assembly to work with Governor-elect Dr. Peter Mbah to achieve rapid transformation of the state.
On Saturday, Ugwu, a legal luminary, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
In Enugu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led executive and a Labour Party-dominated legislature will be inaugurated on May 29.
Ugwu said:
It is true that the opposition in Enugu State controls the greater percentage of the legislature in Enugu State.
But that notwithstanding, I expect the Enugu State House of Assembly (ESHA) when it is inaugurated to work harmoniously with Peter Mbah, the incoming governor, and his team.
The Assembly should place the state first and be well advised that we are having another Peter Obi in Enugu State in the person of Peter Mbah, he advised.
He emphasized that the legislature should remember what happened in Anambra during Peter Obi’s tenure and not work in opposition to other branches of government.
According to Ugwu, the incoming Assembly members have the opportunity to make history in the same way that Obi did in Anambra after being impeached twice and returned by the courts.
At the end of the day the man, Obi, had a name that is larger than himself and anything that you can think of, he said.
He noted that the experience made Obi break an electoral record in the last Presidential polls in Nigeria whereby so many presumed he was victorious.
I expect that the incoming legislature in Enugu will learn one or two lessons from that. That you can’t stop a thing which time has come.
It is the time for Enugu State to shine as far as governance is concerned and nobody should be a stumbling block to what is coming to the state.
It is time for them to cooperate with the administration of Peter Mbah and make sure that things move beautifully.
Ugwu, however, advised them not to listen to anyone that would ask them to fight or impeach Mbah or make sure that he did not work.Anybody telling you that is deceiving you, and I expect that everyone should be careful and know that impunity is no longer condoned in Nigeria and that everyone will surely answer for whatever one does.
Anyone who is deceived to fight Mbah will do so at his peril and will sooner say ‘had I known’, the lawmaker added.
Ugwu expressed confidence that the state would see significant changes under the new administration.
Mbah’s promise to restore water supply to every household in Enugu city in six months, he says, is both exciting and feasible.
He praised the governors-elect’s manifesto mantra of “Tomorrow is here” as comprehensive.
As Germain, he praised his plans for education, tourism, ICT, industrialization, security, and zero employment.
“I am confident that by the time he is finished with governance, the people of Enugu will be able to thump their chests and say, ‘We have again had a governor.'”
He acknowledged former Gov. Sullivan Chime’s pre-election endorsement of Mbah and urged those who voted against him to reconsider and support his administration.
The PDP produced all of the candidates for governor in Enugu State.
I am confident that Mbah will not discriminate in providing community development infrastructure.
“Our citizens should rally around him so that in the next four years the state will be better.”