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Egwu hails inclusion of South-East roads in budget
From Leo Sobechi, Abakaliki
THE inclusion of the construction of the Onitsha-Owerri Road project in the 2005 budget is an indication that the Federal Government would rehabilitate South-East roads, Governor Sam Ominyi Egwu of Ebonyi State has said. In an interactive session with reporters at the weekend, Egwu, who is the chairman of the Forum of South-East governors, said the deplorable state of roads in the geo-political zone has caught the attention of the Federal Government.
On the issue of the latest fuel price hike, he said the NLC snubbed the governors when they wanted to intervene. "When we tried to intervene as governors, the NLC was adamant, they did not want to negotiate with us. They claimed that earlier arrangement with us did not bear fruits."
Egwu stated that even in war situations, roundtable discussions help to resolve every area of disagreement, adding that President Olusegun Obasanjo was determined to make life more meaningful to Nigerians.
"Reforms have never been easy in any part of the world. The President is not there to make money for himself or cheat people. Since the reforms are inevitable it would engender some temporary hardships but at the end it would be okay," he said
The governor, however, urged appropriate measures to cushion the hardships. "If we try this reform, there must be measures to cushion the hardship. The excess money from crude oil sales should be put into the provision of such necessary facilities."
He dismissed as false allegations that some of the South-East governors were not forthcoming on the issue of Igbo solidarity and unity.
"There are no differences among the South-East governors, only that sometimes some of us may not be in the country for the usual meetings."
To him, the Igbo have shown serious aspiration for the Presidency of the country and the unity of the Igbo for the presidency project had removed the essential fibre from the MASSOB's call for a separate state.
"Nobody is saying anything different. But Igbo will first of all distance themselves from the MASSOB clamour and exert enormous pressure to make for a stronger claim on the Presidency. When we get the Presidency, it is not going to be because of MASSOB, which should be seen as an example of the growing youth restiveness in the country much like the OPC and Arewa Youths."
On his successor, Egwu said it was not possible for him to support any person to succeed him yet. "The mistake people make is that when a political party presents a candidate he will make it."
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