From Magnus Eze, Enugu
President Bola Tinubu, last Saturday, paid a one-day official visit to Enugu State where he commissioned numerous projects executed by the administration of Governor Peter Mbah.
A critical leg of the visit was the town hall meeting with some South East leaders where they presented a checklist to the President.
Surprisingly, the issue of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, was not mentioned at the rare meeting with the President.
The host Governor, Peter Mbah, his Abia counterpart, Alex Otti, Deputy Governor of Anambra, Onyeka Ibezim, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; two former Presidents of the Senate-Anyim Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani, Minister of Works, David Umahi, former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and some other select Igbo political and religious leaders as well as captains of industry, were at the meeting.
In their presentation, they pleaded with President Bola Tinubu, to direct the dismantling of security roadblocks and checkpoints in the zone, noting that the roadblocks made goods expensive. They also appealed to the President to ensure that the Anambra Basin with its abundant oil and gas reserves is developed in the interest of the nation’s economy.
The basin, Daily Sun gathered, is estimated to hold up to 1 billion barrels of oil and 30 billion cubic feet of gas.
Secretary, Police Service Commission (PSC), Chief Onyemuche Nnamani who presented the zone’s requests, noted that the checkpoints and roadblocks were drawbacks which had negatively affected the economy of the people in the zone and even constituted security risk.
With the modern Command and Control Centre established by the Enugu State government and other strategies put in place, Nnamani said there was no need for the traditional checkpoints and roadblocks.
He said that the security measures put in place by Governor Mbah were critical for the encouragement of investment and economic growth.
Nnamani further said that it was also critical that the right security strategies were deployed to avoid giving visitors and their people in diaspora the wrong impression that things were worse than they seemed.
“These were some of the driving factors which motivated Enugu State to institute its ultra-modern statewide CCTV, modern camera mounted on patrol cars, some of which we have commissioned today, including our modern Command and Control Centre, it was quite easy to convince our governor to invest billions of Naira on security,” Nnamani said.
He further said “In view of this, we appeal to you to support Enugu State and security agencies, to deemphasise the traditional practice of roadblocks, stop and search and all that. Our people are really complaining about those things.
“It will be a great honour. When we say deemphasize, what it means is that we are providing alternatives. You have seen the patrol vans; you have seen the cameras mounted all over the state. So, we have alternatives to all this. So, we just want to deemphasize this issue of stop and search and roadblocks.”
Also, another stakeholder, Chris Ugo, who called for the development of the Anambra Basin, posited that it would unlock the oil and gas reserves lying waste in the area.
He said: “The need to develop Anambra Basin as an oil-bearing reserve that will impact on the entire South-East different from the well-known Niger Delta. We are saying that this reserve called Anambra Basin holds not less than one billion barrels of oil and about 30 billion cubic feet of gas.
“And like all of us know, the future is gas and we know the emphasis the present government is placing on gas for so many reasons, power generation, for industries in the plastic, petrochemicals. There are plenty that we can achieve by doing that.
“We have a plenty presentation, but I understand there have been no time to go through that. So, we’re appealing to Your Excellency, please to help call attention to this dormant energy reserve in the so-called Anambra Basin.
“For explanation purposes, Anambra Basin borders on the South and the Niger Delta, and the Benue trough. Among the whole Basins as a frontier exploration for oil and gas, Anambra Basin stands number one in terms of performance, in terms of reserves and in terms of attraction.
“So, we’re appealing to you, sir, to please use your good offices to energize this thing for the benefit of entire South-East and even the Middle Belt. We know Benue State is just here. And after Benue, the entire North Central energy is just lying waste there.”
Former Minister of Power, Prof. Nebo, was emphatic on the need to revive the rail system in Enugu State and some other states in the zone, emphasising the rail link’s potential to boosting Nigeria’s non-oil exports and economic growth.
Nebo applauded the Tinubu administration for completing the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the Eastern rail line, while appealing to the President to prioritise the completion of the remaining portions of the rail link.
Responding to their requests, the President made a firm commitment that his administration would complete the Eastern Rail line connecting Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.
He also pledged that his administration would support the development of the Anambra Basin as a significant energy reserve.
On the request for the rail line, he reassured the audience, saying, “It is a work in progress. I inherited some of these critical problems and I am committed to solving them.
“On the support of the gas infrastructure. Sure, gas is an alternative to petrol. There is no wasting of time than to invest more in it. We will do it together, and I am lucky I have good governors.’’
Acknowledging the presence of various dignitaries, including governors, traditional rulers, captains of industry and serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly from the South East, President Tinubu praised former Senate President Ken Nnamani for saving Nigeria’s democracy from those who wanted to derail it with the Third Term project.
Before then, the President also praised Governor Peter Mbah for his development model and philosophy after inaugurating several projects executed by the state government.
He pledged that the Federal Government would continue to support Enugu and other states in their development efforts.
Among the projects inaugurated by the President are the GTC Smart Green School, New Haven/Bisalla Road, the International Conference Centre, the Command-and-Control Centre, and 150 patrol vehicles equipped with surveillance cameras.
The President also performed the virtual commissioning of other notable projects from the Enugu State Government House.
At the inauguration of the Command-and-Control Centre, the President said investment in security will bring rapid development.
“This is a profound demonstration of what we can do together. It reassures me that more revenue going to the sub-nationals and Local Government is not a waste. It is for development.”
At the interactive session, Mbah described President Tinubu as a true federalist, and commended the Tinubu-led administration for establishing the South East Development Commission and liberalising the electricity sector through the amendment of the Electricity Act.
He acknowledged the President’s efforts at revitalising Nigeria’s growth and economic resilience.
“Your Excellency, your credential as a true federalist stands out brightly, and the legacies thereof will long earn you resounding accolades.
“In signing the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, you liberalised electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. That singular act will consistently rank as an enduring legacy.
“It is noteworthy that Enugu State was the first sub-national to which the NERC ceded regulatory oversight of the local electricity market. That reflects how swiftly we are pursuing our goals,” he said.
Daily Sun had reported that the expectation of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and majority of people of the South-East, was that the presidential visit to Enugu would provide an ample opportunity for the leaders of the zone to further push for Kanu’s release.
This became very expedient as previous attempts by the apex Igbo sociocultural body to meet with the President to discuss the Kanu matter and other issues bothering the region were not successful.
And Ohanaeze Ndigbo in a welcome message to Tinubu on the eve of his visit was upbeat that the president would use the occasion of the talk on the Kanu matter.
According to the statement by the Ohanaeze’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, the President General of the body, Nze Ozichukwu Chukwu expressed hope that President Tinubu’s visit would further strengthen ties with the Igbo and urged the President to demonstrate goodwill by facilitating the release of the detained IPOB leader.
“Ohanaeze has always maintained that national peace, unity, and sustainable development are products of equity and justice. We trust that this visit will mark a new chapter in the relationship between the federal government and the Igbo people,” the group noted.
In the same manner, the United Igbo Elders Council (UNIEC) Worldwide, in its New Year message appealed to the Federal Government to free Kanu, as New Year gift to Ndigbo and Nigerians.
The statement jointly signed by its Director-General, Justice Alpha Ikpeama and the Director, Media and Publicity, Prof. Obasi Igwe, also called for the release, exoneration and rehabilitation of Kanu, his colleagues, and other political prisoners in Nigeria.
The group stated that this would put a stop to the cruel narrative that there is “war” in the east because people were fighting for his release.
At the end of the presidential visit, no news about Kanu’s release. It was however unclear if the matter was mentioned in any closed door engagements during the visit.