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Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has expressed delight at the leadership style of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, especially in fostering peace and unity among the political class irrespective of party differences.
Jonathan, who described Governor Ugwunayi as a man of peace, lauded his disposition in relating with members of the opposition political parties after winning the election.
Speaking at a dinner hosted at Government House, Enugu, after delivering the lecture at the 10thanniversary and convocation ceremonies of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, yesterday, Jonathan said Ugwuanyi’s inclusive governance style is a rare feat other leaders should emulate.
“If you are the governor of a state, you must treat all citizens equally irrespective of their political persuasions, otherwise you are not a good governor,” Jonathan said.
While urging members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to continue to encourage the governor in his peace initiatives, the former president noted that “we need peace and unity if we want rapid development”.
The ex-president, who expressed happiness over Ugwuanyi’s unprecedented performance during the last election, commended him for scoring higher percentage of votes in his second term election than in the first term. Jonathan also expressed thanks to God that the PDP made the right choice in 2015.
“In most cases as presidents and governors, their second term election is tougher because when you are coming for the first term, there is so much enthusiasm, so much hope by the people. But it is almost difficult to meet the needs of the people.
“So in your second term election, you may win but with less votes. But he (Ugwuanyi) even won with higher votes than in the first election. Today (yesterday) when we went to the university, the community leader spoke about him as a man of peace and from all the information, I have gotten since I came, they are not flattering, they are making the correct statement.
“I am happy when I listened to the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo that in his administration (Ugwuanyi’s) he has seen no difference between APC and PDP or any other party. That is commendable, and I always tell people, when you become the President or the governor or the chairman, you are not a governor of your party, you are the governor of your state. So I looked back when we all wanted him and I thank God we made the right choice,” he said.
In separate remarks, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo and the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Ambasador Lawrence Agubuzu, thanked the former president for his contributions towards the development of the country as well as his kind disposition to the people of the South East when he was in office.
