• Gov denies defection plans
EBONYI State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi and former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku yesterday , expressed strong support for President Muhammadu Buhar’s strong anti-graft posture saying such crusade deserves the support of patriotic Nigerians.
Speaking separately to State House correspondents after closed-door meetings with the president , Umahi said said the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would stand by Buhari in his administration’s war against graft even as Anyaoku described the president’s desire to fight corruption as real, noting that Nigeria would come out the better for it.
Anyaoku who said he would not go into details of his discussions with the He stressed that he had confidence in Buhari, recalling that the President’s record was of one well known for his strong aversion to corruption; and “I believe in his determination to fight corruption, he will go a long way in that regard. Besides, I can tell from the strong impression I got from my discussion with him that he is very determined.
His words, “I had a positive discussion with the President, we discussed international affairs, including in particular his forthcoming visit to the United States on the invitation of President Obama. We also touched on some national issues because of the strong link between foreign policy and domestic issues. I put at his disposal the benefits of my long experience on governance matters with Heads of Governments of 54-member countries of the Commonwealth and also other issues related to internal affairs.
“I can tell you I was talking to a President who is very determined to effect a real change in the circumstances of our country and very determined too to bring to bear on his administration the generally perceived attributes of his character, which I believe many Nigerians would support.”
On his part, Umahi told reporters it would be insensitive for anybody to stand in the way of the President as far as the anti corruption crusade was concerned because he was doing exactly what the nation badly needed to survive.
He however declared his comment on the fight against graft did not amount to his defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that any talk about his defection was just in the imagination of such persons.
Umahi explained that he was at the Villa to confer with Buhari to seek assistance for his state by way of approvals to obtain loans from commercial banks for the construction. of some strategic roads in the state.
According to him, the banks and some private partners were willing and ready to assist the state in providing the needed funds for the construction of the federal roads but needed a guarantee from the Federal Government that they would be refunded.
In particular, the private partners who had indicated interest to assist in the construction of the roads wanted to be allowed to build toll gates as a way of recouping their funds, the governor said.
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