May God give us another President like Buhari in 2023 – Gov Umahi

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, has prayed that another leader like President Muhammadu Buhari will take the reins of power at the next general elections in 2023.

He said Nigeria needs another leader like Buhari for “the interest and unity of this country.”

The governor gave this view after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“…God will also give us the next president who has a good heart like President Buhari for the good of this country,” Umahi told State House correspondents, adding that “We need God’s own anointing for our own anointed President for the interest and unity of this country, Umahi said.’’

Umahi made the statement while chiding South-East politicians for planning too early toward the 2023 presidential elections.

According to him,, “Well, for me, I’m very much entrenched in completing my projects. And I will look into politics when my tenure has one year remaining, which is from May 29, 2022. And I think it is the same thing with other governors of the South East and by extension, governors of APC.

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“My position about what you ask is that our people that are in those political parties are making the effort in selling the need for the South East to produce the next president. But I think both the governors and Mr President should not be distracted, when the elections are done and won, it should be governance.

“But in this country, the moment the election is completed, the next one starts. It is the masses that are being cheated. So those whose jobs are politics and who are not into elected positions, or appointed positions have all the time and the opportunity to do this conversing.

“But I continue to say that power rests in the hands of God. And God will also give us the next president who has a good heart like President Buhari for the good of this country.

“We need God’s own anointing for our own anointed President for the interest and unity of this country.”

Asked why he visited President Buhari, Umahi said: “I came to see Mr President. One is to thank him very highly for a number of mega projects that he is doing in the southeast. The second Niger Bridge is fast becoming a reality. Each time we visit that bridge location, it is always like a dream.

“So, we the people of the South East are very grateful to Mr President for this.

“We also thank him for the award of these Eastern corridors of the railway line. This is a project that is going to fast track the commercial activities of our people.

“I recall that when I was in school, I used to take a train from my state, Ebonyi and then get up to Maiduguri where my brothers were staying, for my holidays. Mr President is about restoring that hope. We are deeply very grateful.

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“But I also reminded Mr President that one of his cardinal objectives is to integrate South-East or the state capitals, but in putting together the project through South East that is the capital of Ebonyi state, which is Abakaliki and capital of Anambra state, which is Awka, were omitted.

“And I reminded Mr President that the South-East governors had requested that I write, which I did, but not yet approved by the Honourable Minister of Transport, which Mr President said he will find out why they were omitted in the first place.

“I am very, very hopeful that Mr President is going to give approval to those two locations. And also the limestone granos to fast-track the fertiliser presidential initiative, which has helped the country Nigeria so much in food sufficiency.

“Let me point out that without the effort of Mr President, through this fertiliser initiative and other programmes in the agricultural sector, it would have been a very difficult time for this country. And so that project is supposed to produce a large set of granules to enable us to produce fertilisers to serve the South-South, South East and part of North Central.

“Lastly, four years back, Mr President was in Ebonyi state about November to commission a number of projects and lay the foundation stone to others. I reminded Mr President that we are expecting him four years later, which would be November for him to come to Ebonyi State. The last time he spent one night but this time we are asking him to spend three nights.

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“We have over 20 different projects that we consider good enough for Mr President to commission. We have completed the Muhammadu Buhari light tunnel bridge complex, the first of its kind in Africa. for Mr President to commission.

“We have gotten to the stage of completing the best medical centre, King David University of Medical Sciences, the best in Africa. We have completed the largest mall, the most beautiful mall you can see anywhere in West Africa.

“We have completed additional six twin flyover bridges, well decorated and beautiful. We want Mr President to commission it. We want Mr President to commission the St. Margeret international market, the largest market in West Africa.”

Gov. Umahi listed projects that are ongoing and completed by his administration to include, “the International Airport, which Mr President two years ago gave approval. Now we are the first in the whole of Nigeria to build an international airport runway with concrete that is going to be ready for Mr President to lay the foundation stone. I will invite him next year to commission it.

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“We will have the first flight on May 29, 2022. We also have a number of road projects, especially the 199-kilometre Abakaliki ring road, of which the state government has completed 53 kilometres. And of course, the limestone granules are Mr President’s project and he has to lay the foundation stone.

“But I think after Lagos and Abuja, Ebonyi remains another state with the highest number of flyovers and Ebonyi Airport remains the largest after Lagos and Abuja.

“So, this is why we came and I’m happy that Mr President, is quite disposed towards visiting us again.”