The Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, Chief Hilary Ekeh, has expressed confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s ability to carry along the Igbo people in terms of political appointments.
Ekeh, who spoke in Owerri, the state capital on Thursday, said Buhari would ensure fairness in his determination to run an all-inclusive government at the federal level.
He said it was regrettable that the South-East lost the chance of producing the Senate president because the APC did not produce any senator from the zone.
“We expected to have somebody from the zone as senate president but that eluded us because APC did not produce any senator from the zone.
“Some APC stalwarts also felt they will be appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), but President Buhari did not pick the SGF from the South-East and that does not mean that the zone has been left out.
“There are still many appointments to be made in future and I believe the zone will get its due from the APC government led by Buhari”, he said.
The state APC chairman, however, appealed to the people of South-East to pray for the citing of meaningful projects in the zone.
“We should expect projects that will impact on our people and not only appointments because landmark projects like Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Federal University of Technology were cited in Imo when a northerner was president.
“It is better to have such projects than have plenty appointments like what Imo saw during the last administration and yet no meaningful project came to the state”, he said.
Ekeh, who praised the efforts of Buhari in tackling corruption, advised Nigerians to queue behind the present administration’s anti-corruption campaign.
He said the fight against corruption must be fought and won for the nation to make meaningful progress in all fields of human endeavours.
“With the current posture of Mr President in the fight against corruption, I am optimistic that our economy will soon bounce back.
“People should worry less on whether cabinet has been formed or not, if it is possible for Buhari to rule without ministers and change the negative ways of doing things, that will be nice for all of us”.
The APC chairman also urged Nigerians to be patient with the president in assessing his performance, adding: “if after one year and things remain the way they are, people can then speak out”.
Commenting on delay in constituting the Imo cabinet, Ekeh also said that Governor Rochas Okorocha should be given time to pick his team for effective management of the state.
He posited that “the achievements of Gov. Okorocha in the last four years out-weighed that of all past governments put together”.
He said “with the downturn in the oil revenue, the governor requires thoroughbred men and women to steer the ship of Imo economy”.
