President Muhammadu Buhari is returning to the South East on Wednesday, January 30 in furtherance of his presidential campaign in the zone.
Buhari is billed to storm Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital in what the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu said would be the most comprehensive of all the campaigns so far.
Buhari’s Wednesday visit to Ebonyi state would be the third since he became the Nigeria’s president.
Onu made the disclosures at the weekend when key officials of a pro-Buhari group, “True Nigerians For Buhari (TNFB)” paid him a solidarity visit in his country home at Uburu, Ohaozara Local council.
The minister enjoined all Ebonyi people, and indeed, the party supporters in the southeast zone to come out en mass and welcome President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate as he flags off his campaign in Ebonyi State.
“Mr. President will be visiting Ebonyi State on Wednesday, January 30. I call on all Ebonyi to come out in very large number to receive Mr. President, and also come out en mass to vote for all APC candidates at all levels.
“We are happy that President Buhari is in love with our state. Mr. President insisted that the rail-line that links Port Harcourt to Maiduguri will not be complete without passing through Ebonyi State.“I call on the people of Ebonyi State, the southeast zone, and Nigerians to support President Buhari’s re-election,” Onu admonished.
Onu told the visiting members of the pro-Buhari grouo that although the problems which the Buhari-led administration inherited were enormous and would take a long time to solve, he expressed delight that within three years of being in office, the government had made tremendous progress in the areas of diversifying the economy from oil-dependent one to agro-based economy, creating jobs and consistent fight against corruption in the country.
He recalled that Buhari took over office “when all the indices of our national economy collapsed; when our economy depended mainly on crude oil; when the price of crude oil was very low and when the production of crude oil was very low in the country, not even up to half a million barrel per day; when what the country had was half of what she needed to have”
He expressed the hope that if given another four years, President Buhari would be able to consolidate on the gains made by the administration so far. “We need to grow the economy and create enough jobs for our people,” Onu remarked.
He expressed happiness upon realizing that a group such as the TNFB members were currently working hard alongside other numerous organizations in the country for the re-election of Mr. President for him to continue with his good works.
He assured members of the group of all the necessary support they would require to actualize their aims and objectives, adding that their efforts would be rewarded by the consolidation and sustainability of government’s achievements.
The leader of TNFB, Chief Ajayi Nicholas Adekunle said their visit was part of the campaign for the re-election of President Buhari.
Adekunle said: “We are here because we felt it’s important to come to you and say thank you for the way you are mobilizing the entire southeast for the re-election of Mr. President.”
He advised all Ebonyi people to troop out and vote for all APC candidates during the forthcoming elections.
