Polycarp Sola -Abakaliki
The National Association of Independent Media Practitioners (NAIMP) members in Ebonyi State have weighed their support for the performing governor of Ebonyi State, R.t. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, over alleged spending of 8.2 billion naira for official vehicles as reported on Sahara reporters.
The organization, also condemned in its entirety, the report by the same media, of an alleged 1.1 billion naira budgeted for wildlife conservation in the state’s 2024 appropriation budget, and described it as a “falsified, unprofessional” way of tarnishing the image of the governor.
The group noted that the Governor has the right to get an official car for his office on assumption of duty as the Governor, since the previous administration had prevented the budget for the 2023 fiscal year.”However, the Governor has the right to adopt the doctrine of necessity in matters that were yet to pass through the legislature.”.
In a statement signed by its national president, Prince Solomon Okorie, and made available to journalists in Abakaliki, the state capital, NAIMP members, who belittled the perpetrators of the said publication, described it as politically motivated and cautioned them not to distract the good intentions of the governor in the delivery of his “People’s Charter of Needs.”.
“The said publication by Sahara reporters is purely a deliberate political move by some desperate people with the intention to tarnish the image of the Governor of Ebonyi State, R.t Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, and to distract him from delivering good governance.
“As an acclaimed professional media outfit, the publishers of such misleading content should have done a fact check and possibly contacted the appropriate channel to verify their findings before going public.
“We do not wish to dabble in politics and gimmicks, but this is our own way to commend good leadership and also caution anyone who is trying to distract the performing governor because he is youthful and working; we will not take it lightly next time as we know the skeletons in their wardrobe,” it stated.
Prince Solomon also urged the unsuspecting public to disregard the information and support the government in its bid to better their lives, enumerating the achievements done in human and capital development by Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s administration.