The lawmaker representing Ayamelum Local Government Area in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Maduabuchukwu Bernard Udemezue, has tendered an unreserved apology to the Governor of the state, Prof. Charles Soludo, for what he described as an unusual outburst.
Hon. Udemezue made the apology on Thursday in his office while briefing journalists on the achievements of the governor during his first term in office. He assured that such an outburst would not happen again.
“I want to use this opportunity to categorically apologize to the state governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, for my unusual outburst. I am sincerely sorry about that, and I hope it will not happen again. I believe he is a father and will find space in his heart to forgive me,” he said.
Udemezue, who was suspended for several months for allegedly making rude remarks against the governor and the State House of Assembly, and who recently resumed his legislative duties, also thanked his supporters who stood by him during the difficult period.
“I was suspended and I only resumed recently. I want to appreciate my supporters who kept hope alive during my travail,” he said.
While assessing the governor’s first term in office, Udemezue stated that Soludo has performed remarkably well, even though Ayamelum Local Government Area did not benefit as much as expected.
According to him, the governor has generally performed well across the state.
He noted that the governor’s performance should not be judged solely based on developments in Ayamelum Local Government Area.
“Although Ayamelum is just one local government out of the 21 in Anambra State, you cannot assess Soludo’s performance based on one local government alone.
Generally, in Anambra State, the governor has done well in the areas of security, education, infrastructure, and health. He has been able to curb insecurity in the state to a reasonable extent.
Even though my cousin was kidnapped a few days ago and later dumped under the Niger Bridge, that does not mean he has not done well in the area of security,” he added.
According to him, the establishment of the Udo Ga Chi security initiative was a major step for Ndi Anambra, noting that before now, everyone knew the level of insecurity the state had experienced.
He said that today there is relative security and peace in Anambra State.
Udemezue also noted that in the health sector, the governor has employed many health workers, built general hospitals, and equipped some of them, including the one in Ayamelum and other parts of the state.
“Though there are still many lapses in the system, he has done well. In education, he has employed a lot of teachers to teach our children. The Smart School initiative is incredible, and the ‘One Youth, Two Skills’ programme is also wonderful. It is meant to elevate young people and help them become productive members of society,” he said.
He also observed that the governor has constructed more roads in urban areas than in rural areas, noting that in his own constituency it would be difficult to say that the government has done well in terms of infrastructure.
“It would be wrong for me to say that we have experienced reasonable infrastructure in Ayamelum. We have always wanted the road connecting Awka to Ayamelum to be constructed through Amansea and Oba Ofemili. The road requires a bridge to properly link Awka with those communities.
The road from Achalla to Umueri,urum has also not been completed. However, we still believe that the governor will do it because he still has a lot of time to fulfill these expectations.
The government should come to the aid of the people of Ayamelum. I understand that a road contract has been awarded from Onitsha to Aguleri, but we have always wanted the road to pass through Amansea to Awka. That road will also require a bridge,” he said.
He further appealed to the governor to ensure that the irrigation system in Ayamelum becomes operational, noting that the area is largely agrarian and that functional irrigation would enable farmers to cultivate crops during both the dry and rainy seasons.
The lawmaker also stated that electricity is urgently needed in the area to power irrigation stations and support farming activities.
On the distribution of development projects across the state, he said he does not expect that all parts of Anambra will benefit equally at the same time.
He emphasized that the most important achievement of the governor so far is the improvement in security.
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