Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The chairman Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Hon. Uchenna Ogalla, has said that the ongoing modernisation of Eke Ogrute is in the best interest of the people as demanded by them.
Ogalla said this while interacting with the Nsukka Journalists Forum (NJF) in his office at the local government headquarters in Ogrute.
“During our campaign in August and September 2024, many of the people wrote to us demanding that they want Eke market, Ogrute, modernised and that is exactly what we are doing.
“So, those who are complaining now that they were not informed before their shops were demolished, I don’t know where that is coming from because everyone concerned was duly informed,” he said.
The chairman appealed for patience, saying that at the end of the tunnel there is going to be light.
He said that the demolition that took place was carried out in order to get the best of the structures and called for understanding.
He said that his administration was doing a lot in the area of security in other to ensure the security of lives and prosperity in the LGA.
Ogalla said that in line with Governor Peter Mbah’s vision of a secure and peaceful Enugu State, the council was leaving no stone unturned to ensuring a peaceful and secured Igboeze North.
He urged the people to cooperate with his administration in the implementation of some security measures in the area to accelerate development.
“Security is costly but it is cheaper than insecurity,” he said.
Ogalla debunked recent propaganda by some people in the area that the council was asking people to pay tax before organising events.
“It is a practice that is older than me as an Enugu Ezike person.
“We surveyed everywhere and found out that it has been a common practice; so, we decided to harmonize it by making it N50,000.
“We all came together including the Igwes, the PGs, everybody agreed and we launched it.
“By April 1st it has become a practice that if you want to do something, maybe in a month’s time, you approach the security and register with them to provide you with security throughout the event.
“But those who didn’t understand what we were doing went on air with propaganda,” he said.
He, however, acknowledged that he needed time to put the people into perspective on what was happening.
The chairman disclosed that his administration was training and retraining the workforce especially the teachers in the local government on Information Technology (ICT) in preparations for the full take of the Smart School programme in September.
He pledged to partner with NJF to move the local government and the Nsukka cultural zone forward.
