A group, United Ebonyi People’s Development Forum (UNEBDEV), has condemned what they called “the era of gross impunity and abysmal governance†under Governor Dave Umahi, saying it has left the state with serial underdevelopment and poverty. UNEBDEV said in a communiqué after its meeting on May 27 that the development deficit in Ebonyi State was compounded by the lack of transparency in the management of the state’s finances.
“Ebonyi State’s budget has not been made public since the governor assumed office. Hence, finances of the state are shrouded in opacity,†the group alleged.
UNEBDEV lamented the state of education, healthcare, employment, and human capital development in Ebonyi since 2015. It said the unhealthy economic environment created by poor governance at home was aggravating the emigration of the youth to other states, where they live and work under very dangerous conditions.
The forum stated: “Hundreds of Ebonyi people are killed daily on the streets of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, and indeed all other cities in Nigeria, as they hawk wares to eke out a living. Children as young as seven years, who should be in school studying to improve their capacity to survive in an economy that has increasingly become knowledge-based, hungrily run after cars in traffic in a bid to sell.â€
It added: “Ebonyi people deserve a transparent government. The governor is not providing this, and they say he must leave in 2019 to make way for transparency and accountability.â€
