ABAKALIKI – The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Wednesday donated a brand new 18-seater Toyota Hiace bus to the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ebonyi State Council.
He urged journalists to continue promoting responsible and development-focused reportage.
Presenting the vehicle in Abakaliki, Umahi commended members of the chapel for sustaining professionalism and ethical standards in the discharge of their duties.
The minister, a former governor of Ebonyi, said he had enjoyed a cordial relationship with journalists over the years and appreciated their role in projecting the state positively.
According to him, negative portrayals of the state could discourage investors and visitors from identifying with Ebonyi and the South-East in general.
“For me, throughout my stay as governor, I never asked journalists to write against anybody, even when I was being attacked politically.
“If you praise me, it lasts for one week; if you condemn me, it also lasts for one week. My strength has always come from God,” he said.
Umahi explained that the bus was donated to support journalists in carrying out their assignments effectively, especially in monitoring and reporting ongoing infrastructure projects of President Bola Tinubu across the country.
“This bus is for you to use in tracking the projects of President Tinubu,” he said.
The minister also used the occasion to highlight ongoing federal infrastructure projects in the South-East, noting that the region had benefited significantly from the current administration.
He said road and bridge projects being executed in different parts of the zone demonstrated the President’s commitment to inclusive development and national integration.
Umahi urged people of the South-East to support Tinubu’s administration and consider backing his re-election bid in 2027 as appreciation for the projects being undertaken in the region.
“If you look at the amount of infrastructural projects going on in the South-East, you will ask yourself: if we did not vote for the President and he is doing all these, should we not support him to appreciate him,” he said.
He also called for support for Gov. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, whom he described as his political son, ally and in-law.
Umahi dismissed speculations of a rift between him and the governor, insisting that they both maintained a strong relationship and were working together for the progress of the state and the success of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The governor is my son, brother and in-law. There are many things binding us together, and we are united in ensuring the success of the government and the development of Ebonyi,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Uchenna Inya, the Sun correspondent in Ebonyi and chairman of the Chapel, thanked the minister for the gesture and promised that the union would make good use of the vehicle.
He also pledged to continue to support developmental projects of the Federal Government through effective reportage.(NAN)
