Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, was on Friday, formally presented with the letter of notification from the Board of Editors of Vanguard Media Limited, in respect of his nomination as Vanguard Governor of the Year 2018 for his “sterling contributions to the upliftment of the good people of Enugu State”.
Presenting the letter at the EXCO Chambers of the Government House, Enugu, the Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Eze Anaba, told Gov. Ugwuanyi that the decision was made “after six weeks of painstaking debate by the Board of Editors”, adding that “we agreed that your achievements so far have surpassed what some of your past colleagues have done since 1999 in Enugu State”.
Mr. Anaba, who was accompanied by the Editor, Sunday Vanguard, Mr. Jide Ajani, stated that the governor through far reaching reforms and prudent management of resources has made Enugu one of the emerging viable states of Nigeria in terms of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.
“Following reforms you introduced, Enugu State’s IGR rose to N22 billion in 2017, the highest in a single year since 1999 and thereby making Enugu one of the 12 states in Nigeria that can survive without federal allocation”, he said.
Describing Ugwuanyi as the “infrastructure governor”, the Vanguard Editor pointed out that they were impressed with infrastructural interventions of the present administration in Enugu State, disclosing that it “has spent over N45 billion on construction and rehabilitation of more than 300 kilometers of roads across the state”.
He noted that the governor’s achievements also cut across education, peace and security, investment drive, empowerment, housing development and healthcare delivery, which he said, has “received a boost with the construction of district hospitals and training of 400 volunteer workers for health intervention programmes in the rural communities”.
“It is for these, and more, that we confer on you this well-deserved award” which holds on Friday, January 18 at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, to recognize and celebrate excellence, national pride and service to humanity”, Mr. Anaba stated.
Responding, Gov. Ugwuanyi, who appreciated the media outfit for finding him worthy of the award, dedicated it to God and the good people of Enugu State “who have shown me so much love and support”.
Recall that Sun and Independent newspapers also named Gov. Ugwuanyi the 2018 Sun Governor of the Year and Independent Governor of the Year 2018 for Grassroots Development, respectively.
