Frank Nweke Jr, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Enugu State, on Monday reiterated his commitment to an accountable and transparent government at the interactive session for candidates organised by the Politics Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu and the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC).
The session, which took place at the Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu, according to the Chief Host and Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, His Lordship Most Rev. C.V.C. Onaga was the latest in a series of engagements with the party candidates organised by the Catholic Church to educate their members.
In his remarks, Nweke stressed that everything rises and falls on leadership, and vowed to lead from the front and take responsibility for his government’s performance from day one. He decried the current system that vests all key functions to one person without requisite respect for the bureaucracy of governance. He promised to assemble a team of the best and brightest of Enugu residents and give them the freedom to perform in their respective roles without unnecessary interference.
Noting that accountability and transparency would be the hallmarks of his administration, the APGA candidate shared his plans to publish the state of accounts and financial allocations to all departments of the State, hold a monthly address to the State via the radio services and other channels, host a quarterly meeting with the business community, declare an annual State of the State address and institute a quarterly zonal meeting where government officials will give regular accounts of their performance to the people.
On Security, Nweke highlighted his plans to deploy technology, as exemplified in his hometown of Ozalla and work closely with the authorities to tackle insecurity.
On water supply, he decried the mismanagement and corruption that currently exists, restating his plan to unbundle the sector with three independent entities handling the generation, transmission and distribution of water across the water value chain. Specifically, he said the reticulation of water from Adada Dam into Nsukka would be a priority, while the water sources in individual communities would be harnessed to serve the needs of the areas. Finally, on Water Supply, he stated that the States water corporation will be restructured to regulate the operations of the entire sector.
On education, Nweke promised the complete handover of the management of schools to the church while partnering with them to provide the needed funding, teachers training and welfare, and the development of a curriculum that prioritises STEAM, history and Civic Studies.
Nweke also drilled down on his commitment to ensure local government autonomy, noting that they were critical to the development of key infrastructure in the rural areas.
In closing, he invited the audience to see details of his governance plans for the State on his website – www.franknwekeii.com, while noting the time constraint in answering the numerous questions.
Nweke thanked the church for their interest in the political process with the hope that it becomes a sustained exercise that subjects public office seekers to scrutiny for the good of the society.
