Ebonyi State was created from the criminally – neglected and most undeveloped parts of the old Enugu and Abia states. The story of Ebonyi State’s creation struggle, even though similar to the exodus of Israelites from Egypt, was different in many ways.

Like the biblical exodus, Ebonyi creation struggle was aimed at breaking away from slavery characterised by intellectual, economic and socio-political domination and marginalisation of the area now known as Ebonyi State by the elite clubs in the old Enugu and Abia states. It was a journey through the wilderness of political and economic deserts.

However, the state’s creation struggle was different because unlike the Israelites, Ebonyi’s founding fathers had neither pillar of cloud in the day, nor pillar of light in the night to guide their steps.

To compound the sufficiently difficult struggle, there were no manna and rock water to assuage the hunger and thirst of the founding fathers.

Throughout the 39 years the wilderness journey to Ebonyi statehood lasted, the founding fathers relied on raw courage, unrelenting faith in God and unwavering hope for an Ebonyi State of unlimited and equal opportunities for posterity!

These traditional virtues prodded the sinews of Ebonyi founding fathers to trudge on in that make-or-mar journey wherein their lives, limbs, careers and comfort were threatened by wielders of state apparatuses.

By the time the walls of modern-day slavery and criminal under-development finally crumbled under sonorous voice of General Sani Abacha and the dews of October 1, 1996, Ebonyi people had recorded maytrs in the person of Monday Umanyi and several others who died from administrative injustices, career stagnation, punitive transfers, unbridled intimidations and variegated punishments. Yet, most of them rejoiced in their graves, satisfied that the sun had risen on Ebonyi State!

In her 28 years of existence, Ebonyi State had seen two military administrators and four democratically-elected governors. The military administrators, Commander Walter Aye Feghabor and Police Commissioner Simeon Oduoye, coordinated the administrative take-off of the young state and midwifed her democratisation in 1999.

Four civilian governors, Dr. Sam Egwu, Chief Martin Elechi, Engr. David Umahi and Builder Francis Nwifuru have governed Ebonyi State. The Egwu administration laid the intellectual and human capital development foundation of the state through radical educational programmes and job creation and liberal economic empowerment.

Chief Elechi initiated infrastructural transformation by uniting the entire Ebonyi landscape through the construction of unity bridges and link roads and primed the Ebonyi State Civil Service for professionalism as well as a programme of positive reorientation through the mantra of attitudinal change.

Engr. David Umahi, a civil engineer whose love for power and use of power deserve the attention of political scientists as well as psychologists, escalated the infrastructural development of Ebonyi State in style, introducing concrete pavement roads, building the most expensive airport in the world in Onueke and, according to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, “many bridges where there was no water” in across Ebonyi State.

The administration of Nwifuru, who became governor in May 2023, marked the dawn of organic developmental democracy in Ebonyi State.

Nwifuru, a good student of history, who understood the emotional, psychological and kinetic investments into the state’s creation struggle, seemed to have designed his administration strictly for the realisation of Ebonyi founders’ visions.

Nwifuru has shunned political hostrionics, concentrating on practically building a new Ebonyi State of unlimited and equal opportunities for all as envisaged by Ebonyi founding fathers. Nwifuru, a man of unequalled courage, began by offsetting the mountaineous arrears of gratuities and pensions owed Ebonyi’s retirees.

He improved the workers wages through wage awards and bonuses. To stimulate the state’s economy, Nwifuru extended his focus to operators outside the formal sectors

Nwifuru’s empowerment programmes have reduced crime rate and turned Ebonyi State into one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria where the recent hunger/ hardship protests did not take place!

of the economy. He doled out N2 billion grant for the empowerment of Ebonyi hawkers with N2 million per beneficiary and another N1.3 billion grant for the empowerment of 1300 Ebonyi youths drawn from the 13 council areas with N1 million each. Over 4000 Ebonyi people in labour intensive jobs were not left out of Nwifuru’s all-pervading empowerment programmes. Tax waivers were also granted to small scale enterprises in the state.

The outstanding thing about Governor Nwifuru’s empowerment programmes is that political and other pedestrian considerations are irrelevant in the recruitment of beneficiaries. Through these gestures, Ebonyi State has become an oasis within the economic desert called Nigeria.

Nwifuru’s empowerment programmes have reduced crime rate and turned Ebonyi State into one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria where the recent hunger/hardship protests did not take place! Governor Nwifuru is building palaces for Ebonyi traditional rulers and 2-kilometer rigid pavement roads in each of the 140 communities in the state.

This is opening up the rural areas for accelerated development, easy evacuation of farm produce and reducing rural-urban migration. Beyond these, Nwifuru’s all-pervading administration has not abandoned any inherited project.

From the Okadigbo Airport Onueke through the World Trade Complex in Presco, the Waste Recycling Plant, the Ebonyi Pipe Production Plant, rehabilitation of Ezillo water project to the Abakaliki Ring Road, heartwarming progress has been recorded. Governor Nwifuru, a man who came into government prepared, lauched enthralling projects.

These include the 23-kilometer Stadium – Nwofe road, the 22-kilometer Ezzaegu – Ezillo road and the Abakaliki Capital City internal road projects which are all done with concrete pavement technology.

Builder Nwifuru is reinventing the American Silicon Valley into Ebonyi State through the construction of the ICT University in Agbaja and University of Aeronautic Engineering in Onueke. Ebonyi education sector is receiving a boost through the construction of 39 model schools across the state and the recruitment of teachers and award of over 1000 local/foreign scholarships in key disciplines.