Stakeholders in Abia and Imo have taken a critical assessment of the country’s performance across different sectors under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as Nigerians celebrate the 66th anniversary of independence.

Many, who spoke in separate interviews with journalists in Umuahia and Owerri, passed a vote of confidence on the administration, while some expressed reservations, saying more work needed to be done.

Those who said the administration had done well cited the success of its economic reforms, infrastructure upgrades and policies for sustainable development in the education sector.

In Abia, the president of Globe Legislators Worldwide, Sam Onuigbo, said Mr Tinubu had done “commendably well”.

Mr Onuigbo, a two-term member of the House of Representatives for Ikwuano/Umuahia, said the president’s achievements started with the boldness and courage demonstrated in removing the contentious fuel subsidy.

He described fuel subsidy as “a bastion of corruption, where only very few people benefitted”.

According to him, the removal of the fuel subsidy had enabled state governments to stabilise financially, unlike in the past, when they depended on bailouts from the Federal Government.

The former lawmaker said that over 27 states could not pay salaries before Tinubu’s administration came on board, but now none was begging for financial assistance.

He said recovered looted public funds were now going to sub-national governments to tackle developmental challenges.

Mr Onuigbo, a former commissioner in Abia, further said that states were now embarking on mega projects and no longer struggling to pay salaries.

He said Mr Tinubu also unified and stabilised the exchange rate, ending years of flourishing arbitrage practices.

He explained that the policy had restored the confidence of investors and Nigerians in the diaspora in the country.

Mr Onuigbo also expressed delight that foreign direct investment had recorded a phenomenal increase as a result of the present economic reforms.

He said the administration had impacted indigent students in the nation’s universities through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, adding that over a million students had accessed the fund, with over N320 billion spent so far.

On infrastructure, Mr Onuigbo said the construction of a federal secretariat, which he facilitated for Abia, commenced under Tinubu with Governor Alex Otti’s support.

He said the president also approved the construction of Abia Airport after acknowledging its usefulness to the state.

Mr Onuigbo also listed the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot Ekpene Road as ongoing federal government projects in Abia.

He argued that the president had been impressive in his first tenure, hence deserved commendation and re-election to sustain his policies and developmental programmes.

Also, a former commissioner for information and Strategy in Abia, Don Ubani, said Mr Tinubu had shown strong leadership character.

Mr Ubani said the president had given Ndigbo a sense of belonging, unlike the previous administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said that previously, no Igbo man was in the nation’s security council, “but now an Igbo man is Chief of Air Staff”.

He also said the economy had performed well, with the fuel subsidy removal reflecting positively across various sectors, in spite of the alleged withholding of local government funds.

Mr Ubani said the stabilisation of the naira had allowed access to forex based on market forces.

He said that education had received a boost, with hardly any industrial action by university lecturers from the inception of the present administration to date.

He said the introduction of gas-powered vehicles and increased security recruitment had boosted transport and security.

Mr Ubani hailed the creation of the South-East Development Commission, saying the initiative had helped to create employment and also enhanced the regional economy.

He said the wife of the president, Oluremi Tinubu, had also supported local economies, doling out N2 billion to Akwete traditional cloth weavers in Ukwa East LGA of the state.

He said the president should be given a second tenure to sustain his vision and approach in addressing the country’s complex challenges.

Philips Nto, the director, Agri-business Incubation Centre at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, said liberalising the economy remained the administration’s major achievement.

Mr Nto, a former Abia commissioner, said previous governments wasted resources on fuel subsidy and forex stability, but subsidy removal helped to recoup hitherto frittered funds.

He said the funds were now distributed to states, resulting in massive infrastructure development across the 36 states and Abuja.

The lecturer described the floating of the naira as a major milestone, making it market-driven.

He argued that the policy had discouraged wasteful spending on foreign education and importation, hence boosting SMEs.

“The president, through NELFUND, now subsidises local education, instead of foreign exchange for Nigerian students abroad.

“The impact might not be immediate, but the long-term effect will be positive,” Mr Nto said.

Furthermore, the federal controller, Ministry of Works in Abia, Chidi Uwaeziozi, said the administration had made some positive impact through its road projects.

Mr Uwaeziozi said the administration, since its inception in 2023, had proposed six capital projects in Abia and completed three, while three were still ongoing.

He said that work had been completed on the first phase of the 8.74-km Uturu-Isiukwuato-Akara Road project.

He also said the ministry had completed the first phase of the construction of the 48-km Aba-Ikot Ekpene dual carriageway.

He also said the construction of the 3.62-km concrete pavement at Umuchichi-Osusu-Umueme Road had been completed.

The federal controller explained that the rehabilitation of Section II of the Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway, covering the 18.50-km Umuahia-Aba stretch, had also been completed.

Mr Uwaeziozi said the rehabilitation of Umuahia-Ikwuano-Ikot Ekpene Road had reached 50.37 per cent completion.

He further said that the rehabilitation of Aba-Owerri Road to NNPC Depot in Osisioma had covered 2.24 km of the 16.3-km stretch.

He said there were 13 federal government special intervention projects in Abia, with nine completed and four ongoing.

Mr Uwaeziozi said that over 18 km of drainage had been constructed and 22 km of federal roads rehabilitated in the state.

He said that reconstruction and rehabilitation works had greatly reduced passengers’ travel time, cut the deterioration of tyres and other vehicle parts, while increasing interstate vehicular transit.

However, Elijah Nze, the national president, Agricultural Farmers and Traders Development Association of Nigeria (AFTDAN), said that the federal government’s agricultural interventions had not made the expected impact.

Mr Nze called for effective implementation that would help to translate government policies and programmes into increased food production.

He acknowledged efforts by the Tinubu-led administration to boost agricultural productivity, but identified insecurity, high input costs and poor implementation of interventions as major challenges facing the sector.

He said the federal government’s emphasis on food security had encouraged some smallholder farmers, but stressed the need to ensure that interventions reached farmers at the grassroots.

Mr Nze called for stronger monitoring of resources channelled through states, saying governors, legislators and other relevant authorities should play an oversight role to ensure that interventions benefitted rural communities.

He said that the federal government’s agricultural interventions included the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket, which provides subsidised inputs to smallholder farmers.

He further said that the federal government had also provided financing support to farmers through the Bank of Agriculture.

Mr Nze said that access to agricultural inputs remained a major concern to farmers, citing the scarcity and high cost of fertiliser.

He urged the government to ensure the availability of fertiliser and other farm inputs at affordable prices to smallholder farmers for increased productivity.

Mr Nze also identified the hike in petrol prices as another major constraint, saying it had increased farmers’ production and transportation costs.

He appealed to the federal government to strengthen oversight of petroleum distribution and pricing, saying lower production costs would make farming more profitable.

He said that agricultural financing should also reach farmers, especially smallholder farmers, more effectively through the Bank of Agriculture and other relevant institutions.

Mr Nze emphasised the importance of smallholder farmers to Nigeria’s agricultural development, saying, “You cannot talk about a big farmer without a local farmer”.

He further called for greater investment in food processing, preservation and storage to reduce post-harvest losses.

He regretted that many storage facilities, including silos, in different parts of the country were not functional and called for genuine measures to reactivate them.

In Imo, a national consultant to the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Chima Chukwunyere, said that Nigeria at 66 remained “far from the land of promise”.

Mr Chukwunyere, a former chairman of PCRC in Imo, said that post-war developments had brought worsening insecurity, with terrorism and armed robbery becoming rampant.

He criticised Nigeria’s politics which, according to him, had become more characterised by religion and ethnicity.

Mr Chukwunyere said, “The country I see today is not the Nigeria I was born into over 70 years ago.”

He recalled a time when Nigeria commanded dignity and respect among the comity of nations, “when electricity was more reliable and running water was available”.

Mr Chukwunyere also expressed concern over the present economic hardship in the country, saying some Nigerians could no longer afford basic medications.

He lamented that security operatives still trekked into forests in search of criminals, arguing that such operations could be carried out far more efficiently with drones or helicopters.

He condemned the high level of insecurity and online fraud, and argued that lies and deceit had undermined the country’s democratic ideals.

He further expressed worry that although killings occurred daily, perpetrators were often known but not brought to justice.

The septuagenarian emphasised that the government had failed to tackle cultism and other acts of criminality.

“A government that has not addressed cultism cannot address terrorism.

“Nigeria at 66 is like a 66-year-old that still bedwets and we must collectively work to make Nigeria great again, with the country‘s leaders taking responsibility,“ he said.

The traditional ruler, Umudioka Royal Dynasty, Orlu, Eze Thomas Obiefule, lauded the country’s uninterrupted democratic rule since 1999 and expressed optimism that it would continue to make gains.

Mr Obiefule said that the country had witnessed both good and bad leaders, adding that there had been more good leaders than bad ones since independence.

He pointed to the recent rise in the country’s foreign reserves as a sign that “there is still light at the end of the tunnel”.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to keep faith with the country and its leaders.

(NAN)