One Year of People-Centred Service: Comrade Ben-Nwovu Celebrates Anniversary with Prayers, Infrastructure Push In Ebonyi

The Chairman and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on the Ebonyi State Infrastructural Maintenance Agency (EBIMA), Hon. Comrade Ben Nwovu, has marked his one year in office with prayers and renewed commitment to infrastructure development across the state.

The anniversary event formed part of activities commemorating one year of purposeful governance under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru’s People’s Charter of Needs agenda.

Speaking during the occasion, Comrade Nwovu expressed gratitude to Governor Nwifuru for the opportunity to serve, noting that the agency had undertaken major repairs on several roads and streets within Abakaliki metropolis, alongside other infrastructural maintenance projects across the state. He explained that the agency, formerly known as EBROMA, was renamed EBIMA following the 2026 amendment by the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, expanding its mandate to cover the maintenance of all government infrastructure.

According to him, one of the agency’s earliest interventions was addressing erosion challenges around Union Bank area in Abakaliki, where flooding had damaged residents’ properties. He added that EBIMA also reconstructed about three kilometres of internal roads, including Umuoji, Nnobi, Nwike Oraifite and several streets within the area. Comrade Nwovu appealed to residents to safeguard public infrastructure, warning against washing motorcycles and vehicles on tarred roads with detergents, burning tyres during burials and festivities, and vandalising government facilities, practices he said shorten the lifespan of infrastructure.

He assured Ebonyians that roads not captured in previous budgets would be addressed in the 2026 fiscal plan, listing Ishieke–Mile 4 Road, FUNAI Road, Holy Ghost axis, Ezza Road and other urban roads among projects slated for maintenance. The EBIMA boss described his first year in office as impactful, attributing the agency’s successes to Governor Nwifuru’s support and the dedication of staff, while urging citizens to continue supporting government efforts through community service and responsible use of public assets.

Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Road Maintenance, Okorie Ernest Okereke, commended Governor Nwifuru and the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, for their collaborative efforts in improving road infrastructure within Ebonyi South zone.

Directors of EBIMA in Ebonyi South and Ebonyi Central zones, Chukwuebuka Austin and Uchenna Eze respectively, disclosed that several roads, including Isu-Mgbaneze, would soon receive attention, as they praised the governor’s leadership and commitment to infrastructure maintenance across the state.