At Aso Rock, Elechi Denies Opposing National Dialogue

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EBONYI State Governor Martin Elechi yesterday vehemently denied making a critical comment on the proposed national conference, saying the media reports linking him with the opposition was done out of mischief.  
  Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, the governor said he was around Aso Rock on a routine consultation.
   Asked to clarify his widely reported alleged opposition to the proposed national conference, the governor said at no time did he oppose the conference, referring reporters to the statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), stating his position on the matter.
   He said: “Do you believe it? But you read my Chief Press Secretary’s reaction to that and you also saw the reaction of the PDP. These are people who know me well and know what I stand for.”
   He said the report linking him with opposing the confab was the handiwork of opposition to pitch him against the government, noting that he had always been a supporter of the confab. 
  Elechi said he had been part of similar conferences before, noting that there was no way he could be opposed to the forthcoming one.
  “And for those who don’t know, I led my state to the national political reform conference of 2005. I know the benefits accruing from it.
  “Sometimes because of our inability to express ourselves properly, people don’t really capture what we say and go about misquoting or are actually mischievous.

  “I can’t be against the conference,” he insisted.
  Nevertheless, he said he was not distracted “by such organised attempt by the opposition to bring friction between him and the establishment. They won’t succeed; we are all for the national conference.”
 Elechi, who described Nigeria’s 100 years anniversary celebration as an important landmark, said Nigeria had recorded tremendous achievements with the last 100 years. 
  According to him, “In 100 years as a nation we have faired well, we are so populous, so heterogeneous, ethnic diversity and religious multiplicity; it is not easy to have galvanised such a body into a smooth organisation, called the government or a country. So far, we have been passing through challenges.
  “These are challenges of development, poverty and illiteracy. But if you think of where we were even 50 years ago not to talk of 100 years ago, compared that to where we are today, we have every reason to give thanks to God.
We have done well that is my honesty impression. “Look at the economic indices that is being quoted, Nigeria is now surpassing South Africa in spite of all the challenges we have within and democracy is waxing. So I am happy with the state of affairs and I believe we will make more progress.”