Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State on Saturday declared that the state remains one of the safest in the country, insisting that no kidnapping incident has been recorded since he assumed office.

Nwifuru made the assertion in Abakaliki while welcoming more than 50 editors and journalists who arrived in the state for the commencement of the second round of the Presidential Media Tour of Projects in the South-East geopolitical zone.

The tour, organised by the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team, began in Ebonyi and is expected to cover the five South-East states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Abia and Imo over five days. It is designed to showcase federal and state projects being executed under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Addressing the visiting journalists, the governor said they would witness projects spread across every part of the state and urged them to assess his administration fairly based on what they would see on the ground.

“Judge us fairly. What you are going to see may not be what you expected. You may even be shocked by the level of development,” he said.

According to him, no community or local government area in the state is without multiple ongoing or completed projects, particularly road infrastructure.

“There is no place you will go to that you will not see more than five projects. The minimum project you can see is roads of between 10 and 22 kilometres, while there are others extending well beyond that,” he said.

Nwifuru described Ebonyi as “the salt of the nation,” saying the state had distinguished itself through ambitious infrastructure development and prudent use of resources.

The governor also used the occasion to highlight the security situation in the state, assuring members of the media team that they could move freely without fear.

“This is the safest place in this country. Since I became governor, we have never recorded any kidnapping case. You can make your search and find out. Even at midnight, you can move anywhere,” he said.

He added that the administration had invested heavily in security and maintained close collaboration with community leaders and security agencies to keep the state peaceful.

Earlier, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the media tour was intended to provide journalists with firsthand knowledge of projects being executed by both the Federal Government and state governments.

Onanuga, who said Ebonyi felt like a second home to him, noted that he had previously visited the state and witnessed significant development efforts.

“I have seen what you have done. I am telling people to come and see something they may not have seen in another part of Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that the exercise was being undertaken on behalf of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, a platform led by Hope Uzodimma, to showcase the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration as well as development initiatives by state governments.

“I am not just here for the President. I am also here to showcase what governments have done. The journalists here will see many things and they will be proud of what this government has achieved,” Onanuga added.

The nationwide media tour was launched earlier this year to enable journalists physically inspect projects across the country. The first phase covered the North-West, where participants visited major federal infrastructure projects, including sections of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, the Kaduna-Kano-Maradi rail corridor and irrigation schemes in Jigawa and Kebbi states.

In the South-East edition, participants are expected to inspect federal legacy projects alongside state-funded infrastructure projects, with organisers saying the exercise is aimed at promoting factual reporting and giving Nigerians firsthand information on the impact of government policies and programmes. (Guardian)