IZUNNA OKAFOR
President Muhammadu Buhari is set to storm Anambra State for the official commissioning of a mega project built under his administration in the state just ten days to the expiration of his eight years of two terms in office as Nigeria President.
Recall that President Buhari’s last official visit to Anambra State was in 2019, when he visited to campaign and beg votes from the people of the State, ahead of the 2019 general election that returned him to second term in office as the country’s democratically elected president.
The project commissioning occasion that is expected to draw the President down to Anambra State again four years after, is slated for Friday, May 19, 2023, in Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area of the State, where the President will be commissioning the Permanent Site of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi.
According to a release signed by the Head of Corporate Affairs Department of the NAUTH, Nnewi, Mrs. M.C. Onwuka, President Buhari will also commission some Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) projects at the institution that same day; while the day will also mark the groundbreaking ceremony for the Igwe Orizu International ICT Centre, Nnewi.
Mrs. Onwuka highlighted some of the facilities to be commissioned that day at the NAUTH Permanent Site to include Specialty Building, Medical Ward Complex, Accident & Emergency Complex, Mother & Child Center, TRAUMA Ward, Special Treatment Center, Molecular Laboratory, Paediatric Emergency Building, Surgical Ward Complex, Diagnostic Center, Tiled Road Networks 1, 2, 3, & 4, Oxygen Plant, and Cryogenic Oxygen Production Unit, among others.
According to the release, other guests expected at the occasion include the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who will be the Special Guest of Honour; the Honourable Minister for Health, Dr. Ehanire Osagie, who will be the Guest of Honour; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Odejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who will be the Distinguished Guest; among other expected guests and personalities from both within and outside the State.
The event, which has the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of NAUTH, Dr. Joseph O. Ugboaja, as its Host, is also expected to be graced by the H.R.H. Igwe Kenneth Orizu of Nnewi, as the Royal Father of the Day.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari will be exiting office on May 29, 2023, having come into power as Nigeria’s democratically elected President on May 29, 2015.
While many doubt if the President would even be physically present at the event, some others speculate that the President’s Friday visit, if it happens, may be his last official visit to Anambra State for project commissioning in his capacity as the country’s President.