Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, special adviser on media to the minister of works, Engr David Umahi, facilitated with his principal on his 61st birthday, describing him as a leader who broke the jinx of development in Ebonyi State and took it to the federal level.
Orji, in a felicitation message, said the transformative leader, innovative achiever, and record breaker has displayed exemplary leadership in all spheres of public trust.
He said, "Honesty, you radiate brilliance, statesmanship, purposefulness, and admirable sense of responsibility in every field of your endeavours."
Orji said Senator Umahi distinguished himself as a state party chairman, deputy governor, and Ebonyi State governor for eight years.
"You brought transformation to Ebonyi State and emancipation to her people. You broke all developmental jinxes and brought honour and glory to a people once dejected. You triumphed gloriously in your bid to empower the new generation of leaders," Orji said.
He added that Umahi triumphed in his bid to represent Ebonyi people at the 10th Senate and "made a historic mark in your positions as the deputy majority leader of the 10th Senate and chairman of the Integrity Group that anchored the emergence of the leadership of the 10th Senate.
"It is remarkable that within the shortest period in the Senate's history, you were nominated at the singular pleasure of Mr. President to serve the nation as the Honourable Minister of Works. Your appointment was considered a square peg in a square hole considering your performance track records and your historic emergence as the first civil engineer to be appointed Honourable Minister of Works in the history of the country's democratic governance," he added.
The media aide said the policy innovations introduced so far and the achievements recorded by the minister within the short time are eloquent testimonies of his sense of purpose.
"I am particularly thrilled by the zeal and passion with which you drive the road infrastructure development goals of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose vision is to revolutionise the country's economy through comprehensive infrastructural rebirth. The Renewed Hope Legacy projects speak volumes, viz: the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the 1,000km Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and the 477km Cross River-South East-North Central-Abuja Superhighway," he said.