The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) on Saturday applauded Governor Chukwuma Soludo for paying an unscheduled visit to the sites of ongoing road projects in the state and conducting an on-the-spot assessment of the work being done.

The chairman of CLO in Anambra, Vincent Ezekwueme, gave the commendation while speaking with reporters in Enugu on the importance of on-the-spot assessment of projects by governors to ensure value for money.

Mr Ezekwueme noted that it is good for governors to see things for themselves and get feedback from citizens to ensure improved service delivery and sustainable development in the country.

According to him, an unannounced visit and on-the-spot assessment are steps in the right direction and will ensure savings and prudent management of meagre resources.

He recalled that CLO had decried the poor execution of Niger Street and other road projects on the Onitsha axis.

“This led to the on-the-spot termination of the road contract awarded to a contractor working in the Onitsha axis of the state recently.

“We thank him (Soludo) for his courage, political will, and capacity to do the needful to ensure, in words and actions, that the Anambra people’s money must be judiciously used for the public good,” he said.

The CLO boss said the governor had rekindled people’s confidence, trust, and hope in good governance, as the termination of the contract is a clear indication that the contract was transparently and prudently awarded.

This, he said, was a clear signal to other contractors that it is no longer business as usual as public funds must be used for public good.

“It is pertinent for the governor to sustain such impromptu visits to other government contracts, agencies, schools, markets, hospitals, and parks in order to see the true pathetic and despicable situation of things in the state.

“Governor Soludo has demonstrated great disdain for kickbacks, having kicked out an unprepared and underperforming contractor,” he said.

(NAN)