Governor Nnamani made the statement when members of the State Council of Traditional Rulers paid him a courtesy visit at the Governor's Lodge, Government House, Enugu.

In the words of Governor Nnamani, "we are sustaining the tempo of aggressive infrastructural development, we are still building roads, providing water, providing electricity and providing facilities for the great upliftment of the Enugu State."

He noted that his government was intensifying efforts on programmes geared towards capacity building, creating wealth and total reform packages, not just among the traditional rulers but also among the civil class in the state.

Governor Nnamani used the occasion to explain that active politics would soon commence in the state through the conduct of primary elections with a view to choosing candidates for the national elections. Assuring them of a peaceful and successful atmosphere as previously done, Governor Nnamani said, "we thank you for your appreciation, your patience and your cooperation. And in the next few weeks, we are going to move into active politics with the primaries and the emergence of candidates for election. We have no doubt, that it has been done in previous time, it could also be done peacefully and successfully here in Enugu State.

He applauded the traditional rulers for the significant roles they play in the general development of their various communities and in particular in the area of stemming the menace of pipeline and powerline vandalization and also in the area of mobilization and sensitization of the grassroots in the state.

"We certainly appreciate the role you played in the areas of pipeline vandalization and also in the area of vandalization of powerline and in providing information and helping with security surveillance in your various communities", he said.

Governor Nnamani assured the royal fathers of his continued preparedness to offer them assistance in any way he could, assuring them also of giving consideration to their various requests.

Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Jeremiah Onovo, commended Governor Nnamani for appointing some of their members into State and Federal Parastatals.

Igwe Onovo also commended the State Governor for providing an avenue for them to be trained through capacity building which he said was part of the state’s reform programme. He added that such training would offer the local rulers the opportunity to understand the proper values of democracy, especially in conflict resolution, record keeping of cases, proactive actions and citizen orientation to gauge community feeling for timely responses.

He disclosed that about 436 autonomous communities and 39 development centers had been created in the state aimed at bringing even development to all areas of the state.

According to Igwe Jeremiah Onovoh, "we praise these efforts strongly, and we thank God that even as our people were not privileged to be part of the various past exercises in local government creation, the current practice of development centers at no extra cost, assures us that what comes to each local government area from the Federation Account allocation can always be spread over to the entire areas, stopping for all times, the ugly practice of some areas remaining perpetually ignored."

Igwe Onovo, noted that the devolution of the rank of the traditional rulers council into three tiers of the state council, zonal council and local government council stands as a model to build leadership and responsibility from the grassroots to the higher echelon of the state.

He commended Governor Nnamani for his assistance, support and cooperation to the Council and appealed for their sustenance.

He urged Dr. Nnamani to look into the issuance of certificates to outstanding Igwes-elect with a view to recognizing and coronating them as they had been chosen by their communities.

He further called for improvement in the general welfare of the traditional rulers by upgrading their monthly stipends and providing them with more operational vehicles for their secretariat.

He also called on the entire populace of Enugu State to be part of the system by identifying with the good governance of the Chimaroke Nnamani's administration.

In his words, "we remain assured that we are part of the system and we can help drive the process and we invite every citizen or resident of Enugu State to continue the backing of the Governor Chimaroke Nnamani as no other can afford the openness and benevolence of he who is driven by the interest of the down trodden and the far forgotten".