US Consular-General Hails Nigeria’s Democracy

The United States Consular-General in Nigeria, Mr Jeffrey Hawkins, has  expressed satisfaction with Nigeria’s democracy, describing it as ‘vibrant’.

Hawkins said this to newsmen in Umuahia, after a banquet hosted for him and his delegation by Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, during their one-day working visit to the state.

“Nigeria’s democracy is vibrant and working in many ways much like in my democracy,’’ he said.

He explained that the team was on a one-week working visit to the South-East to interact with the people and inspect US projects in the region.

He said that the visit would afford the consulate the opportunity to have “deep understanding of the region.’’

Hawkins also said that the visit would help the people to understand and appreciate certain principles and issues about his country.

Earlier at the banquet, Hawkins described the people of the region as dynamic and entrepreneurial, saying that the US would want to collaborate with the state for mutual benefits.

Orji, who spoke at the banquet, explained that the team was in Abia to have first-hand knowledge about what they had read and heard regarding the pattern of development in the state.

He expressed delight over the visit, saying it was good for the state and would be mutually beneficial to both US and Abia.

The governor said that the state would be happy to collaborate with the US in the areas of cultural and economic development.

He noted that the state had a lot of tourism potential waiting to be exploited, citing the Long “Juju’’ (masquerade) of Arochukwu and the Ojukwu Bunker, among others.

Orji urged Hawkins to assist in the development of Ambassador Secondary School, Ikwuano, near Umuahia which, he said, was named after him.

He remarked that the ‘’seed money’’ used in building the school was donated by the Consular-General.