SIR: The shrill claim by Valentine Obienyem in several weekend newspapers [June 13 – 14] that the Nkpor – Amawbia old road recently commissioned by Governor Willie Obiano was started and completed by former Governor Peter Obi is incorrect and unnecessarily alarmist. Obi’s credentials as a former governor of Anambra State are not under any danger of assault. His report card is out in the public domain and as a public figure, no one individual or institution has copyright on his record of service.
There are no grounds on which to suggest that Governor Willie Obiano is interested in denying his predecessor the due credit of his stewardship. At every forum, the governor has not failed to admit the integral contributions of Obi’s regime to the developmental strides of the present government.
The implied message in the protest over the commissioning of the Nkpor road by Governor Obiano is that the regime lacks projects ‘of its own.’ This suggestion would seem to gain plausibility on the consideration that the regime is just 15 months old. But beyond the illusions of rhetoric, the evidence of our very eyes is that the administration has been making phenomenal progress in the state’s development; one that does not require appropriating anybody’s credit in order to be reckoned with. Whereas most new governments in Nigeria spend the first six to 12 months learning the ropes and readjusting their programmes based on reality on the ground, here was a regime clear – sighted and mobilized at inception; and engrossed with economic reconstruction as early as the third month. That was when the first in the series of over $1.9 b investment inflow to the state economy achieved by the regime to date was sealed.
It is possible that the assertion about former Governor Obi’s title to the fixer of the said Amawbia – Nkpor road is hinged on funds having been set aside for the project by the past administration. Making funds available is however only half of the picture. The spectre of abandoned projects in the country is in part about contractors absconding from site after collecting hefty payment sums. Without monitoring and supervision, government contracts would not be done or executed shabbily to the detriment of society. Government is a continuum and any government worth its mandate, will not hesitate to live up to the responsibility of ensuring good value for public money. Accordingly, the resolve of the Obiano administration to complete the said road, among many others inherited from the Obi administration, is commendable. It is a verifiable fact that the road under reference was only completed early 2015.
There is a fundamental statement in the fact that few days after the misguided criticism of road commissioning, Governor Obiano commissioned the Awkuzu – Igbariam – Achalla road begun by the Obi administration but completed by the present state government. The 10 kilometre road had progressed to a distance of 5.5 kilometres at the termination of Obi’s tenure. By going ahead with the commissioning of another completed road in the prevailing circumstances, the Obiano administration effectively and rightly put the issues in perspective.
Project commissioning is not about political capital. In the realm of accountable governance, it serves as formal presentation of what is available for public use.
- Ifeanyi Afuba
Awka, Anambra State