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Tag: Anambra

  • Anambra 2013: Ngige stands tall

    Anambra 2013: Ngige stands tall

    It is election time once more in Anambra State. Once more, an array of men and resources are on parade before the electorate. The stakes are high; so high for some people. For some others, however, it is an opportunity to make a political statement. Anambra is a state that is in a class of its own. It parades men and resources; men found among the best and among the worst. It is unique. Its uniqueness can sometimes be found in the absurd. But there is no gainsaying that it is an unqualifiedly great and interesting state of the federation.

    In governance, Anambra has seen it all: the great, the crooked, the mediocre and the sly. Little wonder, the generality of the people have grown cynical of governments. Among the persons jostling to govern Anambra come March 17 2014, three have become more visible in the pack. That is not to say that the rest are neither qualified nor are they not campaigning. The election at the moment can be zeroed down to a contest between Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah  of the Labour Party. Among the three, Senator Ngige unarguably stands tall.

    For Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, the election is much more than a contest; it is a fierce fight for survival; a make or mar battle. Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah has, so to speak, decisively hinged his future on the contest. First, he ran his company to a near state of bankruptcy in the build up to the campaigns. The banks had to blacklist him, designating him a persona non grata so far as credit facilities are concerned. The Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) had to take away his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, from him, to save it from the hands of the banks. He had to relinquish the management of the company to AMCON for two years as a compromise decision after AMCON unsuccessfully sought to take away the company from him for good. The Assets Management Company (AMCON) has since confiscated and offered his private jet for sale. His worries are not yet over: Mr. Cosmas Maduka of Coscharis Motors Limited is on his neck for a multibillion naira deal gone awry while the subsidy committee is looking for a way to do him in.

    For Mr. Ifeanyi, success at the November 16 poll would mean freedom from many woes. Freedom from AMCON, Coscharis, subsidy and sundry woes. It would offer him the accoutrement of power, among them immunity and the many benefits that come with gubernatorial power in Nigeria.

    If there is a man is dire need of that election, he arguably qualifies for one. Accordingly, Mr. Ifeanyi has given in his best in the contest. He was the first of the contestants to flag off his campaign with live coverage on a national television and an impressive attendance. He has assiduously worked his way among the fold of the big three in the contest – no mean feat.

    Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah is rumoured to be the highest spender among the gladiators in the gubernatorial contest. This is rather a bewildering happenstance at the backdrop of the fact that his company was tottering to bankruptcy. Apparently, he was going up while his company was going under.  This is another wonder of the world; African wonder.

    Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah is incontrovertibly generous. He doles out largesse to all and sundry save his workers who are said to be owed for many a month. At any rate, we hope that his management skills would be better than that applied at Capital Oil and Gas if he wins the governorship. Anambrarians cannot afford to have Anambra State taken over by AMCON.  It is better imagined than experienced.

    For Chief Willie Obiano, the stakes are not really that high. He is the anointed godson of Mr. Peter Obi who has a lot to protect and a lot more to keep in place. Chief Willie Obiano, so to speak, is an extension of his reign; a third term by proxy. For Mr. Obi, it is a battle of life and death. A lot is at stake. He is into the race like a moving train ready to bulldoze any opposition in his way. He has bruised Chief Victor Umeh into reconciliation. He bulldozed Rochas out of APGA and gave Soludo a clean upper cut.

    He has literally constituted his fancies into the budget of the state as he extra-budgetarily doles out state funds like Father Christmas. The defeat of Obiano means the requiem of APGA. It implies an imminent review of the Obi administration by a different government. It means a searchlight on the grey areas of his administration. The future of Fidelity Bank is at stake. Fidelity Bank, where Obi was chairman and is the highest shareholder, has benefitted so much from the government of Anambra State. A different government in Anambra State means bad business for the favoured bank.

    Mr. Peter Obi, above all, has his nemesis, Dr. Chris Ngige, to contend with. Ngige is one politician in Anambra State that has kept Obi ill at ease.

    For Chris Nwabueze Ngige,  however, the contest is a quest for the fulfillment of prophesy. At the twilight of his administration in 2006, Dr. Ngige had  prophesied that he would return to complete the work he started. The contest is a contest of ideology. It is a quest to fulfill his blueprint for infrastructural development of Anambra. It is a battle of legacies: his vision of Anambra versus Mr. Peter Obi’s vision of Anambra. Ngige had fought hard against money politics and god fatherism in Anambra.

    While the triumph of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah would mean the triumph of money; the triumph of Chief Obiano would mean the triumph of god fatherism.

    As the date draws nigh, the stakes are high and getting higher. The choices are clear: money, god fatherism and radical infrastructural development. Anambrarians have a date with destiny come November 16, 2013.

     

    — Ebo, wrote in from Awka

  • ‘I can run Anambra with my money and achieve 50 percent success’

    ‘I can run Anambra with my money and achieve 50 percent success’

    Controversial businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah, is defying all the odds to forge ahead with his campaign to be governor of Anambra State in the November 16 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Labour Party. He talks about his oil business and plans for his people in this interview with Waheed Odusile.

    How would you assess the Peter Obi administration in Anambra State?

    For me, I can judge the government as a government that is not accountable to the people, and I will tell you why. Any government that its state assembly would ask to submit two years audited account and it failed to give it immediately has some skeletons in the cupboard. But it happened in Anambra State. It took the Accountant-General of the state two months to produce 2011 audited accounts of the state and up till date we have not received 2012 reports. It is very bad. It is not a government that is close to its people.

    I heard the governor in America (recently) and he said so many good things, (how) he is getting money from the World Bank, getting money from this and that, for me I challenged him. I told him, look, when you get all this money, tell Anambra people this is what I collected and this is what I used this money to do, then it gives value to people. But if you are getting this money and it is getting into your pocket, how would I be clapping for you, because the poor man on the street is not feeling the money?

    We from Anambra do not need too much of help, we can help ourselves, all we want is a level playing field where we can have government touching the lives of people. If you give any Anambra man N10 million (ten million naira) today, be sure that in six months he will give you N30 million (thirty million naira), but we don’t want N10 million that if you produce N30 million the bank will take N20 million.

    If that is the situation on ground, how do you intend to turn things around to the benefit of Anambra people?

    If I am in government, I would be giving quarterly reports every three months. This gives room for you to be giving people hope of freshness (in their government). You don’t leave any stone unturned because you bring out everything that happens within a quarter, but if you leave it to extend to six months, one year, two years, three years, that means you’ll even forget a lot of things. It doesn’t even help. It is just like if somebody doesn’t conduct local government election and you think you are doing yourself good. You are not doing yourself any good, you are just chasing people away from their government. Now tell me who in Anambra State today can access government? Nobody. You can’t access government because the man on the street who wants to talk to his local government chairman doesn’t know who to talk to because he didn’t elect the local government chairman. So, if you want to say I want to talk to my local government chairman to go and tell the governor some things, there is no chairman because the chairman there is a puppet.

    But some people would say Governor Obi has done well …

    The man that would tell you that Governor Obi has done well is somebody that is from the Obi family. But go to the streets in Anambra and the real people would tell you (how he is doing). How can you tell me that a governor that has not shown me the audited report of my state for two years is doing well? Even the one that his Accountant-General presented to the state assembly, they indicted him.

    In specific terms, in which areas do you intend to make a difference in the lives of the people of Anambra State?

    I want to bring government closer to the people; they deserve to have government close to them. I want to do local government election; it is one of our problems. Another problem is that they (the government) are not good managers of money; they don’t know how to make money. As a governor, you must be enterprising, you must know how to create money. You can see, Lagos today does not depend on federal allocation; that is government, they are working. I must be fair to you, Governor Fashola is working, Jigawa State governor (Sule Lamido) is working.

    But why do you think you are in a better position to do this for Anambra? In essence why do you want to be the governor?

    Nobody is doing it. I am tired of all this nonsense (going on in governance in Anambra State), it is irritating me. I am going to give my people everything because that is my final constituency. It is irritating me.

    Some people would ask who is Ifeanyi Uba.? Really, who is he?

    Ifeanyi Uba is a humble poor boy that grew up from the ghetto, but God has blessed me, there is no doubt about it and my yesterday doesn’t matter anymore. Ifeanyi Uba is a man that has the love of his people in his heart. Ifeanyi Uba is a practical human being. Ifeanyi Uba is a man of Anekwuekwu Anememe (what you say is what you do, a man of his words). That is Ifeanyi Uba.

    What exactly should the people expect from you if you become the governor,? that break it down- not just that I want to give my people everything, or I want to bring government closer to the people.

    I want to promote trade, but before I promote trade, I want people to feel safer in Anambra because it is not just about the internal (local) people but also about expatriates. The in-thing today is that anybody coming to Nigeria must Google (search for information on the internet) to know the state he is going to. So, I want to be part of that (making Nigeria safer). And also if we love our country Nigeria, then the total restructuring of Nigeria should not be left alone to the presidency or the people at the federal level. A state can start promoting Nigeria, no state is promoting Nigeria. No state is helping the federal government (to make Nigeria safer). The responsibility of making Nigeria safer should not be left in the hands of President Goodluck Jonathan alone.

    So, I would want to see how I can go in and see how I can help our president (in this regard), he is a good man.

    Some would argue that Ifeanyi Uba, who can’t even run his own businesses now  wants to run Anambra State, that how can he run Anambra State if something as private to him as his businesses, he can’t run it?

    They are blind people because they are uninformed. If I don’t have good thoughts about my business, my business will not continue to hold its strong position in the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy. And let me even say something, Capital Oil is not the only company in Ifeanyi Uba’s Group; Ifeanyi Uba has over 15 companies in his Group, even in the Oil and Gas sector, Capital Oil is not bigger than some of my companies in the downstream. Why are people trying to run me down?  You are just bringing about 10 per cent of a man and you are talking about that. Let me say that Capital Oil and Gas that even people are talking about is still holding a firm command in the downstream sector of the economy. The problem is not about not running it very well. If government policy does not support business, there is no way that business can stand. If you claim that you were going to be selling rice in your restaurant and they (government) ban the importation of rice, will you sell that rice again?

    Now let me put it in proper perspective. Capital Oil and Gas has no problem at all and if people are saying that (it has problem) then they should go to the company to know if there was any problem. The (so called) problem Capital Oil has is that it cannot repay its debt based on the fact that the asset is ten times more than even its liability. In asset we are five, ten times more than our liability, so you cannot even call the company a bankrupt. In America Chrysler Motors, General Motors, Citi Bank, they are under, they have even filed for bankruptcy, still they are working and (the USA government) government is supporting them.

    In Nigerian, we are not doing that. If AMCON comes in… Ok, take TINAPA for instance.  Today, can you say TINAPA was a bad business? No. It was because government has failed to dredge TINAPA and nobody can come and invest in TINAPA. Will you carry the cargo on your head to go and drop in TINAPA? It must come through water.

    We built Capital Oil up to its present enviable status based on deregulation, in line with government’s preferred deregulation and when government didn’t put up that deregulation which the president implemented, but unfortunately they abandoned the man in the middle of the sea. If deregulation was to take root in Nigeria today, Capital Oil might even be bigger than Dangote. I am telling you the truth. Because by virtue of our status, we hold the biggest structure in the downstream. In waterways, we hold 60 per cent of the waterways in the downstream. In dispensing capacity, nobody has come half of us in the whole country. In terms of storage, in terms of fleet, we have up to 20 ships floating in front of Capital Oil today doing nothing. For two years nobody has turned the engines on and all these equipments were bought for deregulation. And government today is giving us allocation and the allocation they are giving us is not up to three percent of our capacity. So, how can I survive because I can’t trade on my own, on what government is giving me in terms of allocation?  It is not up to three percent of our capacity. I will challenge whoever that would come and say we did not run Capital Oil very well. So, it is politics and it is only in politics that people can use such for political gains. If you say Capital Oil is not running well, I will challenge government and I will sue government.  I would sue government and I will win because it (deregulation) is a government policy and not because of the president. It was government policy and it was being implemented, but some of these governors, when the heat was on, they couldn’t support the president.  Meanwhile, they were there telling the president to do deregulation.

    It is all about history now but  for me, I am quiet about it and anybody can say whatever he likes, but for me you can’t say I didn’t run Capital Oil well but other companies (in the Group) are running well.

    What exactly is the problem between you and Coscharis?

    Coscharis, issue is one that Anambra politics brought somehow along the line and it is political. And it has been corrected.

    The election is around the corner, how would you rate your chances?

    I am winning. Are you doubting me? Everything is working well. I am waiting for the day they will swear me in.

    What is your relationship with the Villa?

    I’ve always had a good relationship with the Villa, mutual relationship with the Villa. I am one of the Villa’s anointed. They are all our fathers.  You can never say the president hates you. Any Nigerian that does not have one with the Villa should work hard to have good relationship with the Villa. I am one of the Villa boys. I am not in an opposition party.

    But your party, the Labour Party, is not part of the federal government?

    Labour is a part of everything. We don’t have a presidential candidate, so, Villa (President Jonathan) is our presidential candidate. We don’t have a presidential candidate in the Labour Party. Have you seen a politician saying he is a presidential aspirant/candidate in the Labour Party? And so, it is until the day we have a presidential candidate (in Labour Party). So, for now Villa is our party, our candidate.

    Why were you shopping for ticket in parties before you eventually got the Labour Party’s nod?

    I didn’t shop for ticket. I was waiting for God’s direction. God said this is the party (Labour) you will go to, that all these parties with a lot of holes… you could fall into a trap. I saw the holes (in PDP) and I ran away but unfortunately some of my colleagues (like) Charles Soludo entered and the hole swallowed him. But for us that are streetwise boys we escaped the hole and today I am a candidate within the next 30 days. Every Nigerian should give me kudos for that, a first timer, I am in the contest and if they call first, second and third, they will call me.

    Having been part of Anambra politics in the last seven years, according to you, will it be right to say you are a godfather and…

    I am a holy father in Anambra politics and I will tell you why. I have never been involved in any government contract. I have helped a lot of people to gain political mileage. I am part of every  political process, in fact winning elections in Anambra State because my people love me and I have always been delivering my town Nnewi. You cannot win election in Nnewi without using Ifeanyi Uba, without calling me because I need to assess you and feel that you want to give my people the best. With due respect to my mentor, Mr Cletus Ibeto, you can’t talk of Nnewi politics without Ifeanyi Ubah, outside Mr Ibeto.

    That means you are tired of being a holy father, now you want to…

    If the holy father is blessing boys and they don’t want to change; you are blessing people and they don’t want to change. I now say let me even get involved, let me wear the regalia and go and preach. That is why you see me here because I have a mandate, I have a vision, there is something pushing me to go and change a lot of people (things). There is no more room to play.

    You have been promising a lot in your campaign. Can you achieve all of them in four years and where would the money come from?

    I will even do more. It is just for my people to trust me and give me the mandate. If I don’t deliver, they shouldn’t vote for me again.

    But where will the money come from?

    I am a money maker, a magician trained by God. In fact, let me tell you something, if I can gather all my resources, what God has blessed me with, I can do 50 percent of Anambra without anybody’s money. If I gather my worldwide resources and I am given a free hand to change Anambra, I promise you that I will do 50 percent of what is in my manifesto without touching one kobo of Anambra State government.

    From your purse?

    I am telling you the truth.

    That would be fantastic.

    May be people are underrating me. If I gather my resources and I have the seal of government without collecting one kobo from federal government, I will complete 50 percent of everything in my manifesto without one kobo. And to prove a point, I can challenge you that I can run Anambra government without security votes till I raise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Anambra State from a mere N300 million to N5billion monthly, quote me. In life you challenge yourself.

    Is it true that Madam at the Villa is the one behind you?

    No. She is my mother and she is the mother of every Nigerian. You see, Anambra people are trying to put problem between me and the Villa. Madam is the mother of every Nigerian and people should give that woman respect. She is the mother of this country. We have seen first ladies that were not outspoken in Nigeria; we have seen first ladies that have not done 30 percent of what she has done. That woman is a real woman.  Go and check among all the first ladies in Nigeria who is more loved than any other first lady. If they say your mother is doing well, won’t you want to embrace her? And now that I don’t have a mother, my mother is dead, I adopted her.

    What would be your message to Anambra voters, come November 16?

    That Ifeanyi is a man God has blessed from a very humble beginning to where I am today, and I decided to leave where I am today to do what no one has ever done. That I don’t have a godfather, but my godfathers are Anambrarians, the poor masses, the widows, the Okada riders, the Keke NAPEP people; that I am coming to Anambra to stay with them, to be practical with them, to give them values of governance, to give them a quarterly statement about their government, to change their lives, to give them security, to give them employment, to touch their lives and to give them hope.

  • Infrastructure upgrade peaks in Anambra

    Infrastructure upgrade peaks in Anambra

    N6b for schools rehab
    5,000 teachers for hire

    It is only a matter of months before his administration eases out of office but that does not suggest any let-up in Governor Peter Obi’s infrastructural upgrade plan in Anambra State. If anything, things are building up to a crescendo.

    Schools, for instance, are being rebuilt and made more comfortable for teachers and pupils. Huge sums of money are released to finance the upgrade and inject more vitality into the educational system.

    After returning schools to the missionaries, the Obi administration also provided cash to help run the institutions better.

    Meanwhile, the administration has not shifted focus on public primary and secondary schools.

    The governor has announced that libraries and laboratories in 420 secondary schools in the state are to be upgraded. Obi said this while presenting a N1b cheque to schools returned to the churches as well as public ones. The money is for the rehabilitation of their libraries and labs, he said.

    The governor did not stop there as he ordered the immediate employment of 5,000 teachers and other administrative staff into the state’s primary schools and secondary schools.

    He directed the Commissioner for Education, Dr.Uju Okeke to ensure that the rehab plan equitably covers the 21 local government areas of the state. He said his government will spend N15b on primary and secondary schools by end of the year.

    He recalled that his government has already provided N1.5b for the rehabilitation of primary schools returned to the churches; N2b for primary schools owned by government; N3b to selected missionary hospitals for various upgrade of facilities to enable them secure accreditation.

    He said that before the end of November, all the 410 schools in the state would receive brand new buses, generators and computer sets with full accessories.

    Obi equally recalled that his administration has provided buses, computers, generators, among other equipment, to schools, noting that the efforts brought tremendous improvement on education.

    He added that government would also provide them with functional libraries, science laboratories, Microsoft academy with internet connectivity and sports facilities as well as N10m intervention fund to rebuild schools.

    The governor explained that these were geared towards changing the learning process to equip the children properly for future challenges and restore the lost glory of education.

    He reiterated that education remained fundamental in the state’s drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

    Speaking further at the presentation at Women Development Centre Awka, Obi said that in the next six months his administration will commit N40b into various sectors of the state in order to achieve the MDGs. He explained that the money was not borrowed from any financial institution but his administration’s savings and prudent management of resources in addition to support from development partners.

    Giving an insight into the last push in education, the governor said that the state would promptly employ teachers in core subjects such as English, Maths, Physics, and Chemistry, among others, to be trained locally and overseas. This is in addition, according to him, to the ongoing recruitment of 5000 teachers in the state whose salaries for one year after his exit from government have been saved in the bank.

    He also said that the state has already procured 500 buses from local manufacturers, Coscharis and Innoson, to be shared to both public and private schools.

    Other things he said would be provided to Secondary Schools before the end of the year include 25,000 laptop computers, books, generators, sick bays and internet connectivity.

    On the returned schools, which has sometimes generated controversy, Obi said the ownership of such schools should not matter but rather the ability of their managers to produce better educated pupils.

    He said that he was encouraged because the massive support he gave to schools has manifested in their improved performance in the state. He appealed to the people of the state that the only way to sustain all this revolution going on is for them to vote in a credible and clear-headed candidate.

    Archbishop on the Niger and Bishop of Aguata Diocese, Archbishop Christian Efobi and Archbishop of Onitsha Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend Valerian Okeke lauded Obi for not only handing over schools to the missionaries but continuously giving them grants to recover lost grounds. They prayed that God will continue to guide Obi for thinking and dreaming Anambra, appealing that a better candidate be voted in who would do greater than Obi.

    National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh warned that the legacies APGA government is leaving behind should not be adjudged as playing politics, hence a good candidate in Chief Willie Obiano should be elected to continue the good work Obi started.

    Umeh reminded that the projects and infrastructure being put in place by Obi’s government is being done for the public good and that town unions and traditional rulers should monitor and supervise the projects effectively. He warned those handling the projects to be sincere.

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Okeke said “the event of today was one of 13 series of events to fully implement the Anambra State package on accelerative progress in the attainment of education for all in the state tagged Final Push.”

    Speaking further, she said: “There is no doubt that our investment and efforts are yielding maximum results. Just recently the Basic Education Certificate Exam results released by our Exam Development Centre indicated that out of 46,741 candidates who sat for the exam, 45,196 (96.69%) passed at Credit Levels and only 1,545 (3.3%) failed. In the last NECO examination for entry into junior secondary schools, nationwide, Anambra State pupil took the overall first position. The Senior School Certificate Exam result analysis of WAEC recently released clearly shows that our schools are making significant improvement. In line with strengthening our institutional management of education for quality services delivery, our teachers and principals have been given orientation on Quality assurance and best practices in education, which we hope, will continue to manifest in our students’ performances. In the areas of morals, our decision on handover of schools to the Missions is being vindicated with the re-invigoration and re-positioning of the moral education operators in our schools.”

    Dr. Mrs Okeke disclosed that the governor has approved the employment of 5000 teachers and other staff of Post-Primary School Service Commission and State Universal Basic Education Board.

    She added that the state education system was being repositioned towards ICT while public and private schools would continue to benefit from the various state government interventions.

    Not too long ago, the Obi administration drew plaudits from many for its sensitivity to people living with challenges. Athletes with hearing and speech impediments received grants from the government and were encouraged to participate in competitions. Some of them with requisite job qualifications were assured of employment by the administration. The challenged athletes were seen heartily marching past state officials during a sports feast.

     

  • I‘ll rescue Anambra, says DPP candidate

    The governorship candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Mr. Chijioke Ndubuisi, yesterday advocated a change in Anambra State.

    He told reporters in Onitsha that if elected on November 16, he would rescue the state from bad governance.

    Ndubuisi said: “Anambra people are ready for a radical change. They want a change in their lives. I am here to rescue the indigenes from bad governance. Anambra will witness an unprecedented growth under my leadership.”

    He said he was contesting on the platform of DPP because it was a credible party.

    “I have no doubt that DPP is the party to beat in Anambra State. We have solid structures in the 23 local governments.”

  • Wife held for husband’s death in Anambra

    A  48-year-old woman, Felicia Obieze, is being held by the police in Anambra State for the death of her husband, Chukwudi Olisakwe.

    The late Olisakwe died at Amada village in Idemili North Local Government Area.

    The deceased was a barber at Ugamuma village in Obosi.

    The suspect, in a chat at the Obosi Police Division, said she was not responsible for the death of the man who she claimed she loved so much. She attributed the incident to the ill-health the deceased had for close to six months.

    She said: “How can I kill my own husband? I have never quarrelled with him for over eight years we have been living under one roof. The truth is that he was sick and I called my brother and my husband said we should take him to his pastor and when we went to the pastor, he insisted that we should not buy any drug. The pastor said we should have faith in God and when he noticed that the problem was out of hand, the pastor then sent us out of his house.”

    The Divisional Police Officer, Obosi Police Division, Dimale J.O, confirmed the incident and said the suspect was helping the police in their investigation.

     

  • ‘APC has better plan for Anambra’

    ‘APC has better plan for Anambra’

    Human rights activist and Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim Publicity Secretary Comrade Joe Igbokwe is an indigene of Anambra State. He spoke with reporters on the party’s preparation for the November 16 governorship poll and major issues that will shape the exercise. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    Has did APC resolve the minor crisis that trailed the emergence of Senator Chris Ngige as its governorship candidate in Anambra State?

    Senator Chris Ngige had no serious competitor at the primaries. Ngige has a fantastic, excellent and unquestionable pedigree that tended to dwarf the personality of other candidates. Comparing Ngige and these other contestants is like comparing apple and orange. It is like comparing President Obama and President Jonathan. It is like comparing the capacity of a brand new 504 pickup with the capacity of a 30year old Mark Truck. His structures in Anambra State are formidable, alive and strong. So, what you call a crisis is the mere imagination of those that expected crisis in the emergence of Ngige, but who were disappointed in the transparent way and manner the primaries were conducted by the APC. It is a fact that, apart from Ngige, other candidates in the election are battling with serious intra-party crisis. So, there was no crisis to resolve, except in the fertile imagination of the opponents of Ngige.

    What is your assessment of Nigige’s campaign, in terms of public acceptance?

    The campaign train is moving as expected, riding the smooth roads, the bumpy roads, climbing the hills and descending with grace and dignity, breaking ossified beliefs and heresies, engaging the high and the low, drilling the deepest wells, making politics adorable. The campaign is moving with common sense, even though common sense is not common, reaching to Igbo in Nigeria and Igbo in the Diaspora. Without sounding immodest, Anambra is the engine of Igboland. Anambra State parades the highest class of intellectuals in the Southeast and Southsouth. Anambra State is one of the richest states in Nigeria. Most celebrated leaders in the East of Nigeria are from Anambra State. In Anambra State, wealth is almost distributed house to house. In fact, a school of thought says that, if Anambra State is not good, Igboland cannot be good. It is based on this compelling need to keep Anambra State strong that informed our decision to beg Ngige to run again and our people are happy that he accepted. Consequently, anywhere we go there are shouts of ONWA GA ETI OZO (The sun will shine again)

    What effect has the relocation of Anambra indigenes from Lagos had on the chance of Ngige and how are you handling the saga?

    A sound and patriotic policy not targeted at any particular ethnic group, just to make Lagos livable, clean and decent has been grabbed by ethnic chance takers and miserable politicians to score cheap and dangerous political points. The plan of these political nitwits and dwarfs is to use the so-called deportation to bring Ngige to their level. These clowns know that they are not in the same political page with the former governor, Senator Chris Ngige, and their devilish plan is to beat down Ngige from his towering height to their miserable level by engaging in primordial sentiments and ethnic pre-occupation. It has failed and it will remain so. It is dangerous politics that may rock the boat and put to danger the cordial relationship between Igbo and Yoruba, if not properly handled. The chance takers and peddlers of misinformation will fail. In 2011, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State deported 29 Akwa-Ibom State and Ebonyi State indigenes on the pretext that they were begging in Awka and Onitsha and heaven did not fall. About the same time, Governor Orji of Abia State sacked over 3,000 indigenes of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, and Ebonyi states from the Abia Civil Service and sentenced tens of thousands of Igbo men and their families to untimely death, eternal poverty and degradation. As at today, Lagos still hosts more Anambra people than Anambra State. Anambra people generate more wealth in Lagos than in Anambra. So, who loses in the devilish plot to use 14 destitute victims of poor, timid and rural governance in Anambra, who were chased into Lagos to live under the bridges, for primitive politics in the end? The Igboman is not foolish and will like to know why a government feels its citizens are better off living as destitutes under the bridges of Lagos than in their home state.

    Don’t you think that APC rally in Onitsha on the day the Obi of Onitsha was celebrating Ofala festival was a political miscalculation?

    Again, it is another dangerous politics to reduce the towering image of Senator Chris Ngige. If reality is to prevail, Ngige Campaign Organisation had extensive discussion with the palace secretary on the matter and the campaign organisation was asked to go on, since the Ofala festival in Onitsha is always conducted without asking people to close shops or markets because Onitsha people are civilized people who practise their well-respected tradition with grace, respect and profound dignity. Unfortunately, by the time the campaign organisation was talking to the palace secretary, our own Igwe (Dr) Alfred Achebe was in retreat (the normal tradition before the Ofala Festival) I am sure the palace secretary did not get the nod of His Royal Highness before he asked the campaign organisation to go on. That was the mistake. Senator Ngige is a traditionalist who understands Onitsha tradition very well, and he could not have ignored the highly revered Obi of Onitsha. Beyond all these however, it speaks of the depths and the height of depravity some people have taken Anambra politics to, for them to believe that such issues, and not the general welfare of the people, will count in the coming election. They will be in for a shocker at the end of the day because the common masses who know the intricacies and conspiracies between the present APGA government and the PDP federal government, which wants to sell APGA as a knockdown carcass to the PDP federal government.

    How are you addressing the issue of power shift agitation to Anambra North?

    In Anambra State, we do not believe in the doctrine of power shift because we do not celebrate mediocrity. Only the best is good enough for Anambra, Ndigbo and Nigeria. Four years is too much for a vibrant and a very important state to lose in the name of zoning. In Anambra State, we believe that, if need be to form a football team for the state, only the best is good enough. If eleven players come from Nnewi North, so be it. Zoning breeds incompetence, mediocrity, and backwardness in governance. You fall back to such compromise when you have failed in governance. When Dr Chris Ngige was governor between 2003 and 2006, every corner in Anambra felt his impact. He didn’t need to appeal to primitive sectionalism that breeds such factors as zoning to leverage his tremendous transformative powers in all nooks and crannies of Anambra.

    What is your candid assessment of Ngige’s chance in the coming election?

    There are 10 reasons why Ngige will be elected Ggvernor on November 16, 2013?

    Dr Chris Ngige is a trained medical doctor of almost 40 years. He was in the Federal Civil Service for 18 years. He has served as a governor for three years and made unprecedented impact under very difficult and dangerous circumstances. He is a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is first President-General of Aka Ikenga, an organisation of Igbo intellectuals. He liberated Anambra State from despicable money bags and notorious godfathers. Of all the candidates contesting for the Anambra governorship, Senator Ngige is the most experienced, both in politics and governance. Ngige is the only candidate that opened the eyes of the people of Anambra State that there is money in government, contrary to the picture the previous governors painted. Ngige initiated and started the extensive road network we have in Anambra today. Ngige is the boldest, the most courageous, capacity driven, independent minded, most outspoken, fearless, strong willed, and firm among the lots.

    Can you briefly give an insight into what he has in stock for Anambra people?

    The taste of the pudding is in the taste. Anambra has tasted the Ngige pudding and needs no other factor to know he remains the best. The APC governors are putting up superlative performances in their respective states because they draw richly from the party manifesto and belief, which place the people above all other considerations in governance. We have star performers in the APC, who believe in the works of their hands to gain electoral approval and not those who believe in writing election results, whether they perform or not. Senator Ngige is coming back to reposition Anambra State. Insecurity in a cash-driven state like Anambra is the biggest problem. Ngige will bring security to Anambra State the way he did it before. Our people must travel home to enjoy their mansions without being harassed by kidnappers, armed robbers and petty thieves. Next is that we want to make the state capital, Awka, to look like a capital of a state like Anambra. The APC wants to rebuild our educational institutions, our hospitals, our courts. The APC wants to boost the economy of Anambra and Igboland by making Onitsha a seaport. The APC wants to build a world class airport in Anambra State. The APC wants to lift embargo on employment in Anambra State, which has been put on hold since 2006.

  • Anambra 2013: You have not been fair to us

    SIR: I want to register my objection right away that your titles’ have shut out 20-odd INEC-approved candidates for the November 16, gubernatorial election in Anambra State (my good self-included). Like in the Olympic Games, candidacy in electoral contests is not a guarantee for victory, and needn’t be. Also considering the several extraneous factors that bridle fair electoral contests and the many inauspicious environmental factors honest men rather than being so coldly ruled out should be encouraged for braving the odds.

    Speaking for myself, I was primarily driven to compete in order to have a chance to raise the intellectual bar in the race; to offer something different from the pedestrian presentations candidates are wont to make in staking a claim for the Anambra State Government House. If you have been following political events in the state you will have realized the intonation of exclusivity that is often brought to bear on the race for political offices on account of cronyism aka ‘god-fatherism’; or the normal process monetization that consigns the core issues of governance to the rear.

    People like me are out to challenge any and every candidate to a programme-driven debate; to show a developmental blueprint for the high office they aspire to; to canvass for support with a convincing grasp of society’s needs; or even to make a thought-provoking analysis of the failings of past administrations. To deny us the chance to express enlightened opinions on how to move our dear state forward is unfair, almost tending towards incriminating negligence. Besides, it is not in your place to play Nostradamus; or impersonate Professor Jega of INEC. I thought there was no objectivity about news!

    For the avoidance of doubt, the due diligence process preceding successful gubernatorial candidature is no stroll in the park. Anyone who has scaled the many hurdles en route: packaging oneself; surviving intraparty intrigues, funding self-projection with so much to dust up; winning primaries; passing fastidious INEC and security scrutiny, deserves respect and should be accorded recognition. Every candidate, therefore, should have his day with the public, with unfettered journalistic access.

    I am appealing to you not to trivialize the efforts of respected and respectable citizens who have weighed in with so much self-sacrifice to deepen democracy. Should you continue to ignore me and the 19 others, then you will have a lot to explain to our teeming supporters, nay posterity. Nigeria will not improve when even journalists have a jaundiced view of fair competition or disregard for competitiveness.

    • Mazi Austin Nwangwu.

    Governorship candidate,

    Citizens Popular Party (CPP)

     

  • ‘Our polling units are not illegal’

    Traders at the Household Utensils Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Ogbo Efere market, in Anambra State yesterday denied the allegation that their six polling units are illegal.

    They urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to relocate the polling units.

    The traders reacted to a statement credited to the Acting Chairman of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), Mr. Sylvester Okonkwo, during a stakeholders’ meeting with INEC officials in Abuja, which listed the polling units among the illegal ones marked for relocation.

    They said Okonkwo spoke out of misconception.

    The central executive members of the cooperative society, led by the President, Chief Livinus Obiegonu, told reporters that the polling units marked 050, 028, 014, 016, 054 and 015 had been in existence since 1999.

    The traders said they had enabled them to exercise their franchise.

    They said the polling units were always peaceful during elections, as revalidation, accreditation and voting take place in the presence of security agents from Okpoko in Ogbaru Police Division.

    Another executive member, Comrade Iyke Onyekwelu, described the proposed relocation as a political plan to disenfranchise voters.

    He said their market was a cooperative society established to serve the needs of members and urged INEC to reconsider its plan.

  • Anambra community holds cultural fiesta

    Abba community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State has held its new yam festival/cultural fiesta; setting a pace in cultural revival.

    At the fiesta, many traditional activities were competed for. These include cultural dances, yam exhibition, music, wrestling, songs and praises, among others for which Ndigbo are known. The event was conducted in the Igbo vernacular. Students who were best in their classes were given presents and winners of the various competitions went home with prizes like fridge, plasma television, electricity generating set; fan as well as cash prizes.

    The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Leonard Nwankwo Ezeh, who presided at the event, said “the fiesta was aimed at reviving their culture and tradition for the benefit of their children. The new yam festival is a general return so to speak for the community.

    He encouraged families to return home for the annual celebration of new yam and cultural fiesta each year as there are many things to learn from the events.

    Igwe Ezeh commended Chief Cosmas Agagbo, Augustine Egbe and Captain Ebele Edochie for sponsoring various prizes won by participants. He also praised those who brought food and drinks for the event, even as he urged other Abba men and women to emulate them in upcoming events.

    Chairman Planning Committee, Mazi Alfred Chikelue Amasiani said the addition of the cultural fiesta during the Iwaji ceremony was an innovation to recapture the real essence of the event which, he said included bringing back the good old days of the community, projecting the community to the limelight and re-imbuing in the present generation a sense of pride. It is also, he said, aimed at making the young generation of Ndigbo realise that hard work pays.

    Senior Special Adviser to Governor Peter Obi on Religious Matters who is indigenous to Abba, Sir Anslem Okafor noted that “culture started in Abba and they have returned to set the pace for other communities to emulate.”

  • Ngige: I want to rebuild Anambra

    Ngige: I want to rebuild Anambra

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Chris Ngige, has given reasons why he want to return as governor.

    Ngige said he left the Government House abruptly, leaving most of his aspirations unfufilled.

    He said his eight-year blueprint to develop the state was jettisoned by Governor Peter Obi, with most strategic projects left undone.

    Ngige, however, assured that he would dust the blueprint to rebuild the state.

    The APC candidate spoke yesterday when he met with the Anambra Peoples Assembly in Enugu.

    He said service to Anambra people was dear to his heart. “I forgot my work plan at the Government House and that’s what I want to go back and collect,” Ngige said.

    Ngige said security had to be restored just as unfettered freedom of movement, equity and fairness.

    He said he injected the people’s money into service, paid teachers and pensioners.

    Ngige pledged to give free maternal health service and free malaria treatment.

    “We revolutionised road construction. It’s not true that we did asphalt only in Idemili, we also did roads in every other part of the state. The present government has collected over N2trillon, with nothing to show for it. I met only N38 in the purse but left N12. 8 billion in the coffers.”

    The APC candidate assured that he would prevent rigging, promising to transform Awka, the state capital, through urban renewal.

    He said he would ensure that Anambra airport was built for take off before next December and promised to make education free.