The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Obiano

  • ‘Obiano’s claim on PHCN transmission line project faulty’

    ‘Obiano’s claim on PHCN transmission line project faulty’

    The Anambra State government under Willie Obiano did not facilitate the 33 KVA Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) transmission line between Awada and Ihiala, a former House of Representatives member, Chuma Nzeribe, has said.

    In a statement at the weekend, Nzeribe, who represented Ihiala Federal Constituency, said he (Nzeribe) facilitated the project as a Federal lawmaker.

    He said: “I read with shock Governor Obiano’s claim that he facilitated the 33KVA PHCN transmission line from Awada-Ihiala. The governor’s claim is totally erroneous. I attracted this project while in the House of Representatives to feed the N3.6 billion Ihiala 2x50MVA substation and N750 million Nnewi 1x15MVA injection substation.

    “The 33KV transmission is meant to link up Ihiala from Awada Bay with high voltage electric power from Ughelli gas turbine project built by Siemens as part of Federal Government’s gas reinjection and gathering scheme in the Niger Delta area.

    “I’ve continued to ensure yearly budget funding and supervision of this project since I left the National Assembly.

    “This is a Federal Government of Nigeria project, and not Anambra State government project. It’s designed to help the 23 communities on its route.

    “Governor Obiano’s claim is false and a clear attempt at subterfuge!

    “I would have kept quiet but for the fact that I know what it cost me, in terms of legislative goodwill and even financially. It is painful that someone wants to ride on the labour of others to score political points.”

  • Anambra: Traders threaten to slam N10bn suit against Obiano over closure of markets for campaign

    Traders in Anambra State have threatened to institute N10billion suit against Governor Willie Obiano-led Anambra State Government for illegally closing the markets for his political rally.

    The traders said All progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) announced that all markets in the state should be closed on Saturday to give them opportunity to attend the party’s rally for the November 18 Governorship Election.  But the state governor, Willie Obiano, yesterday debunked the claim of the protesting traders.

    Recently, the leadership of the South-East markets, led by Okwudili Ezenwankwo,  ordered all the markets to shut down on Saturday for the endorsement of Obiano

    However, the spokesman for the traders, Chief Augustine Nweke, on behalf of the concerned traders, described the action as senseless and illegal.

    A statement yesterday in Awka, made available to reporters, said the government had no right to dictate to anyone who to support in any election, adding that “people were being intimidated by the APGA-led government in Anambra over the election.”

    The traders said: “That we will still seek redress in a competent court of law demanding as a claim, the sum of 10billion naira only being cost of collateral damages occasioned by this indiscretion by the state government.”

    “We are however calling on our protesting members to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding and not to take laws into their hands so as to avoid breakdown of law and order.”

    The group also called on the Inspector General of police to investigate the circumstances that led to the closure of markets in Anambra State yesterday.

     

  • Appreciating Obiano’s big dreams

    Appreciating Obiano’s big dreams

    Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State believes he has a lot to showcase, as the state prepares for the November 18 governorship election. In this piece, his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Okechukwu Anarado, argues that under Obiano, the state has become first choice investment destination and most preferred location to site new industries. 

    It is no longer news that Anambra State under the watch of Governor Willie Obiano is now recognised as the safest state in Nigeria. This singular bold expression of ability to ensure safety of lives and property underpins the steadily rising profile of Anambra as the place to be; it spins the growth of the state’s economy in defiance of the daunting national economic recession.

    As bees to honeycombs, Obiano, a pragmatic investment economist, hardly misses a pry into brilliant ideas; deploying his creative faculties, he seeks their capture in real terms. This ingenuous disposition led him to envision a state that would ‘be the first choice investment destination and most preferred location to site new industries. The eagerness to realise this crucial projection informed the governor’s resolve to create a socially-stable business friendly environment that will attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth creating opportunities in Anambra State. The frequent occurrence of Obiano’s vision and mission statements, along with the co-occurrence of his four-pillar development agenda (with the 12-enabler mantras) at discourses on the thrusts of his administration, points at the governor’s deliberateness in strategically bridging the gap between myth and  reality.

    Having first successfully spun the security wand, and conscious of the role of a sound economy in governance, Governor Obiano went ahead to institute statutory structures that would anchor the stable economy of his dream. The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA), a one-stop clearing house was constituted less than two months in the life of the administration. ANSIPPA has successfully negotiated investments of over $7bn into the state from private concerns. These investors freely leverage on the safe business environment, improved infrastructures, the people’s inherent dynamic work ethics and other incentives provided by the state government.

    “You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’” George Bernard Shaw’s muse here aptly reflects the spontaneous imperatives of Governor Obiano’s novel perception of governance as a means of realizing conceivable development schemes. Obiano’s dream inclination is no mere happenstance. In his seminal Inaugural Address on March 17, 2014, he solemnly declared that ‘we are only limited by the scope of our dreams; not the depth of our talent or the breadth of our gifts.’

    Dreams and the zeal to live them therefore define the development thrills that have become the hallmark of Obiano’s administration. For instance, for well over three years running now, residents of Anambra, visitors to the state and other people who take keen interest in the state, hold continually fading memories of the losses, frustrations and depressions inflicted on the people by the infestation of crimes that seemed intractable in the state before now.

    Evidently, the increasing investments deplete the woes of unemployment among Anambra youths; they forestall endemic restiveness among large and unchecked army of unemployed youths. This gives credibility to the governor’s design of fighting crime by creating jobs. These jobs are more in the agricultural sector where the activities of Coshed Farms, JOSAN Farms, Delfarms, the ultra-modern Lynden Poultry Farm and Stine Rice Mill, among many other agric interests are increasingly providing food for ndi-Anambra and creating jobs for thousands of Anambra youths. The many ongoing civil infrastructural projects in the state equally engage ndi-Anambra of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled capabilities.

    While encouraging the influx of big investors into the state, the governor recognises the relevance of small and medium scale enterprises as prime growers of economies such as Anambra’s. He therefore instituted the Anambra State Small Business Agency (ASBA), as a fund lending pool to facilitate expansion and sustenance of small and medium scale ventures where the youths in their numbers are gainfully engaged. Interests charged beneficiaries of ASBA loans are in single digits and the terms are made easily reachable.

    The remarkable uplift of Awka, the state capital, from just another rustic neighbourhood to a fast-growing modern metropolis spotting three expansive beautifully adorned flyovers and well-illuminated major streets at night is in sync with Obiano’s avowal on the day of his inauguration, that ‘Your clamour for a capital city that fully reflects the essence of our people will be addressed by my administration.’ In response to greatly improved infrastructures and environments supportive of businesses, economic activities are steadily on the increase within the capital territory, its satellite neighbourhoods, and indeed across the entire state. The increasing boom in the hospitality industry in the state tells of acceptance of Anambra as a congenial ground to do business.

    While it is true that the call for ndi-Anambra to invest home did not start with Obiano, never before his dispensation has the Aku luo uno philosophy (an appeal to the people of Anambra to invest at home) attracted as much credibility, respectability and positive response. It takes trust for people and organizations to haul capital to new locations. In just three years, indigenes are coming home with their associates in response to their governor’s request on March 17, 2014, when he entreated: ‘To our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, I say; don’t forget whose children you are. The easy comfort of exile might be sweet, but nothing compares to the fulfillment of life among your people. Bring home your dollars and skills. Anambra State needs you. Ana Igbo (Igboland) needs you…”

    This explains the advent of many high-profile ventures in Anambra whose ownership is largely indigenous to the state. The economic activities in Anambra have upped so much so that prevailing statistics holds Anambra State as the fastest-growing state economy in Nigeria.

    Inferably, Governor Obiano blazes the trail in governance by adopting the insight and confidence that Pablo Picasso expressed as he, Picasso, asserted: “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.”

  • Okonkwo rallies support for Obiano

    Okonkwo rallies support for Obiano

    A former member of the National Assembly from Anambra State, Senator Annie Okonkwo, has urged the electorates to re-elect Governor Willie Obiano.

    Okonkwo, who is behind the Agunechemba Support Group for Obiano, said the state would fare well if the governor gets a second term.

    He said: “With less a month to the inevitable re-election of the governor, it has become imperative to note that this is a ‘fait accompli’ that must be translated to mission accomplished, because all other contenders  has brought nothing new to the table. They have been fairly weighted and properly scaled, we have seen their flag offs and take off rhetorics, but the truth remains that Governor Obiano is not just the best deal. He is actually the only deal in this critical matter for sustainable governance and development of the state. The rest are playmakers possibly good for the compliments.

    “I speak to you from the history of our known grassroots bond, and the benefit of an established highest level participant in equitable politics, that wisdom and fair judgment demand that we work together and return the incumbent with even bigger margins.

    “This is because we have seen from our experiences that building on our culture of stability is the most critical cornerstone for progress, continuous transformation and incremental prosperity of our people. So, mandate renewal for the governor is not just for his documented accomplishments, it is a preference that is right for the known over the unknown, a red card for deceit and vendetta, and a loud nay to ‘try-your-luck’ candidates with their bag of tricks and cartons of promises”.

    “It will be poisonous to allow the person or people who ‘served’ us Obiano to ruin our appetite with new aromas from the same kitchen, when we are just half done, because you can never know the spin the chef is making. It is a fatal disservice to our people for anyone to sabotage a flight at cruise level just because you disembarked willfully.”

    The ex-senator went on: “And permit me to straighten this  narrative decidedly, we deserve the respect and the truth that the Anambra tempo of growth and successes, was not anybody’s special rocket science and prerogatives. It was a logical flow from a hard won stability of tenure with a first full beneficiary. The first should therefore allow the  second fair grip on the baton he exchanged.

    “The politics of good governance in Anambra state is not, and cannot be any man’s wish pot to mix and brew, serve and remove, even when it’s so unnecessary, because we the citizens are the real stakeholders in the outcomes. Therefore, we should not be part of anyone’s sterile misadventure and comedy of after thoughts, which, efforts  sadly should have been engaged more productively.”

  • Why Anambra should reject Obiano, by APC

    Why Anambra should reject Obiano, by APC

    The All  Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has urged the people to reject Governor Willie Obiano at the poll.

    The party said the governor has failed to rebrand the state.

    APC candidate  Tony Nwoye’s running mate Dozie Ikedife said Obiano has failed to maintain the infrastructure in the state.

    He lamented that roads constructed and rehabilitated by his predecessors have not been maintained.

    Ikedife lamented the governor’s failure to give attention to infrastructural development, “except the three fragile flyovers built in Awka, which many people have said should be dismantled before they cause national calamity.”

    Ikedife said instead of channelling  resources into the development of human capital, Obiano was busy employing scores of special assistants and personal aides on whom he  spent over two billion monthly as salaries.

    He said the scores of appointees never added any value to Obiano’s administration, adding that  most of them did not have the governor’s contacts.

    Ikedife said the APC government in Anambra would empower the youths through skill acquisition and establishment of cottage industries that would absorb thousands of unemployed youths, irrespective of their party affiliations and background.

    He said the APC would revolutionalise the industrial sector  by backing up its investment in the sector by regular power supply.

    He added: “This did not mean that aides and personal assistants would not be employed under the APC administration, but greater attention would be paid to empowerment of a greater number of youths substantially, who would even get to the level of employing others.

    “All the promises of the APC would be easy to achieve since the incoming governor and his deputy belong to the youth generation and  they are coming to take over with the passion to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Anambra State.

    “We have a young man as our candidate and the youths of Anambra State have embraced our campaign across the State.”

  • ‘Obiano does not deserve second term’

    ‘Obiano does not deserve second term’

    Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi spoke with reporters in Lagos on his tenure and why the people should not re-elect his successor,  Governor Willy Obiano, during the November 18 poll. EMMANUEL OLADESU  was there.

    Sir, how is the campaign going?

    It is going on very well. Electioneering is tough, especially in our country where truth is in short supply.

    As somebody who has gone through elections, I often tell people to restrict their promises during election to what is realistic. In essence, I always advocate for respect for the truth.

    I read Cicero’s manual of electioneering written for his relation called Quintus.  Cicero advised him to tell lies about his opponent and to even invent scandals. That is what I see in Anambra State.

    I am at the centre of the campaign, campaigning for the PDP’s candidate. Everyday, they invent stories about me. They sponsored people to make comment about seven billion Naira, when it appeared it was not working, the man in question said it to himself. You are left to wonder the extent people will go because of election.

    As some one campaigning for my party, I have restricted myself to the truth and I will continue to do so. Every statement I make to buttress the need for a change in the governance of Anambra is the truth. All you hear me say about money I left, the accruals, total absence of projects, my savings, are all verifiable.

    You mentioned the money you left. As the issue is becoming controversial, could you tell us all about that?

    There is nothing controversial about it. Some people are deliberately introducing controversy where none exists.

    All my life, I have managed money. I started business early in life, right from my primary school. By the time I got to the university, I was already travelling outside the country for business. Even as a student, other students gave me money to hold for them, because they knew that with me, their money was secured.

    Whether in business or government, my attitude to money remains essentially one- prudence.

    Now to your question of how much I left. On the 17th of March, 2014, that I left office, I left  a total of N25 billion cash in different banks and another N23,600,000,000, normally called set aside funds to execute some projects already identified, or to finish critical projects already on. It was part of the two- year salary for the last set of civil servants we recruited. We did so in order not to encumber the new governor. Ironically, because these funds were tied to specific projects like the Amawbia to Amansea, NYSC main office at Umuawulu/ Mbaukwu, the hotels, malls. We also had critical projects like the Three Arms Zone, which included Governors Lodge. we did not include them in our hand over note.

    So, if you are talking about total Naira I left, it is actually  money N48,600,000,000.

    What is happening  shows the quality they’ve reduced governance to in my state today.  It shouldn’t be. It’s like a situation where they say my government was able to export vegetables worth $5 million. Where was that vegetable produced? What was the refrigeration process? Where is the documentation process? It is like my government saying they are exporting rice. You saw the  president on October 1, thanking states that are producing rice, he did not even include Anambra state that is now, according to the governor, a net exporter of rice. My government say they had order to export ten million tubers of yam, but everybody knows that in Anambra State most of the yams we eat come from Benue and Taraba States.

    I think what is happening is that in the absence of executed projects to use to campaign, as Cicero advised Quintus,  they are inventing lies and dressing them as truth.  Have you asked yourself why All this controversy about the money I left now that there is an election?

    Nigerians are surprised at what is happening today, considering the vigorous campaign you did for him in 2013.

    If you have interacted with human beings, you would have known enough of some of them to be shocked over what they do.  I read Philosophy and I know about Blaise Paschal, who, in his book called Penses, described man as a chimera, an animal in Greek mythology that had two heads, he is an angel in one and a brute in the other. Such contradiction is what we see among human beings.

    Yes, I campaigned vigorously for him and everywhere I went with him, they asked me this question. I told them he would perform and if he did not, I would be the number one person to campaign against him.

    How much of Obiano did you know before promoting his candidacy?

    I met Obiano in the bank. I was a bank director and bank chairman. The relationship between a bank director/chairman and someone who works in a bank is not close. However, we knew each other. And I believe that, if someone has risen to a certain level in life, there is, at least, minimum standard of behaviour you can expect from him. For example, when I went in there, I was looking at where I was coming from and the things I wouldn’t do. When I was being impeached, I remember some prominent Anambra people were telling me to do some things, but I declined. I don’t want to do things that in future I will regret.

    How would you react to the claim by Obiano that you demanded N7.5 billion from him?

    This is another regrettable lie. On 23rd December, 2016,  he came to my house for the first time since he became governor.  He came with an ordained Bishop to plead for reconciliation and to ask for my support for his re-election bid. There, I asked him about the N7.5 billion and he said it did not come from him, that he only heard it from people. Now, he is the one saying it. I’m sure the Bishop will be listening to us. And other people who have been in the same meeting with him and I where I have reiterated that I do not want any kobo from him, will know that I have never, on my own honour, asked Obiano to pay me money.

    I have not even been paid my severance allowance since I left office, which I am entitled to. I just told you what I left in office. Nobody has ever left one dollar. If I was desperate, I could have comfortably taken  just $30 million and it will remain $126 million. Nobody on earth will leave money and go and beg the person he left the money for to give him some.

    Because I made it clear to him that I would support my party and perhaps, being told that my support was critical, he now resorted to blackmail. He is doing violence to himself because Nigerians will be reading in between lines and will know who to trust and who to deal with in future. It is unfortunate.

    Beyond the falsehoods, what other issues do you have against Obiano?

    I don’t have any issue with Mr. Obiano. I have issues with Governor Obiano. What ever issue we have, I have forgiven him. But, for Governor Obiano, he has turned governance into what it should not be. You’ve been reading wonderful things in the newspaper, but let Governor Obiano invite you to Anambra. When I was going for second tenure, I invited journalists three months to election and we toured all the projects we were doing and the investments we had attracted. Governor Obiano has attracted $7.8 billion worth of foreign investment, can you people come and inspect those yam fields where we are going to get 10 million yams, or the Ugu field, or the rice field, or where those investments are.

    What role did you play towards the emergence of Obiano?

    I don’t want to go about how he emerged. He has emerged and did not perform. Let somebody else try it. It’s just that in this country, so many people have emerged and they did not deliver. Even in the first world, people have emerged and they did not perform and they were asked to go.

    Don’t you think he has the power of incumbency to his advantage?

    I’m not going to rig the elections. I have never done it before. I am only going to tell Anambra people to ask for what Obiano did in the past four years as a basis for his re-election or being voted out. How many roads did he do? Even in his own senatorial zone, in a local government called Anyamelu, in my first tenure I constructed 43 kilometres of road.. Today, a town called Umumbo, you can’t go there. After Anyamelu is his own local government, where I constructed lots of roads. I did Nsugbe  road. I also did Nkwele Ezunaka  bypass. Apart from Aguleri, his own town, let him tell you which town he has successfully completed two kilometres of road. In another local government in the same north, the next local government is Anambra West, I started reconstruction of Anam to Mmiata  in my first tenure.  If you leave Anambra west, the next local government is Oyi there, I did  Awkuzu and many other roads.  The next one is Onitsha North. In my first tenure, I did Awka road, New market, Old Market, Enugu Road, Marine, New Cemetery, Uguta Road, I can go on and on. In Onitsha South, the next one, I did Sokoto, Creek Road, Oga, Haruna, Port Harcourt Road, and then constructed head bridge to Upper Iweka in my first tenure. From there you enter a local government called Ogbaru, I constructed the Harbour Industrial Estate where you have all our industries.  One can go on and on.

    Apart from roads, in education, I returned schools to the church and if you go there most of the schools have two buses. I gave them one in the first tenure and one in the second tenure. And this cut across schools around there. You can go and verify. I also provided them with computers, boreholes, Internet connectivity, generators, among others.

    So, let Obiano tell the people the one he did that requires him to come back. Let him say how many schools that he was able to give buses.

     

  • ‘Why Obiano deserves second term’

    ‘Why Obiano deserves second term’

    Hon. Arinzechukwu Awogu, a human right activist, is a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA. He is the Senior Special Assistant to Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano on Political Matters. He spoke with reporter in Awka, the state capital, on the chances of his principal in the November 18 governorship election.

    Why do you think Obiano deserves another term?

    Simply put, because Governor Willie Obiano has earned our trust and confidence. As incumbent, the readily yardstick that comes to mind is performance level which is in itself relative, relative in the sense that it presents different appeal to different people. But looking at Governor Willie Obiano’s performance in retrospect; especially when you juxtapose it with the first 4 years of previous  administrations in the state, I find it reasuring to say that Governor Obiano has performed exceptionally well in his 3 and half years in office and has equally fulfilled the primary responsibility of government which is the provision of security and seeing to the welfare of the people of Anambra state. Section 14 Sub-section 2 (b) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and as contained in Chapter 2, under fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy says emphatically that: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. ”That basic aspect or requirement remained a puzzle in Anambra state but was solved by Governor Willie Obiano. He swept all forms of crime and criminality out of Anambra state and made the state conducive for businesses to thrive and for investors both indigenous and foreign to see Anambra as first choice destination in Nigeria which earned the governor accolades from event watchers and brought the state to the number one position in crime fighting. And while the recession lasted, Anambra state never felt the bite of the economic meltdown simply because we have a governor that pays salaries promptly.

    Understandably, government (be it state or federal) is the highest employer of labour and when the worker gets his or her salary he or she  heads to the market to buy needs and the payment of salary by Governor Willie Obiano rubs off positively on the traders and down to the spectrum which was why the recession was not felt in the state coupled with the injection of N40 million directly to each of the 181 communities in the state in the choose your project initiative, which allows some quantum of raw cash to circulate within the communities. And apart from payment of salaries, pensioners are also being paid and backlog of gratuities are being cleared by Governor Willie Obiano, some of which dates back to three previous administrations. These and many more are the reasons  why we can not at this point afford to joke with the re-election of Governor Willie Obiano. Ndi-Anambra understands the need to guard the security and welfare we now enjoy in Anambra state jealously and the only way to do that is by re-electing Governor Willie Obiano come November 18. So it is not about me, Awogu, wishing that Governor Obiano continues in office beyond 2018 but that of the desire of Ndi-Anambra who now sleeps with their two eyes closed and who wouldn’t want to go back to those days when they had to go to church to pass the night because it was certain that some folks would  wallay them in their homes at night. Our big men won’t want to go back to the dark days when they had to give their daughters hand in marriage in Abuja, Lagos and such other places because kidnappers were already awaiting their arrival. So the people of Anambra state are mindful of how Egypt was and are not willing to go back to Egypt.

    Critics say he has not done much. Can you cite some things to prove them wrong?

    You see, what we do in our party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), is not to fight, abuse or threaten malicious and deliberate lies peddlers; No! but engaging the Anambra voter with facts and naked truth of what we have done in 3 years and seven months with the mandate they gave to us. And daily, we keep winning support and their ranks (negative critics) keep depleting. I think, what we need going forward is to speak more to the people and presenting our scorecard. Let me refer to the concept of negative profiling and downright misinformation against our party and government by the desperate opposition as political hypothesis of Anambra state political logjam. And I would want to ask; for how long will the opposition in Anambra state relish in lies, whip up all sorts of sentiments, twist the truth all in a desperate bid to deceive and mislead the Anambra voter. What good will this attitude do to the future of Anambra state? A state that has been rescued from the clutches of insecurity, underdevelopment and wanton destruction of lives and property by the sheer ingenuity and resolve of the trail blazing Governor of the state, Willie Obiano. I can assure you that the stand-point (morbid criticism) of our traducers is not based on Governor Willie Obiano’s performance but regrettably based on bitterness/annoyance of perceived non-patronage of their individual selves by the government of Governor Willie Obiano. You are aware of the N7billion demand, they don’t want him to pay salaries anymore, they don’t want him to continue to fund security, they don’t want him to develop the state beyond what they left off; but he said no. To put your question into perspective, the achievement of any government or administration is summed-up in its performance (result). And may we be reminded that this administration is relatively three years and seven months old and not seven (7) years or eight (8) years old; and operating in a time of excruciating general economic cast-down where we receive less than 35 percent of what the immediate past administration was getting from monthly federal allocations. Yet, we are all witnesses to the litany of Governor Willie Obiano’s achievements in security, investments in agriculture, education, healthcare, public infrastructure, workers’ welfare, industrialisation, public utility and human capacity building among others in Anambra state. The story of Anambra state has long changed since the inception of Governor Willie Obiano’s administration with the provision of effective security of lives and property to the people of the state, attracting investments worth over 4 billion US dollars, renovation of our schools and improving the standards of education in the state, prompt payment of workers’ salaries and increasing same not minding the economic challenges, infrastructural development, prudent management of resources and achievement of maximum output with minimum input – a product of Governor Obiano’s doctrine of “doing more with less.” Road infrastructure and beautification of our cities are visible effects of Governor Willie Obiano’s sterling achievements. Everywhere in Anambra state is lit up in ecstasy; from Awka to Onitsha to Nnewi and others, the skyline is lit up in rapture. Governor Willie Obiano is running riot with massive road construction in the hinterlands, there is the provision of N40m to each of the 181 communities to execute whichever project that suits them. Our markets are wearing new look because of the infrastructures the governor is putting in all the markets in the state, our hospitals are refurbished and made functional. Ambulances and fire trucks are common sights in the state now for rapid response to emergencies. Hospitality industry is booming in Anambra state and people now have longer hours to do their business owing to adequate security and availability of street lighting system. We can only but ask Governor Willie Obiano to keep doing the good work. I challenge the narrow minds, the traducers, the grandstanders and the pessimists alike not to a debate, because debate is academic, it’s hypothetical, it is surmisal in nature; but to a road-show-where seeing is believing. Where they will be face to face with roads, bridges and other infrastructures built by Governor Willie Obiano, where they will have a feel of sense of airtight security, where the billions of dollars investments in agriculture, education, healthcare, human capacity building will stare them in the face, where public utilities are more than ever before in Anambra state being made to serve humanity, where workers’ welfare is a top priority and pensioners are made to live happily again. I make bold to say that Governor Willie Obiano has spun the nylon yarn, he has reserved no ounce of energy in replicating the famous Singaporean Lee Kuan Yew’s Midas touch in Anambra state; Awka is now a world-class city from a glorified capital it used to be before Governor Willie Obiano came to office.  Thus, 2018 presents NO VACANCY in Awka Government House, which supports my argument that the former Secretary to Anambra State Government,  who coincidentally is from my local government, Ogbaru,  should wait till when next it beckons on Anambra North Zone to produce governor because  Governor Willie Obiano who is the holder of Anambra North mandate is unrivalled and as such will amount to effort in futility trying to unseat him. Again, the Anambra South Zone are no fools, they know that Governor Willie Obiano’s victory is the surest way of power shifting to their zone in 4 years, other candidates will make the zone’s  dream a longer wait which they are not prepared to stomach.

    Your Ogbaru people complain more that Obiano left their road untouched. What do you tell them?

    I don’t think that is correct. Fair enough, when people talk and deliberately spread falsehood, rather than reply them you should sympathize with them for their ignorance. The people of Ogbaru local government area have every cause to stay glued to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government under the leadership of Governor Willie Obiano, the party whose government is remembering Ogbaru people in very many positive ways. A number of road projects have been built and commissioned in Ogbaru by Governor Willie Obiano with many still at various impressive stages. The Abazuonu Street road and Acha by Madonna Catholic Street road, all in Iyiowa Odekpe, Ogbaru council area, were asphalted and completed by the governor in the spirit of continuity. Ossomala-Umunankwo-Mputu-Ogwuaniocha road has progressed with much speed. The GMO by Ogbuagwu-Ngbuka-Amazu road is on going same with  Ossomala-Akiliogidi-Obeagwe-Ogwuikpele road. So it is not correct when people who in the last 24 months have not visited home sit in distant lands and say that the governor abandoned Ogbaru roads. Agreed that there are huge infrastructural deficit in Ogbaru which is as a result of the neglect of the area by past administrations of which the government of Governor Willie Obiano is addressing and as such it will be preposterous to say that Governor Obiano is not doing anything for Ogbaru people, those holding such erroneous impressions are not sincere to themselves and to the good people of Ogbaru. One of the very first places where Governor Willie Obiano took off his sterling fangs was Ogbaru. There used to be a refuse dump with almost five story building height at Okpoko which has been there since after the civil war, the governor has since evacuated the refuse and on it today, sits a Health centre, a Town hall and Secondary and Primary schools (Unity Secondary school and Okpoko Community Primary school 1-14) with newly built structures. The Sakamori drain that collects nearly 75 percent of all rainwater from Onitsha, Awada, Obosi, Okpoko and environs (and empties into the River Niger through Idemili water channel) that was blocked leading to flood water submerging homes in Okpoko was dredged by Governor Willie Obiano and the project is still on going. Those who speak ill of Governor Willie Obiano in Ogbaru are economical with the truth for obvious interest and they also forgot or deliberately chose to ignore the fact that our own Ogbaru people occupied the best positions Ogbaru people may never have at a go for a long time to come in the immediate past administration. If they have feelings for Ogbaru and the roads in Ogbaru as they now claim, why did they not push for the roads to be completed and many more built? Remember that we had a defacto-governor with so much power and influence who was from Ogbaru under former Governor Peter Obi’s administration.

    positions in the last administration to do or attract to Ogbaru. Thesame Gov. Obiano is at work in all the 16 communities in Ogbaru with the N40million projects per community which Ogbaru is the greatest beneficiary of. As big as Nnewi and Ihiala are, they have only N40million each; but Ogbaru alone has a whopping N640million  to play around with. Gov. Willie Obiano is doing well for Ogbaru and Ogbaru will vote for him. I urge those saying that Gov. Obiano abandoned Ogbaru roads to go to Ossomala-Ogwuaniocha road, Ossomala to Ogwuikpele road and GMO by Ogbuagu to Owerri road and see what Gov. Obiano is doing there. Don’t stay far away and talk, come home and see for yourself. Ogbaru obviously will not be stampeded into voting because someone lives next door. Ogbaru people will vote because there is conviction and part of the conviction is that we can now since after the civil war sleep with our two eyes closed in Anambra state and that Gov. Willie Obiano has been fair to Ogbaru people. Don’t forget that Gov. Willie Obiano employed more Ogbaru people into his government than any previous government in the state. In Ogbaru, the governor is taking education to anywhere Ogbaru children could be found. Ogbaru is an agrarian community and most farmers prefer to live in their farms because of distance  which are mostly located on the islands and far away camps and have over time grown to become settlements on their own. When you go to such islands in Ogbaru, we call it Agwe, you will  see how education has been taken to the inhabitants by building schools for the children of the farmers and fishermen there and sending teachers to the place to teach them. So what the governor did was to craft a policy that takes school infrastructure to the islands and camps instead of the children having to take pains and risk everyday to cross the River Niger to and fro with its resultant consequences. It is also important that we appreciate the muddy and spongy nature of our tarian. The amount of resources expended on one road in Ogbaru could do 3 same number of kilometres elsewhere. But our tarian makes us who we are and it’s no excuse to deny Ogbaru the much needed development. While we are hopeful that contractors handling Ossomala-Ogwuikpele, GMO-Ogbuagwu-Ngbuka-Amazu roads and others will speed up work on the roads now that the rains have subsided, we will not fall for those who were in office for 8 years but could not do or complete the said roads and now desperately wanting to use the state of those roads to confuse Ogbaru people. Gov. Willie Obiano is continuing with his sustained approach to opening up Ogbaru hinterland and the next 4 years will be crucial to his aggressive push on the many needs of Ogbaru people and fulfilling them. Certainly! It hasn’t been this good for Ndi-Ogbaru and November 18th will see the people of Ogbaru troop out in their numbers to show their support and preference for Gov. Willie Obiano as against any other candidate.

     

  • ADP candidate to sue Obiano, Obaze over campaign expenditure

    The candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, says he will sue the flag bearers of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State, Mr. Willie Obiano and Mr. Oseloka Obaze, respectively, to explain where they got the money they are dolling out for their campaigns.

    Speaking in Awka, while unveiling his manifesto, Okonkwo said he would go to court, because he has been monitoring the candidates who were the first to flag off their campaigns and have noticed the obscene amount of money being spent.

    The ADP candidate lamented the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discipline the two political parties, saying the commission has no powers to discipline parties that flout electoral regulations on campaign expenses.

    Okonkwo said the situation is responsible for INEC not performing its functions effectively. He added that Section 91 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provided the maximum amount that could be spent by candidates at various levels in an election.

    He said: “I will go to court to challenge these expenditures. We need to know where they are getting all these monies they are spending. For those who have flagged off their campaigns, I am tracking their expenditures.

    “I know how much it costs to invite Channels Television to provide live coverage for events, and these parties have consistently been on live television broadcast for all their events. We see all the vehicles they have bought and branded and we know how much each of the vehicles cost.

    “We will even need to know who is leasing these vehicles to them, if they were procured on lease. These are the questions we will be finding answers to in court.”

  • Obiano, Ogbe host fishery society

    Obiano, Ogbe host fishery society

    Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, will attend the annual National Conference of the Fishery Society of Nigeria (FISON) at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, from tomorrow to Saturday.

    The organisers in a statement said the theme of the conference is “Harnessing the fisheries and aquaculture value chain in a developing economy”.

    The keynote address titled Aquapreneurship in Nigeria: Lesson for African agriculture will be delivered by Prof. O.A Fagbenro.

    The National President of FISON, Dr Olajide Ayinla, explained there will be a Student’s forum from tomorrow with Prof. E.A Udeh delivering a lecture titled: Career prospects in the industry.

    There will be a forum on Wednesday expected to attract fish farmers, and other stakeholders from the South East and neighboring.

  • Nwobodo to Obiano: APC will beat APGA, PDP, others in Anambra guber poll

    Nwobodo to Obiano: APC will beat APGA, PDP, others in Anambra guber poll

    The first executive governor of  the old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo is confident that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will emerge victorious in the November 18 governorship election in  Anambra State.

    Nwobodo, speaking in Onitsha at the weekend on the role of the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, said the time has come for the youths to get more involved in the administration of the country.

    The APC chieftain speaking in Onitsha, Anambra State on how the late Azikiwe influenced his election as governor at the age of 39 called for the support of the people of the state for Mr. Tony Nwoye, the APC candidate in the election.

    He said: “I am here to do what Zik did in 1979. We want change. We want a young governor. On Saturday, November 18, 2017, Dr. Tony Nwoye will be governor of Anambra State.

    “He will replace Willie Obiano at the government house”

    He thanked Chukwuma Paul; Madu Nonso I.; Moghalu George N.; Nwibe Bart; Nwike Patrick N.; Obidigbo Chike; Okonwko D.; Onunkwo Johnbosco O.; Uba Andy E.; Uchegbu Adoabi K. and Uzoh Obinna? for supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) Anambra State flag-bearer, Dr. Tony Nwoye.