Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO, examines reactions from critics and supporters of Governor Willie Obiano’s recent presentation on efforts of his administration in repositioning Anambra State.
Political activities, which appeared to have been low in Anambra since the 2014 gubernatorial election in the state, came alive recently when Governor Willie Obiano presented his mid-term score sheet to stakeholders in the state.
Apparently on account of the lull in political engagements, there were insinuations that the governor’s popularity had gone down, especially given the initial expectations by the electorate that he would immediately after inauguration turn around the fortunes of the state. The expectations were not entirely outlandish, given the promises the governor and his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), were said to have made to the people during the campaigns.
Incidentally, on coming to office, the governor may have discovered that governance is a far cry from promises during campaigns.
Among these realities were the high wage bills and ongoing projects that were handed over to him by his predecessor, Peter Obi, coupled with the N75 billion which Obi said he passed on to him.
Many had argued that with what Obi left behind, Obiano would not have any problem in taking off. However, with things not falling in line as quickly as they had expected, critics accuse the governor of failing to steer the affairs of the state properly.
His opponents were said to have started building on this, with the intention of using it against him, even before the end of his first tenure.
Apparently aware of the looming plot, Obiano may have acted fast by telling the story of the activities of his administration in the last one and half years by himself.
A governor and his scorecard
Insecurity, an issue that had in the past remained the bane of development in the state, was one of the areas the governor scored his administration high in handling.
TheNiche gathered that though there still exist cases of robbery, kidnapping and other incidences of crime, the Obiano administration has considerably acquitted itself in managing the situation.
Obiano further presented what he called the success story of his administration, anchoring it on four pillars namely: agriculture, industrialisation, trade and commerce, oil and gas.
“Our projection in agriculture is to be among the top three agriculture states in Nigeria. Our efforts in this regard have yielded remarkable results. So far, we have attracted over $660 million investments to this sector,” he said.
His reason for settling on industrialisation as the economic blueprint of the government, the governor said, is to make Anambra one of the top three industrialised states in Nigeria, adding that the administration is pursuing this in four key areas – creation of modern industrial parks and small-to-medium enterprise clusters, improved drive for investments, better access to financing and capacity building.
On trade and commerce, he stressed that the agenda is to move the state to the top three position in the sector. To realise the objective, the administration is rehabilitating existing markets, building ultra-modern markets and shopping malls and introducing a robust e-commerce platform in the state.
The policy formulation initiative of the administration, according to him, is aimed at avoiding the same mistakes of neighbouring states, hence the insistence on crafting far-sighted policies to drive the development of this sector.
“To facilitate this, my bill proposing the establishment of the Anambra State Oil and Gas Development Agency was passed into law on April 17, 2014 by the Anambra State House of Assembly,” he stated.
While the governor made the presentation, his foot soldiers pranced about, announcing that by the end of his first term, Anambra would have effectively taken off in social and infrastructure rebirth.
APC alleges second term agenda
All Progressives Congress (APC), a major opposition party in the state, however, dismissed the presentation, describing it as a disguised attempt by the governor to unfold his second term agenda. State chairman of the party, Emeka Ibe, put a lie to the presentation by the governor, accusing him of desperation for another term.
“The governor also prided himself to have increased the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the N500 million he inherited to N1.3 billion, but failed to explain how those figures came about and also failed to produce an audited rundown of the sources of these revenue,” Ibe scoffed.
He also alleged that the residents and indigenes of the state are currently bearing the brunt of intensive taxation imposed on them by the administration, adding that Obiano has not been transparent in his dealings with the people.
“Obiano failed to explain to Ndi Anambra if actually he took receipt of the N75 billion which his predecessor, Peter Obi, claimed to have handed over to him. The governor’s prolonged silence over the N75 billion has more to it than meets the ordinary eye and we the stakeholders in the Anambra project are still asking questions on the fact about the sum in contention,” he remarked.
He further took a swipe at the governor’s claim of success in the education sector as mere grandstanding, alleging that the government’s policy of “No-child-left behind” is more of rhetoric than reality.
“Obiano’s show of desperation at this time is an indication of the fact that he is mindful of his colossal failure to do the needful as a governor since assuming office and to rise to the occasion in the governance of Anambra State.
“We wish to state therefore that Anambra people cannot be cowed by the grandstanding and ego trip of a governor, is in a hurry to cover up the abdication of his duty,” Ibe remarked.
PDP seeks transparency, accountability
Going by the reactions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in the state, Kenneth Emeakayi, the party is not as worried with the governor’s scorecard as it seeks transparency and accountability in management of the local government funds in the state.
He argued that the council funds ought to have been paid to the respective council areas, alleging fraud in the system.
“The state governor should render account of what happened to our allocation at the council level. The governor should tell us clearly what was done to our money, instead of parading projects he claimed to have done,” he demanded.
