Things you need to know about Anambra election: Choice before Ndi Anambra




WHEN Dr. Chinweoke Mbadinuju (Odera) became the Governor of Anambra State on
May 29, 1999 at the beginning of the fourth republic, after defeating Prof. A.B.C. Nwosu in the PDP primaries, his administration was nothing to write home about. Civil Servants were owed salaries, teachers were not paid and retirees were owed their gratuities and pensions.

The State Government under Odera was deep into borrowing money from every bank with a branch in Awka. The loans were not performing as no developmental projects and infrastructures were done. The Government house was overgrown with weeds as workers were perpetually on strike. It was squander mania all through.

By September 2002, unpaid teachers had been on strike for a year and civil servants and court workers had been on strike for months. Thus, Odera went down as the least performed Governor since the creation of the state in 1991. Odera was kicked out of office in 2003, and Dr. Chris Ngige took over the governance of Anambra State in controversial circumstances, following the elections, but he quickly went to work.

While payment of salaries and roads construction are not achievements per-se, as these are barest minimum expectation, I will call them improvement on the existing structure and state of affairs considering what Odera subjected the State to. Then came Governor Peter Obi (Okwute) three years later after reclaiming his electoral victory in court from Dr. Ngige. Not only did Okwute continue with paying salaries as and when due, he cleared arrears of pensions and paid gratuities owed to retirees.

Despite all the road blocks he encountered first to reclaim his mandate and subsequent impeachment by his state legislature because he was prudent and saving money for the State, Okwute hit the ground running. The following are some of Okwute’s list of accomplishments while in office: *Okwute restored Anambra State to number one in education from 25th he met it. He did this by returning schools originally belonging to the missionaries and funded the missions.

The ones that did not belong to the missionaries he made sure they were well funded, supplied them with equipped computer labs with internet connections, provided vehicles, rehabilitated their buildings and constructed new ones in addition. These made the environment more conducive for learning and thus Anambra took the 1st position as reflected in JAMB and WAEC results. *Okwute opened up the hinterlands not just concentrating his development in Awka and the urban areas.

This made it possible for residents to live in rural areas such as Ekwulobia, Uga, Achina, Isuofia, Ihiala, Okija, etc. and work, commuting easily to the urban areas in minutes without stress. *Owing to prudent management of resources, Okwute cut down drastically the cost of governance, and positioned the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, to be amongst the top three in the country, having the vision necessary to allow the state make the best use of its human and material resources to be one of the leading centres of commerce and industry in the country.

*Okwute built the security structure of the state, equipped the police and the state vigilante groups and dealt a great blow to the menace of criminals and kidnappers disturbing the peace of the people of Anambra who fled the state. *Okwute sanitised the entire system of governance and through his prudent management of resources left a total of N75 billion in both cash and investments which was clearly documented and handed over to his successor, Willie Obiano. There are lots of other developmental projects too numerous to mention, those mentioned above would suffice.

Now this is what I call real improvement on the existing structure. Note that payment of salaries continued, including over N35billion inherited in pension and gratuity arrears that Peter Obi liquidated. Now comes Governor Willie Obiano, and in four years what have we seen in Anambra? Apart from sustaining the security structure bequeathed to him by Okwute, Obiano cannot point to any meaningful project or achievement he made in Anambra State. He has abandoned all the projects initiated by his predecessor, wasted money in building three flyovers in Awka when the roads to inner towns and cities are being developed and maintained, and squandered the N75billion left for him.

All we hear from Governor Obiano and his cohorts is that Okwute never left any money, but only liabilities. Really? A well-documented handover note was given to Obiano with the amounts and the account numbers of the Banks where these monies were. Today, Anambra is now a net borrower of funds and nothing to show for it. Anambra has lost its 1st position in education, as school funding has been abandoned and quest for excellence went out of the windows. No developmental projects are carried out anywhere else in the state except maybe in Aguleri (Obiano’s hometown). Anambra is fast losing all the gains and upward developmental trajectory the previous administration put it on. Here is where Anambra people have a decision to make come November 18, 2017.

We have to reject the politics of “give us this day, our daily bread”. A government which taunts payment of salaries as an achievement is dragging Anambra back. We have to take back our state and refuse to be satisfied with a government that barely performs the basic duties of government. Anambra people cannot accept a government that cannot account for over N75billion received from his predecessor; a government that cannot buy one vehicle or fund our schools, yet he bought over 400 vehicles for his campaign; a government that was handed a debt-free state but is now a net borrower of funds, thus putting ndi Anambra back to slavery; a government that constructed over 35 roads in his village and is yet to construct one in any other village in Anambra; a government that abandoned all major projects: government is a continuum; and a government that spent a lot of State funds in media hype on supposed export of N5 million worth of Ugu and Onugbu (bitter leaf) vegetables as well as processing an order for the export of 10 million tubers of yam. Being seasonal crops, is the export of Ugu and Onugbu a regular business or a one-shot, election-year hype? So who will fix this broken State? Oseloka Henry Obaze, OHO, is here to fix it.

A lot of great things have been written on OHO’s fitness and qualification for the office. All I can add is that OHO is a man of integrity, accountable, and most importantly, a man with a good heart. He understands governance as he has been in it at the local, state, federal and international levels, as such he understands the pains of the people. A man with a humble beginning who understands that government must work for the people so the people can flourish and make better use of their God given talent.

To this end, OHO has articulated his deliverables summarised as the OHO compact to ndi Anambra thus: Health – Provide first responder (EMS/EMT), mandatory emergency and charity care. Education – Free education up to JS3, support special needs school Security – Reinforce kidnap laws, support mobile and community policing, crime report reward Youth Empowerment – A niche skill acquisition centre, train 100 youths on digital space, establish youth chamber of commerce.

Agriculture – Subsistence farmers support group, tools and equipment rental, mechanised farming. Industry – Revamp oil/gas sector, incentivise entrepreneurs in SME clusters Infrastructure – Upgrade and maintain existing ones, heavy haulage routes, open database on land ownership, intercity light rail system. Employment – Job fairs/placement programme, Artisan Certification/license, formalise street vending, support mom/pop stores.

Investment/Savings – Sustainable development goals (SDG) driven investments, Diaspora direct projects, and direct foreign investors. The above is not exhaustive and you can view/read in details the OHO compact and manifesto at http://oho.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/THE-OHO-Compact-Mx.pdf. Our people yearn for good governance and good governance comes with a very good quality leader. If ndi Anambra want to sustain the growth trajectory put in place by Okwute, then the decision come this November 18th is very easy and clear.

They should look no further as God has provided them with a highly qualified leader in OHO. Governor Obiano has nothing to lose if he loses this election, likewise, OHO and other candidates. However Anambra people have a lot to lose if we don’t make the right choice. It is already broken and OHO will fix it. Mr. Chuma Ozowalu, a citizen of Anambra State and Certified Public Accountant wrote from San Antonio Texas, US.





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