…Says state had an average ambition before his coming

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

ANAMBRA State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has said that without the determination of his team, the state would not have become Nigeria’s fourth largest economy, noting that he inherited a state with an average ambition.

He also stated that through strategic refocusing, the state had been positioned as one with the greatest chances of producing the most surprising development results in the next five years.

Obiano, who said this in Lagos at a breakfast meeting entitled: Investment Promotion and Protection: The Anambra State Experience, Challenges, and Opportunities, said that coming up with an antidote to crime ensured that he achieved results in Anambra.

The forum was an opportunity for the governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Nkem Okonkwo to present his score card in key areas of governance.

His words: “In the past three years and four months that I have served my people as governor, nothing has given as much joy as talking about Anambra. My fascination with Anambra does not come from the fact that I am the governor of that great state.

No! My interest in Anambra comes from my belief that Anambra represents Nigeria’s biggest hope at the moment. Indeed, I have absolutely no doubt that any objective assessment of all the 36 states of the federation would put Anambra as the state that has the greatest chances of producing the most surprising development results in the next five years. This is not a rhetorical statement. Our fundamentals point in that direction.

“When I assumed office with my Team on March 17, 2014, we inherited a relatively stable state. We took over a state with an impressive network of roads and good fundamentals in education and health care but we also inherited a state that had no landmark infrastructure and no clear-cut strategic vision for the future. And perhaps more importantly, we met a state that was heavily traumatized by violent armed robbery, kidnapping, child-trafficking and growing cases of drug-related crimes.

I came prepared

‘’This crime-ridden scenario discouraged investments and successfully cut off the state from the grid of modern development. Ladies and gentlemen, my Team and I inherited a state with an average ambition but through a strategic re-focusing and a commitment to excellence, we have repositioned Anambra among Nigeria’s leading states today!

“I came prepared. I assumed office with clearly defined vision and mission. I said that my vision is to make Anambra State the first choice investment destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities. Similarly, I also declared that my mission is to make Anambra State a socially stable, business friendly environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities.

“We also came with an economic blueprint known as the four pillars of development which seek to accelerate Anambra’s economic advancement through Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil and Gas. Armed with a clear vision and mission and a realistic economic blueprint we had our job cut out for us.

Immediate antidote to crime

“While we worked on our vision and mission and fine-tuned our Economic Blueprint, we knew that our strategy would be dead on arrival if we didn’t have an immediate antidote to crime and criminality in Anambra State. We had closely studied the stimulus and response patterns of the investment community and discovered that investors are discouraged to invest in places where there is no guarantee of safety for life and property.

We knew that our goal to make Anambra State the first choice investment destination by building a socially stable and business friendly environment that would attract investors from across the world would remain a pipe-dream if we failed to lay a solid foundation in security. So, we hosted a landmark Security Summit which was facilitated by Moshe Keinen, a renowned Israeli security expert. This summit gave us a clear blueprint on security. We started implementing it immediately; setting up Operation Kpochapu, a Joint Task Force that is made up of the Police, the Army, the Navy and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

We also erected security tents on locations that used to be flashpoints for violent crimes, donated a gunboat to the Navy to protect our waterways and launch occasional surveillance helicopter patrols into our skies. With this arrangement, we succeeded in erecting a clockwork 360 degrees security architecture that ensures the safety our beloved state in the skies, in the waters, and on the land. With that arrangement too, Anambra became Nigeria’s safest state.

Leading destination for investments

“The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) is the institutional catalyst of Anambra’s growing reputation as the leading destination for investments in Nigeria. ANSIPPA is an agency that is fully staffed with thorough and vastly experienced professionals with a collective wealth of experience that any visionary manager would envy. On the Board of ANSIPPA are first class bankers, investment analysts, lawyers and thoroughbred professionals who find immense pleasure in nursing investment dreams to reality.

This agency is charged with the mandate of attracting investments and fast-tracking the process of investing in Anambra State. I am delighted to state here that ANSIPPA has fulfilled the basic ideology that gave birth to it. In essence, if ANSIPPA had failed in its mandate and betrayed its promise, I would not be standing here today to address this great gathering.”

Jetleeee:
Anambra is 4th largest economy? How?

Where are your figures? These ones go dey pull out bullshit from their yansh anyhow

ODVanguard:


Guy, as is typical with these folks, they are 'claiming' it, even without facts and figures to back it up. They are so big that they didn't generate any IGR last year.

Jetleeee:


There was one time the guy was signing MOUs anyhow. I used to rate him then. Until that IGR report exposed his hairy ass

Ashey skama ni Bobo yẹn But mahn...his online propaganda squad are doing one hell of a job

Blue3k:
His claim on bring forth largest economy comes from CBN source that even said they don't have reliable data. This claim to be fourth largest economy seems more like a meme than anything.

Jetleeee:
Anambra is 4th largest economy? How?

Where are your figures? These clowns go dey pull out bullshit from their yansh anyhow

sunnyb0b0:


These are the statistics

“I just told you that I was recently in the U.K. One of the things I learned on that visit is that Britain is very pleased with the increase in vegetable imports from Nigeria especially pumpkin leaves.You in the Southeast call it ụgụ. One state, Anambra, has decided to take her share of the $35.4 billion Africa spends importing food and is now exporting ụgụ to other nations including the U.K.

“Some oil producing states are owing workers’ salary, Anambra is not owing. A number of oil producing states took the Federal Government bailout, Anambra did not take it. Anambra state is proof that restructuring is good for our states and will not bankrupt them.

“If Anambra, a state that suffers from soil erosion and has a very high population density, can export £5 million worth of pumpkin leaves to foreign nations, 1 million tubers of yam to Europe and millions of dollars-worth of scent leaves, locally known as nchụanwụ, then much larger states like Kano, Borno, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun and Rivers should be able to do even more.

“The time has come to say the truth. Whilst it might be inconvenient for our elite who are the ones profiting from the oil rent economy and the feeding bottle of our current deformed federalism, I believe we need to speak the truth. And the truth is this: our national wealth is being drained by a select few instead of building a country for all of us. It has to end. We need to return resources and power back to the local level, and from the elite to the people. Only by restructuring can we guarantee Unity, Equity and Security for our nation.”


https://www.naij.com/amp/1116305-only-by-restructuring-guarantee-unity-equity-security-nation-atiku.html

Blue3k:
Lol this thread will likely descend into meme battle. Can anyone supply the report from anywhere that back his assertion. It couldn't be proven last time on a thread discussing it.

https://www.nairaland.com/3819308/anambra-4th-largest-state-gdp

Ritchiee:


Why the attack.Maybe they have statistics to back the claim...who knows?

A whole governor cannot lie.

ruggedized1:
Why are some people getting worked-up over the truth stated by the governor? If you feel that what the governor said is false then list the states that have bigger and better economy than Anambra.

I think the governor means in this order:

Lagos

Rivers

Ogun

Anambra


This should be a near perfect list but if you have a better list then put it down for us to see.

Ritchiee:


Why the attack.Maybe they have statistics to back the claim...who knows?

A whole governor cannot lie.

Blue3k:


Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/made-anambra-nigerias-4th-largest-economy-gov-obiano/

Front Page: lalasticlala Mynd44

sunnyb0b0:


These are the statistics
www.nairaland.com/attachments/5733160_fbimg1499791961352_jpega8adf37f3c5a255859f0853bcb7b0e41

Blue3k:
Listened to this whole article twice and wonder why they never mention the GDP. NBS should come out yearly and tell us the GDP of each state.

Blue3k:
Listened to this whole article twice and wonder why they never mention the GDP. NBS should come out yearly and tell us the GDP of each state.