tabletman1:
Nwokem mechi onu
Who tell you say Umuahia no dey get light.
We only have few towns with public water supply in the southeast.
Infact you don't know anything about umuahia maybe you live at umuahia north or the end side of ehimiri estate

Schematics:
We are giving security robust attention in Anambra —Obiano
The Governor of Anambra State, Gov Willy Obiano has just hit six months on the saddle as the helmsman of the state, a few days ago. He spoke to a cross-section of journalists at the Government Lodge, Awka , recently, on the thrust of his government and his achievements so far. UCHE AKOLISA was there:



MY VISION FOR EDUCATIONAL SECTOR
What we are doing in Anambra is not Rocket Science. It is something very well-thought through. I will break them into A and B. Under A are what I prefer to call economic enablers. Enablers in the sense that it is not an end but means to an end. There are about 14 items under these enablers. One of them is education which is very critical to whatever we are doing. My approach to education is simple and basic: For me to give myself pass mark in education, I would have accomplished three things; first, infrastructure. That includes the building, equipment, libraries, laboratories; then comfort of the students is also critical and that got to do with the environment. And of course, teachers welfare; training and retraining and having the number of teachers that is required. More importantly, getting teachers to be where you want them to be, particularly in the rural area.



That has been a challenge. There is something we are doing with United Nations that is making us pay teachers who go to rural areas and those who teach Science subjects, a little extra. It is only when I get all these working in tandem that I can say, I have done well in the education sector. If I build infrastructure, no students and teachers, that is not education. If I train teachers, improve their welfare and they don’t have tools to teach, that is not education. If everything is there and there are no pupils to come and learn, that is not education. So, the three of them must go hand in hand. I am sure you know that Anambra has topped the class in WASC Exams for the last two years.

SECURITY

The other beat is the emphasis we are putting on security. Without security, nothing I tell you here will make sense because people (investors) won’t come. Security is a very important enabler and we are giving it robust attention and we will continue to do so till the end of my administration.
We have successfully driven away kidnappers. That does not mean that kidnapping does not occur once in a very long while. The challenge is that we arrest them as they do occur. Last three week, we helped rescue a Reverend Father that was kidnapped in Imo State in Uli through the instrumentality of my team, Operation Kpochapu. There was a kidnap that happened in Abakaliki in another state that my team is helping to solve.
I just engaged the retired Commissioner of Police, Delta, to be in charge of our vigilante group. We are going to rejig how they work so that they can become a very natural support to the Police. It will go a long way to ensure that criminals that were sacked and are in villages will be picked up. We are doing general awareness of President-Generals of town(unions) and Igwes of communities to give us the list of criminals in their domain on anonymous basis, so that we get them to do thumb-printing, that is a psychological way of letting them know we are watching. I am sure after that thumb-printing, they will run to Lagos or somewhere else.

ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Any bad roads you see here are Federal roads that they are improving upon. All the state roads are state-of-the art. Anambra prides itself as having the largest network of roads in Nigeria. All the former governors tried very well. Ngige tried his best in the short time that he was here. My predecessor did very good work. He did almost 1000 kilometre of roads. I am still working on most of them, because what you are seeing here is a government of continuity.

It is an APGA Government to an APGA Government. All his projects are being tackled, in line with the revenue generating capacity that we have. We met an IGR of N550 million. That is a far cry from what will help us drive the state. The salary bill of the state is N2.8 billion. Until my IGR equals the salary or is above the salary range, I will not score myself as having done well in terms of IGR, although we have moved to N1 billion in the last six months. But we are doing all kinds of things to improve our IGR. We have the capacity to be at N3.5billion monthly. We are trying to plug all the loopholes and the leakages. Anambra is the second smallest state by landmass in Nigeria, next to Lagos, with an area capacity of 4,850 sq kilometres. So, it is not a very big state by landmass but estimated population as we speak is about 7 million people. Although, 2006 census say, we are 4.5 million people.


ENVIRONMENT

We are doing a lot of things on environment. That is another enabler. If you look at our streets, they are a lot more improved now. We are buying more tractors, trying to put a permanent structure on street cleanliness, silting of the drainages and moving of the garbage from the receptacles where they are put. I am trying to create a clean environment culture for our people. Before December, we are trying to make sure that houses on major roads are painted. If you have a clean street with proper road markings, street infrastructure like directional signs, street lighting, houses properly arranged, you create an impression of what is happening. That is the first ‘wow’ you see at Upper Iweka which we have transformed from the notorious dens of criminals and luxurious bus activities to what you are seeing now. We are only about 60 % done. By the time we do 100%, it will be a super place with very good impression of the state as you come in.


Youth empowerment
We are doing a lot on youth empowerment. We want to revive football in primary and secondary schools. Many Anambra people played for Nigeria in various ways. Okala, the great goalkeeper hail from Onitsha. We want to revive that consciousness and keep the youths busy. We are working hard with NDLEA and Operation Kpochapu to destroy the sources of drugs made available to these youths. We have almost conquered Obosi which is notorious for drugs. We are trying to make it a lot more difficult for these drugs to get to students in the university which is their immediate target and export to South Africa.
We are doing things on women empowerment. We are trying to set up three vocational schools though there are 21 in existence now. We want to equip three; one in each senatorial zones, to assist women and youths. My predecessor did well in most of these areas and we are continuing work in those four critical areas. We will continue, complete and commission and commence new activities.

Agriculture

If I provide security alone, everything is fine, it will not take the state to where it should go economically. For you to do that, you must create jobs and money exchange hands. If you do best roads and people are hungry, not paid, unemployed, only criminals and cows will be plying those roads. To complement A, there is B. B are on four pillars. Pillar One is Agriculture which is natural to our people. All I am doing is assist subsistence farmers to become a little bigger. I have a 120 agric machines. Before now, we had 10. 100 ordered by my predecessor are arriving soon. These are what we will use to prepare the ground for farmers free. We are also giving them improved seedlings, cassava cuttings, free.
The second time around, they are not going to get it free. They are going to get it at subsidized rate so I can have more money to be able to replicate what I am doing.
When I took over, I appointed 14 agronomists, all Anambra people led by Prof Omaliko, a renowned agro-economist, to chart an Anambra agricultural economic blueprint for me. They selected areas in Anambra where rice, maize and cassava can grow best. So, we are forming co-operatives of ten farmers each; rice co-operatives in rice zone, maize co-operatives in maize zone and cassava co-operatives in cassava zone. The whole idea of co-operatives is for administrative purposes. So that you know you are dealing with real farmers and not businessmen who will go and sell your seedlings. It also helps you give them loans so that your money can come back to you. It enables out-growers scheme, a scheme where if Sabmiller Breweries in Onitsha can decide to support people in maize zone with money to grow maize for them. Out-growers scheme work well where you have co-operatives.

Beyond subsistence farming, we are also doing large-scale ones which are the ones that can create jobs. We signed on one big one-Coschars Farms at Anaku. Coscharis was doing sales of Ford and other luxury vehicles but he veered into agriculture by engaging some of the world best-Indians, Canadians. The only way you can understand what it will do to Anambra when he starts full production is that he will produce 120,000 metric tonnes of rice. Anambra produces 80,000 metric tonnes (of rice) but consumes 340,000 metric tonnes. There is a gap of well over 240,000 metric tonnes. Coched Farms, one farmer alone, will contribute to halve the gap.


I am signing on other rice farmers. They are coming in with $150,000 to set up a rice farm at Omo which will contribute 1000 metric tonnes at the first stage. In three, four years, we will be talking of multiples of these numbers. In less than three years, if I perfect all these, I will be self-sufficient and exporting rice and maize to Enugu, Asaba, Abia, Lagos. The lowest common multiple of all I have told you is job creation. If you increase the food production and plan for facilities that will process those foods, you create job opportunities in the area of packaging, processing, manufacturing and that is the jobs we are talking about.
Oil and gas

The second is oil and gas. We should be one of the largest in gas reserve in Nigeria and it has not been tapped at all. We are producing oil at Enugwu-Otu Aguleri. Orient Petrol is working on 11 wells as we speak and they do about 2,000 bpd. I have committees reviewing these areas. One is headed by a Canadian Nigerian, Dr Emmanuel Eboga. Beyond activities to make sure we become members of NDDC, which is the juice in becoming an oil-producing state. Last year alone, 9 states that are members of NDDC shared 20% of N400billion. They don’t share money, they share projects; hospitals, roads, schools and NDDC will do it for you. So, if we become the 10th state and share anything of that sort, it will contribute significantly to what we are doing here.

The only active oil & gas company in Anambra is Orient Petrol and they are in they are setting up a refinery that will process 50,000 bpd. One of the things that they will process that will be of interest to us is the aviation fuel, ATK. We have also got a license to do a cargo airport where that ATK will be dumped. By the way, the degraded ATK is DPK(kerosene) and they don’t allow it travel long distance through the pipe. So, the nearest place from the refinery will be at the airport we are doing at Umuleri. That airport will store ATK and international flights instead of going to Ghana to refuel, they will come to Umuleri to take their fuel.


The third pillar is commerce and trade. We want to build modern markets. The Onitsha market which is renowned to be one of the biggest in West Africa, is old and not very conducive. We need to do new ones in Umunze, Ogbunike and Oba and three other places. Oba is almost 60 % done. We are also looking for those who will do build-operate-and –transfer to expand the Onitsha Main Market into the River Niger. It is one of the projects that can return money fastest to whoever goes into it. Once traders know that you mean business, they will pay immediately.
Another pillar is industrialization; both agro-based and non agro-based industries. What we are trying to do is to get them in industrial clusters where we can power. I forgot to mention power when I was talking about enablers. Now that we are winning on security, we are gradually restoring night life. One of the fastest way is to restore night life is to restore the street light. We restored street lights in the longest street in Awka about three weeks ago. About a month ago, we restored the street lights on Upper Iweka.
I have a great team (picked) from every local government area in my cabinet. I have a great team of special advisers from every local government in my cabinet. I have several committees. I have ANSIPPA-one- stop-shop for investment. If you want to do investment in the state, Instead of going to Lands, then Commerce and Industry, you meet ANSIPPA and you set up your business as fast as you can.

Anambra State has a lot of notable figures in Igboland. How have you been able to manage these people to contribute to the development of the state?

My people are very rich people because they are very hard-working all over the place. They have various reasons why they are not participating in the development of Anambra. One primary and obvious one was the security situation. So, they rather set up their factories in Lagos than come to Anambra. So, one of the challenges is to restore security to the extent that their fear is conquered. You know security is two part; real action and the psychology of it. The greatest way to conquer fear of height is to climb and look down. The easiest way to conquer the fear of security is to go on the road and not be kidnapped. If you are not kidnapped, you go home and tell people. We are doing the first part, you see arrests, you see Operation Kpochapu, houses of kidnappers pulled down.

Our people belong to different political parties although APGA is the predominant Igbo party. That affects their psyche if an APGA Governor is reaching out to them. But I am reaching out and after the Elections, let’s come back, because, ‘soldier go, soldier come, barracks remains.’ The barrack is Anambra. There is a challenge in making them believe that if we can make Anambra look like other places we admire, everybody will be there. The fund-raising we are going to do in Lagos on the 26th of this month is also an opportunity to keep encouraging these people that things are good now. This is the time to invest and be an early bird in the investment process. The cost of entry will be a lot cheaper than when everybody is in.

You were in corporate world. Why did you go into politics?

I did not wake up and plan to become Governor. Most of you who know me know that I retired from Fidelity Bank after a successful 25 years career in the banking industry. Before then, I did 10 years in Chevron-Texaco as their world internal auditor with expertise in audits of refineries, before joining Fidelity Bank for 23 years. I was with First Bank for one year, plus.
At Fidelity Bank, for 10 years I was Number Two man. I retired in August 2012 and left to Houston where my family has been one leg there and one leg here, to rest. I wasn’t looking for any other job.

It may interest you to know that 24 people vied for the governorship of the state and I would browse Nigerian newspapers on my ipad and be reading them curiously without knowing that I would ever join them, let alone win and become the Governor. When I left the banking industry, I never wanted to be a politician. My shoulder was tapped to come down. I came down, I thought it was the ministerial (appointment) request I made before I left for Houston. I am a very comfortable man, I don’t need anybody’s money to live comfortably for the rest of my life. But I came and it was to run for Governorship. I prayed over it and we started the process. After about two weeks, I wanted to go back to the US because I didn’t understand what was happening; all kinds of people, all kinds of things. Somehow, I stayed. So what I am doing is very clear in my mind. My experience as a technocrat is informing what we are doing here. I came with a team from the bank to fashion what we are doing here.

How has politics affected your personal life?

I miss my privacy, immensely. You don’t have any time to yourself as Governor. You receive all kinds of calls. Somebody would call you and tell you his wife is in labour. That he does have money to take her to hospital and you must send an ambulance to take her to hospital. They command you to do something immediately. I will raise my head and ask the Commissioner of Health to do something. Another thing is that people call and believe that once they see me, I will say, ‘go and start work.’
But we are getting used to that and we are trying our best.

You have to keep at the same pace with people talking to you. I spend two days or more in the week going out to meet with the people, inspect projects which they like immensely. Looking at the contractors and seeing the extent of the roads they are doing. It informs my decision when their bills come for me to sign off. We are trying to change the face of Awka. We are doing three flyovers and that will permanently change the face of Awka. When these and the major roads go through, in addition to what the Awka Capital Territory that I inaugurated are doing, Awka would open up. People with smaller houses will sell them and banks will come and build their headquarters there. I charged my Awka Capital Territory Development team showing them the picture of Dubai 1990 and picture of Dubai 13 years after. The picture of Dubai in 1990 was like Awka today. The picture of Dubai 13 years after is something else. I told them that human beings thought about it and made it(Dubai) so. They can make it. We can significantly improve what we are doing with consistency and focus and funding and in a clever manner build this city

http://www.hallmarknews.com/we-are-giving-security-robust-attention-in-anambra-obiano/

Innovator90:
Thanks for posting the interview. Very informative! This is the beauty of having a technocrat in power; not a politician or a business man. Knowing that he lived in Houston, TX gives me confidence that he saw how things function and look there, and judging by his achievements so far, I'm very impressed. Anambra airport will be a great generator of IGR when operable and an envy of other states and countries; that project must be be kept going and not kept on the back bunner like the Onitsha Seaport; even though it's mostly federal government funded and handled. Good to see Orient Petroleum playing an active role, and partnering in many of the state's strategic projects and investments.

Anambra is a very important state; we have achieved one strategic project in the event of another war; A FUNCTIONING REFINERY IN THE SOUTH EAST. Let's see how they will blockade us again and starve us of fuel. Next is the airport, I read some posts where some fellow easterners expressed disinterest in Anambra having its own airport, reasons given were it would fiscally harm Enugu and Asaba airports. That may have validity but must not stop us from having our own airport for strategic reasons in the event of war...I don't pray for one but being self sufficient threatens the enemy to think twice before waging a war against you or a blockade. We must be prepared! The airport will be primarily strategic in operation...cargo, refueling for airliners and minimal passenger traffic as I understand it. Possibly, serve as a military refueling station and airforce base...very critical! So our brothers in Enugu and Asaba/Aniomas have nothing to be worried about. On a side note, Aniomas have hijacked and today run, control the Nigerian financial and banking system from A to Z...Good development in the same igbo spirit!

Continuing, Agriculture as he mentioned is also very important, I see it as another strategic investment...we must be self sufficient in food and produce in the state and region. We don't want to go through another starvation in event of another war...I keep stressing this, we must learn from our mistakes! The Onitsha seaport and Niger second bridge are also strategic projects, what are our senators, state government and representatives doing to make sure federal government puts these projects on over drive from the snail pace it's right now.

Kingsley1000:
I dont think anambra state needs an airport(especially building new one,why not revamp the one we have at oba,just a stone from onitsha,i think that's the perfect location)moreover,we have airport at asaba,the two state govs should partner so that it would be serving the both states(because of the commercial potential of anambra)....If we have our own,thats to the detriment of asaba airport

4thsense:
@OneEast,

You seem to know about everything happening in Anambra State, is there anyway I can reach you personally? I need quite some information on certain projects in the state urgently.

Thank you.

Ilovenigeria:

Read innovator90's post and you will agree with him that Anambra needs an airport.


I used to think like you until the day Niger bridge was blocked because of primary election in Asaba.

The airport must not be close to Asaba or Onitsha. We can still move it to areas like Neni, Okija, Ekwuluobia or Uke.

My opinion though.

Schematics:
The airport site has been acquired and secured around Umuleri/Otuocha axis. I am very sure that preliminary work has resumed at the site because Orient Petroleum is championing the project because of the commercial sell of their ATK product. That location is the best because it has a table land and enough room in case of future expansion. It is equally central to the major cities of the state and close to the Orient petroleum refinery/plant.

Schematics:
The airport site has been acquired and secured around Umuleri/Otuocha axis. I am very sure that preliminary work has resumed at the site because Orient Petroleum is championing the project because of the commercial sell of their ATK product. That location is the best because it has a table land and enough room in case of future expansion. It is equally central to the major cities of the state and close to the Orient petroleum refinery/plant.

Kingsley1000:
I dont think anambra state needs an airport(especially building new one,why not revamp the one we have at oba,just a stone from onitsha,i think that's the perfect location)moreover,we have airport at asaba,the two state govs should partner so that it would be serving the both states(because of the commercial potential of anambra)....If we have our own,thats to the detriment of asaba airport

OkijaAmaka:
Obiano an co must be very stupid if the airport should go on and be sited at Otuocha,Awka should be the prefered location.

Am watching his clannish disposition, Anambra North have highjacked everything in the state, they are getting most of the appointments and all capital projects are finding their ways there.

I saw people marking Atani Rd, i dnt know whether he's dualizing it or not because that road needed to be dualized, its an industrial road with densely populated neighbourhoods and towns.

A construction job is going on at Orlu Rd Ihiala now, the EEDC people are very hardworking here installing and mounting transformers, i saw a fire service outpost here in Ihiala along the busy Orlu Rd.

Obiano should come to Nnewi abeg, Nnewi is more economically viable than the Otuochas and Aguleris he is moving everything.

There is one big mkt being constructed at Ogbunike now, the International Mkt at Oba is mouthwatering, i didnt get their pics but i just passed there now.

I have pics but am yet to hit the cafe, the last time i did the server dissapointed me, so i might likely recharge my modem and upload from my system....biko mek una bear me.

OkijaAmaka:
Obiano an co must be very stupid if the airport should go on and be sited at Otuocha,Awka should be the prefered location.

Am watching his clannish disposition, Anambra North have highjacked everything in the state, they are getting most of the appointments and all capital projects are finding their ways there.

I saw people marking Atani Rd, i dnt know whether he's dualizing it or not because that road needed to be dualized, its an industrial road with densely populated neighbourhoods and towns.

A construction job is going on at Orlu Rd Ihiala now, the EEDC people are very hardworking here installing and mounting transformers, i saw a fire service outpost here in Ihiala along the busy Orlu Rd.

Obiano should come to Nnewi abeg, Nnewi is more economically viable than the Otuochas and Aguleris he is moving everything.

There is one big mkt being constructed at Ogbunike now, the International Mkt at Oba is mouthwatering, i didnt get their pics but i just passed there now.

I have pics but am yet to hit the cafe, the last time i did the server dissapointed me, so i might likely recharge my modem and upload from my system....biko mek una bear me.

OkijaAmaka:
Obiano an co must be very stupid if the airport should go on and be sited at Otuocha,Awka should be the prefered location.

Am watching his clannish disposition, Anambra North have highjacked everything in the state, they are getting most of the appointments and all capital projects are finding their ways there.

I saw people marking Atani Rd, i dnt know whether he's dualizing it or not because that road needed to be dualized, its an industrial road with densely populated neighbourhoods and towns.

A construction job is going on at Orlu Rd Ihiala now, the EEDC people are very hardworking here installing and mounting transformers, i saw a fire service outpost here in Ihiala along the busy Orlu Rd.

Obiano should come to Nnewi abeg, Nnewi is more economically viable than the Otuochas and Aguleris he is moving everything.

There is one big mkt being constructed at Ogbunike now, the International Mkt at Oba is mouthwatering, i didnt get their pics but i just passed there now.

I have pics but am yet to hit the cafe, the last time i did the server dissapointed me, so i might likely recharge my modem and upload from my system....biko mek una bear me.

FKO81:

I saw the one in Ogbunike I thought it's was housing estate.

Schematics:
I think that of Ogbunike is the investor(West Africa Intercontinental Trade Centre) they are pumping in over $300 million in that project for the first phase.

FKO81:

Bro that area is developing fast expacially Ogbunike/Ogidi axis, that of Ogidi building material, plastic etc mkt, that area was thick forest before, My mum is from Ikenga Ogidi they call that area Ndaagu, although it was Mbadinuchu and Ngige that started the transformation of that area, they connected Enugu/Onitsha express road to Old Awka road, they also installed power substation and kick start the market, now that area is fast expanding both the market and residential buildings.

InyinyaAgbaOku:


are you from nnewi

FKO81:

Awka Etiti

FKO81:

Awka Etiti

Ilovenigeria:

Cheiiii

Awka etiti ndi ogwu ego

Obodo unu mara mma.

OkijaAmaka:
Obiano an co must be very stupid if the airport should go on and be sited at Otuocha,Awka should be the prefered location.

Am watching his clannish disposition, Anambra North have highjacked everything in the state, they are getting most of the appointments and all capital projects are finding their ways there.

I saw people marking Atani Rd, i dnt know whether he's dualizing it or not because that road needed to be dualized, its an industrial road with densely populated neighbourhoods and towns.

A construction job is going on at Orlu Rd Ihiala now, the EEDC people are very hardworking here installing and mounting transformers, i saw a fire service outpost here in Ihiala along the busy Orlu Rd.

Obiano should come to Nnewi abeg, Nnewi is more economically viable than the Otuochas and Aguleris he is moving everything.

There is one big mkt being constructed at Ogbunike now, the International Mkt at Oba is mouthwatering, i didnt get their pics but i just passed there now.

I have pics but am yet to hit the cafe, the last time i did the server dissapointed me, so i might likely recharge my modem and upload from my system....biko mek una bear me.

Kingsley1000:
I dont think anambra state needs an airport(especially building new one,why not revamp the one we have at oba,just a stone from onitsha,i think that's the perfect location)moreover,we have airport at asaba,the two state govs should partner so that it would be serving the both states(because of the commercial potential of anambra)....If we have our own,thats to the detriment of asaba airport

InyinyaAgbaOku:
This is how people discuss differences and it goes fine, at the end, reasonable conclusions are reached, doubts are cleared
Not like some who turn contrary opinions into meaningless war.
Keep it up bros.

Kingsley1000:
...I know umuahia very well,i'v been to all the nook and crany of the city,this my 4th year in this town,the issue of light is not static that only if u're residing in the city center(bank rd,old tower side,aba rd,orpet etc),new areas like ehimiri down to micheal okpara uni is worst,for the past 6months,we'vnt had light.
In terms of road network,i will you guys 75%,and you cant compared umuahia and owerri or even awka(i must tell you,in 10yrs time,awka will overtake umuahia,with her new rising building,hotels and other infrastructures)...,

tabletman1:
Bros, public water supply is not an easy task in a city that is already made and besides umuahia has public water supply facility that is stale and not working just like onitsha water works.

There is good power supply at agbama via low cost, and some parts of world bank estate.

OkijaAmaka:
Obiano an co must be very stupid if the airport should go on and be sited at Otuocha,Awka should be the prefered location.

Am watching his clannish disposition, Anambra North have highjacked everything in the state, they are getting most of the appointments and all capital projects are finding their ways there.
.

Myluv1:


Now that we have agreed that it isn't as how you painted it initially, I can now tell you there is constant power supply in Awka and many towns in Anambra state, my hometown inclusive.

OkijaAmaka:
One thing is that most of you guys are selective forgetful hence your judgments are to shallow and superficial.

Let me tell you, if T A Orji suffered what Obi suffered to rule Anambra for 8years believe me the map of Abia State will no longer be in the map of Nigeria. Somalia will be a haven to compare to Abia State, TAO is very useless guy.
I dnt like overflogging this but what i know is that am rating Pita Obi with his uninterupted 4years not the first 4years that was lost to PDP and their Federal Criminal aiders and abeters.
If Obi had it so smooth in Anambra from 2003 till maybe 2011, nobody will lecture you anything futher.