PRESS RELEASE ON THE PASSING OF OKWADIKE IGBOUKWU

On behalf of the Ezeife Dynasty of Igbo-Ukwu, I wish to announce the promotion to glory of our most distinguished son, Okwadike, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife,CON, a former Federal Permanent Secretary, the first Executive Governor of Anambra State, a former Political Adviser to the President and former Presidential Aspirant. This sad event took place yesterday at 6pm at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja. More details about the deceased and the arrangements for his State Burial will be announced later.

Signed
Chief Rob Nwakaire Ezeife,
Ahaejiejemba Igbo-Ukwu,
On behalf of the family.

The Governor of Enugu His Excellency Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah and his team embarked on the massive 2 in One gigantic Enugu Central Terminal Project. Just like an even better version of the Lagos-Oshodi Transportation Interchange, the Enugu Central Terminal will redefine the Transportation system of Enugu. Interestingly, the Enugu Central terminal will be constructed by Planet Projects, the company that handled the Oshodi Interchange. When completed,It will serve as a major transportation hub with a dual terminal that will be seamlessly linked for both Inter-State and Intra-State travel,the existing rail line, massive adjoining link roads, a major hub for commercial activities and a natural clean oxygenated air and green environment with the ambience of cities abroad.

The Project will be located within the Okpara Avenue and Market Road intersection of Enugu town and to be started and completed in 12 Months. But being a considerate Government, Governor Peter Mbah and the State Commissioner For Transport Hon. Obi Ozor has since began an intensive Stakeholders Consultation and engagement with people who have existing businesses within the area, with the intention of temporarily relocating them to another location while the construction lasts. Once completed, the businesses and other transport and logistics companies in the axis will now move into the ultra-Modern Enugu Central Terminal that will also serve as a major hub for a properly planned Mass Transit Station with Modular terminals at Garki, Abakpa and Nsukka.

While it is generally agreed that the South-East needs contemporary infrastructures as seen in Lagos and Abuja, projects like the Enugu Central Terminal will come to fruition with many sacrifices and that is why the Enugu State Government is insisting on relocating the will-be affected businesses to a temporary location and pegging the construction period for 12 months to ensure those displaced are quickly returned to continue their businesses which will amount to a win-win situation for the both parties.

Ofoneme Daniel-Scott

….

Omokri's weak attempt at revisionism

Ejike Anyaduba

If there is anybody eager to rewrite history just to intone falsehood and malign a group of people, it is the squit called Reno Omokri.

It is not clear what informs his choice of being an ethnic profiler. But whatever his reason, be it complex(inferiority) or the need to generate traffic on his X handle (formerly known as Twitter), or both, one thing is certain he has chosen for himself an unenviable task that offers no good reward.

Perhaps he does not know or should be reminded that profiling an ethnic group with the intention to malign it has never been a profitable trade for anybody either now or in the past. At best, it inflicts on the profiler pain and humiliating losses, and nothing has changed to suggest it will reward better now.

Contrary to the thinking of many that replying Reno is conferring credibility on his concocted lies, not doing anything at all is confirming his lies. Ethnic profiling is an insidious campaign which, if unchecked, may lead to regrettable ends. It is not clear why he chose to walk the path profilers and indeed black mailers like, Adeyinka Grandson, treaded with humiliating consequence. He probably does not know how unpleasant an experience it is to defecate in an overgrown bush.

Rewriting Nigerian history is not a fairly easy task. But it is more difficult when the intention is to stand fact on its head. The account of the Nigerian Biafran war does not need revisionism, especially of the type Reno has offered as a way of sucking up to certain interests. According to Reno the 30 month Nigeria-Biafra war which started as a police action July 6, 1967, at Garkem, Cross River State, was a war between the North and the East until the Biafrans invaded the Midwest. What a mischievous revision?

It is doubtful if Reno is not affected by cognitive dissonance which makes him incapable of coordinated thought and action. The war as fought was between Nigeria( not Northern Nigeria) and Biafra( former Eastern Nigeria). It was never a war between Northern Nigeria and Eastern Nigeria until Biafra invaded the Midwest (Edo and Delta states) as claimed by Reno. Maybe he read a different history book and may have to explain to his readers what informed the earliest involvement in the war of army commanders of Yoruba, Jukun, Tiv, Igbo, Annang, Anga, Tapa, Ibibio, Ijaw, descent etc against Biafra.

Prior to Biafran motorized invasion of the Midwest on August 9,1967, led by Col. Victor Banjo, a Yoruba, officers like Col. Benjamin Adekunle, commander of Nigeria's 3rd Marine Commando, Col Olusegun Obasanjo who received the instrument of surrender, Col. Alani Akinrinade, Col. Godwin Alabi-Isama, Col. Shittu Alao (Nigerian Airforce Chief who died in the war) Col. Joe Akahan( Nigerian Army Chief who also died in the war) Col. Philemon Shande( who lost his life during operation Owerri,Aba,Umuahia, OAU)Col. Emmanuel Sotomi (under whose command at Obollo Eke, Major Nzeogwu died) Captain Cyril Iweze, Lt. Ike Nwachukwu, among others were already doing battle for Nigeria. They were not provoked to join the war because they witnessed Biafran brutalities against the people of the Midwest and Ore, Ondo state, when both areas were overrun by Biafrans.

Slavish and unmindful of the lessons of history, he laboured to absolve the 2nd Division of the Nigerian army under the command of Col. Murtala Mohammed of the guilt of the October 1967 massacre at Asaba. He pretended to be ignorant of the Asaba massacre and the beheading in Benin prison of Col. Henry Igboba, a Midwestern army officer when that area was retaken by the Nigerian army.

Very eager to undo himself, he wrote in another piece he titled "There would have been a Second Civil War if Peter Obi had won at the Tribunal" that Major Wale Ademoyega, one of the five Majors who masterminded the January 15, 1966 coup was involved in the planning and not execution of that Nigeria's first coup d'etat. He went further to allege that no Igbo army officer was killed during the coup even when Col. Arthur Unegbe was not spared the bullets by the January boys. He equally glossed over the involvement of Captain Adeleke, Lt. Fola Oyewole, Lt.Fola Olafiminha, Lt. Bob Egbikor, etc.and mentioned only Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Major Chris Anuforo and Major Don Okafor just to intone the colouration of an Igbo coup.

He claimed that if Obi had won at the Presidential Tribunal members of the Obidient movement would have brought a second civil war to Nigeria without substantiation. He has continued to stoke the fire of hatred against tribes according to how it affects his selfish interest.

The fact that he has no job presently is not enough reason to malign a people in order to ingratiate himself with the presidency. Since the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan where he served as an aide he has not been able to come to terms with joblessness. He has as yet to accept that his services are no longer needed in the presidency.

Reno is a PDP card-carrying member who hardly talks or writes about his party or its candidate in the February 25, 2023, presidential election. Rather he has chosen for himself the yeoman's job of magnifying Tinubu, mortifying Obi and ignoring Atiku.

The butterfly Reno who thinks himself a bird has continued to perch on subjects he has neither the competence to understand nor treat. He seeks nectar among trees, but will soon realize that he does not possess of the strength to fly very high. He needs greater effort than those who treaded the brazen path if he must stay the course. But I doubt.

Ejike Anyaduba

Abatete

Video:
Source- Channels Television


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwVq0SMoZZl/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

Alledged Enugu Killings: Eleodimmuo other House of Representatives Members Adhoc Committee Investigate Matter.


The Member Representing Nnewi-North, Nnewi-South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency Hon. Uchenna Clement Nwachukwu Eleodimmuo,MHR earlier today joined other Adhoc Committee Members set up by the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged killing of Vigilante Man and another woman by Soldiers at Eke Community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee chaired by Hon. Sanni Abdulraheem was received on arrival by the Deputy Governor of Enugu State Barrister Ifeanyi Ossai at the Enugu State Government House. They informed the Deputy Governor that they were sent by the Green Chambers of the National Assembly to unravel the truth behind the alleged killing, visit other victims of the incident at the hospital, interact with survivors and send a report to the House of Representatives. Addressing the august visitors, Barr. Ossai informed the team that the State Government has also set up a panel to unravel the truth and bring the perpetrators to book, stressing that the report and outcome of the investigation will further help the State Government in providing further support and trainings to the State Vigilante.


The Next stop was at the Enugu State House of Assembly where the team met with the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu and other members who assured the team of the Assembly’s support especially as they are also interested in getting to the root of the issue and help prevent such ugly incidents going forward.

The team then moved to the hospital to visit other survivors who narrated their ordeal on the day of the incident, Some of the survivors who later sat at an interactive session with the members of the Adhoc Committee narrated the incident and pleaded for justice to not just be done but seen to be done. The Adhoc committee promised to investigate the matter extensively and submit a credible report to the House of Representatives for further actions. The leadership of the Eke Community in Udi Local Government Area, The State Commissioner of Police CP Kanayo Uzuegbu and his team, as well as the representatives of the leadership of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army Enugu were at the hearing as the Adhoc committee grilled on for more details into the unfortunate event.




~ Eleodimmuo Media

Why Anambra Can't Afford Herd Mentality Politics

By Emeka Ozumba

A Physics teacher in Islamabad, Pervez Hoodboy, wondered: "How is it that otherwise sane and sensible people become moronically incapable of grasping reality?" He went further to blame it on our brain, which he argues is "still evolving and still primitive, it readily sacrifices rational evidence-based conclusions in favour of primal ones. And so conformism trumps individual judgement." This is akin to herd mentality in politics.

The general ethos of the people determines their brand of politics and choices they make. We all can agree that to make informed judgement one needs to understand the issues at stake; anything to the contrary is flawed, leading to behavior such as herd mentality. British political theorist Bernard Crick, said that “politics is not merely a struggle for power..." but involves decisions on "who gets what, when and how; the exercise of power; and ensuring the welfare of whole communities." 

The changing dynamics of Nigerian politics and the emergence of the third force driven by a savvy and youthful electorate known as Obidients, spurned political disruptions across the land - a political phenomenon that saw most of us dancing to the  "ELuuuPeee" beat on February 25, 2023 Presidential election. Even as  the Presidential election remains disputed, we cannot lose sight of the fact that politics is local.


Ndi Anambra have made a quantum leap in political participation since the days of emancipation from the godfathers. It took Governor Chris Ngige's revolt, Mr Peter Obi's culture of prudence and Chief Willie Obiano's sustainance of the developmental strides to reorder the stakes and, over two decades after, ndi Anambra can beat their chests as one of the most politically astute, progressive and liberated people in Nigeria.

The Governorship and Legislative elections are scheduled for March 18, 2023, but in Anambra  only the election of Legislators is at stake, having done Governorship election almost a year ago. However, the contest has thrown up a number of challenges: Whereas Anambra State Governor, His Excellency Chukwuma Soludo is desirous of maintaining majority control of the House by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to enable him get legal backing for his policies and programmes, new guys on the block, the Labour Party, riding on the crest of the support it enjoyed during the Presidential Poll, are angling to upset the status-quo in Anambra by calling on voters to ignore others and stick with them in what would amount to "follow-follow politics."

Elephant in the room: There are rumbles in the camp of APGA following disenchantment arising from the last elections and lack of fulfillment of some promises by the Governor and his team. Another issue is the Governor's written position on the Obidients' quest for  Presidency which alienated not a few, among other concerns. As expected, some want a pound of flesh and are gearing up to rock the boat in Anambra inspite of spirited efforts by Mr Governor and his team to douse the disenchantment and make amends with the best of resources available. The jury is still out on whether his efforts and rapprochement are far reaching enough to calm the local partisans.

However, there are concerned Ndi Anambra who wish to know: Why would the aggrieved insist on throwing the baby away with the bath water? Can Ndi Anambra afford a disruption in the stability and development they've enjoyed under APGA over the years to embrace a new era of uncertainty?

Methinks, the way forward is for the aggrieved to see reason and avoid disrupting the status quo for short-term gain. Group interest has since 2003 become the golden rule for Anambra State politics, hence domestication of the zoning arrangement to the community level. We cannot afford to bite our noses to spite our faces. Again, with regard to the Legislature, we can't be dismissive of experienced and qualified legislative candidates within APGA, nay other parties. Rather, let's call for close scrutiny of the contenders than pandering to apostles of disruption. Let the locals make their choices at the polls in the thirty state Constituencies. Let Ndi Anambra live up to the time honored culture of accommodation of all shades of opinion and preference for development rather than pander to the dictates of the infestation of hate-filled rants in our political space.

*Ozumba is Managing Consultant at Ozion Limited - Communication & Political Strategists.

ANJET: We Are Reviving Transport Sector With Internal Fiscal Reforms In Anambra State

(Juventus Chukwunweike Okoli)

Anambra State Joint Enforcement Team has swung into action to stop incessant revenue losses to the State Government.

On Friday, September 30, 2022 the enforcement team moved into the three Senatorial districts of the state, namely Anambra South, Anambra North and Anambra Central to affirm the directives against touting, illegal revenue collection and related offences.

Enforcement of compliance to revenue payments in the state is paramount. ANJET apprended these illegal collectors (Ndi Agbero) that have continued to extort money illegally from the Keke riders, commercial motorists, allegedly stealing revenues accruable to the state from eligible taxpayers. Attached videos tell the stories of what happened last Friday, September 30, 2022 at Bridge Head, Upper Iweka, Onitsha-Owerri road, Ochanja Relief Market and parts of Okpoko where some of these persons were nabbed.

This situation was the same at Igbariam Junction, Awkuzu Junction and Aroma Junction Awka where a notorious tout (Agbero) with some of his colleagues were also nabbed.

Again, the story was not different in Anambra South, precisely at Nnewi where some touts were again picked.

Recall that the Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo led administration held several meetings recently with tricyclists, commercial bus drivers, intercity bus operators to chart the way forward for affordable and functional public transportation system in the State devoid of extortions.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Paul Nwosu in a press release on Thursday, 29th of September, 2022 announced Government's decision on suspension of tricycle and shuttle bus unions and reduction on fees payable by commercial transport operators across the state. The pronouncement accommodated the request by the transport workers for options of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual tax payments. In addition, the drivers on paying their first taxes, are to be enrolled without additional payment into the Anambra State Insurance scheme, ASHIA, by the State Government so as to ensure that the drivers are given the opportunity of receiving proper medical treatment for being active taxpayers in the state. What a rare privilege and first of its kind in the country!

With these steps already taken by the government to create enabling environment for the transport workers in the state, one wonders why some individuals would still want to be involved in the ugly game of illegally extorting money from the poor transport workers, sabotaging the state transport system. Gladly, the selfish attempt at frustrating the agreed tax reforms in the state is a plot the State Government has initiated commendable steps to abort in the overall public interest.

The general public and taxpayers are once more invited to report all sabotage on taxation and tax related matters, like touting and illegal revenue collection to ANJET for prompt action. Here again are the official ANJET's hotlines to call: 08156352767 and 09017280990 (Call and/or WhatsApp).

� Remember, "When you see something, say or do something!"

Governor Soludo’s Anambra State

Okechukwu Anarado

Anambra State might just have begun a marathon march to a higher plane of civilization. On the 17th of March, 2022, the globally acclaimed economics scholar and technocrat, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, and Dr. Onyeka Ibezim took the Oath of Office and were respectively sworn in as democratically elected Governor and Deputy Governor of the state. The significantly low-key inauguration, on Soludo’s considered advice, marked an early sign of the administration’s frugality in the use of state resources in pursuit of its dream “livable and prosperous smart megacity homeland envisioned to be the preferred destination for indigenes and other purposeful persons to live, learn, invest, work, relax and enjoy”.

Observing the administration journey about four months on a 4year course, one can risk concluding that though the terrain appears rough, the new sheriff in town is determined to shepherd the affairs of state to safety. The aggregate potentials and possibilities in human and material forms in Anambra, capped with Gov. Soludo’s resolve, give impetus to the target ascent. So far, Mr. Governor (as Soludo would just wish to be addressed) has maintained a deafening level of consistency in walking his talk on his novel functional “disruptive change” mantra, impressed only by the doctrines of maximum public good and prudent use of public fund. He would – while strategizing for more effective and sustainable ways of confronting the worrisome insecurity, poor state of roads, poor waste control, embarrassing touting across the state, etc. – insist on only palliative interventions with acceptable performance quotient.

Soludo’s insistence on conservatory response to the multi-sectoral needs of the state soon began to gnaw at the palpable goodwill that visited his electoral victory. A good number of Ndi-Anambra expected that the governor’s vast global experiences in grooming corporate economies guaranteed an immediate one-off systemic turnaround of the state’s fortune. Soludo would offer no spasmodic plunge into the demands. In less than three months however, the people began to feel the soothing effects of their governor’s painstakingness in taking decisions: the insecurity that robbed Anambra of its “safest state” status some while before Soludo’s time began to be tamed by the deployment of strategic schemes in combating the menace. A joint task force went after the adamant criminals (Unknown gunmen) in the jungles and streets of the state, while repentant persons in the criminals’ fold were offered amnesty, entrepreneurial training and startup opportunities. Since the operation began, insecurity in the state has been on steady decline.

The governor’s strategic visit to Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in prison lent a hand in unmasking the group causing mayhem in the state. Kanu unreservedly condemned the wanton criminality in the South East, which included the wasteful Monday sit-at-home and the savage acts of abductions and killings in the name of IPOB. The “unknown gunmen” phenomenon got demystified, and the vicious criminals bent on ruining the state’s economy lost any possible claim to any form of agitation. This justifies Soludo’s resolve to reclaim the state from the stranglehold of the criminals by taking them out through armed security operations.

In a bid to making Anambra livable, the government banned touting by persons who harass and extort money from people. A digitized mode of payment to government to avoid leakages has been put in place as remedy to the menace of touts.

In less than 24 hours after his inauguration, Gov. Soludo confronted the hill-size refuse dumps that for long constituted environmental and health hazard to residents of Okpoko and other parts of Onitsha urban communities. That act was precursory to the expansive urban regeneration exercise now going on around Onitsha axis.

Soludo’s avowals to champion the marketing of Anambra brand is made true by his choice of Innoson Motors as his official vehicles, and his preferences for made in Anambra shoes and Akwete textile made somewhere in the South East.

The gap the administration identified in the size of the state teaching force received commensurate response in the governor’s instruction for recruitment of over 5000 primary and secondary school teachers. The same instruction was given to the Ministry of Health where he ordered the employment of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory staff to make government hospitals function effectively. The recruitment exercises are in advanced levels of completion by the ministries involved.

To ensure appropriate drug storage and distribution in the state and the South East, the Soludo administration, partnering with Sterling Bank, has done the groundbreaking ceremony for the building of an ultramodern International Drug Market at Oba. The project which will be delivered in 24 months will lead to the relocation of the Bridge Head Drug Market to enable the Government redesign the area for more beneficial use. The administration has launched new facilities and medical equipment at General Hospitals in Onitsha, Enugwu-Ukwu, Umueri, Agulu and Ekwulobia.

Soludo declared emergency on roads, embarking on serviceable repairs during the rains, while ready for expansive road rehabilitation and construction across the length and breadth of the state as soon as the rains recede. To facilitate free traffic flow to and from Enugu through the old Amansea federal road, the washed off stretch of the road in Amansea section has been reconstructed using technical expertise of the Anambra State Ministry of works at a highly cost-effective rate. Some other such interventions are found in Upper Iweka, Onitsha and along Onitsha-Owerri road.

The administration has embarked on redesigning and designing of some old and new roads so as to provide free traffic and provide pedestrians safe walk corridors in busy cities. It is not surprising therefore that road and infrastructural development account for 64% of the fund in the administration’s 2022 Revised Budget of N170bn.

Notably, the administration has continued to make remarkable successes in reconciling people and communities hitherto engrossed in intra-communal and inter-communal crises over leadership tussles and boundary matters. This feat expands the frontiers of peace needed for the growth of the state.

As a way of cushioning the effect of failing global petroleum economy, the Soludo government is reinventing the Oil Palm economy. It is also introducing Coconut economy. This scheme supplies an average of one million seedlings each of Oil Palm and Coconut annually to farmers across the state.

In the Culture and Tourism Sector, Agulu Lake and its environs, as well as Ogbunike Cave have been marked for uplift to make them meet international tourism standard; the administration has also concluded arrangements to internationalise notable cultural festivals in the state by enriching them and putting them in the global cultural/tourism map.


The administration not only promptly pays gratuities to retiring workers, it is also gradually servicing the huge backlog of unpaid gratuities.

While most of what the administration has done in its four months might not be adequately quantified, their aggregate essence converges in founding an administration whose determination to serve the people can only be better assessed deep into its 4year tenure. In all these, Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s adept experience in managing human and material resources for societal good is incontrovertible. For this, Ndi-Anambra continue to celebrate the victory they collectively earned in his emergence as their governor.

Okechukwu Anarado writes from Adazi-Nnukwu

Why We need Emma Nwachukwu (Onodugo) In the Senate

When Jesus taught his disciples that he who must lead must be the servant of all he was only reechoing the truth that service to humanity is the best work of life.

Sadly, this has not been the trend in Anambra South Senatorial Zone where recent representation at the Senate has been about self aggrandizement and adulation than selfless service to the people.

The Senate is the melting point of men and women of intergrity, eloquence, grace, oratorical power, character and learning who employ their skills, experience and expertise to craft the legislative apparatchiks of nation building.

It is the altar on which thoughts from all the Senatorial zones representing the different peoples of this federation are coalesced. Those who bear the thoughts of their people as priests on this altar are humane and committed to only one cause - service to the people.

Sadly this has been absent in Anambra South. Those who found their way to the Senate by bulldozing all else out of the way, have remained captives of the 'winner takes it all' mentality. They care not for the deep yearnings of the people but resort to a periodic toss of morsels to them whenever election approaches.

As 2023 general elections approach, ndị Anambra South must rise to change this ignoble order. The empty and hollow representation must give way for a strategic and pragmatic representation focused on the people.

The APGA is truly a progressive party. The emergence of Soludo as governor of Anambra State proves  this beyond doubt.

This is why ndị Anambra South must ensure that Emma Nwachukwu (Onodugo) gets the ticket of APGA to run for Senate in 2023. The need to change the empty representation of ndị Anambra South to a representation of true and selfless service cannot be overemphasized.

With his wealth of experience in banking, oil and gas, real estate, community leadership and development; and his commitment to helping humanity, Emma Nwachukwu will change the character of representation in the Senate and make Anambra South proud again.

Join the Onodugo project today maka Oganiru Anambra South.

© TEAM ONODUGO 2023

DON'T DEMARKET OTHER CANDIDATES, GROUP ADMONISHES OBI

SouthEast Renewal, a civil society organization, has cautioned former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, to desist from a campaign style that seeks to diminish other presidential aspirants from the southeast of the country.

SouthEast Renewal was reacting to Mr Peter Obi's statement at the recent declaration of his intention to vie for PDP's presidential ticket for the 2023 election.

Obi, had on Thursday, March 24, 2022, while informing some traditional rulers at Awka of his desire to seek his party's ticket stated: "I'm the only person that can unite Nigeria."

In a release jointly signed by the President, Dr Silas Onyenwe and Secretary, Comrade Edozie Nwafor, SouthEast Renewal said Obi's statement was "uncharitable and self - fanatical."

The release noted that it would have been enough for Obi to say that he could unite the country, without trying to diminish the other aspirants from the southeast zone.

Onyenwe and Okafor emphasized that there were first class presidential candidates of Igbo extraction in all the major political parties.

"Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator Chris Ngige and Governor Dave Umahi of the APC; former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the PDP; former Chief Judge of Anambra State, Professor Peter Umeadi of APGA and Professor Kingsley Moghalu of ADC all have what it takes to lead Nigeria. Each of them has the qualification to unite and develop Nigeria."

SouthEast Renewal said the home truth was that "Mr Peter Obi had been a divisive candidate in his political career."

According to the regional body, "Obi was an alienated leader while in APGA. His aloof style of politics cost PDP the loss of Anambra governorship in 2017 with PDP members' rejection of his selected flagbearer. He refused Willie Obiano's plea for peace and spent the last eight years fighting the immediate past administration in Anambra State. How can someone not at peace with actors in his immediate environment bring peace to Nigeria?"

Reminding the former Governor that this same attitude of stigmatising fellow politicians was partly responsible for his impeachment in just six months of becoming Governor, the group tasked Obi to learn the lesson of reciprocity in politics.

The leadership of SouthEast Renewal advised the former Governor to eschew false consciousness in his campaign and allow Nigerians decide for themselves the capability of other aspirants from the southeast.

I Always Shudder Anytime I Remember How, If Not For The Nigerian Judiciary, I And My Children Would Have Been Stigmatised For Life -Nnewi Bizman

BY OKECHUKWU OBETA, Nnewi

An Nnewi-based businessman, Mr. Bethrand Onwunzo has relived how the Nigerian Judiciary save him and his children from spending the rest of their lives being stigmatised.

Mr. Onwunzo who is popularly known as, "Betimore" among his admirers, especially his business associates recounted that the incident happened in 2009.

He said that he was in Paris with members of his family, including his wife and children holidaying, one of his town' man, Mr. Bennet Izuegbunam, his wife, Agnes, and, daughter, Chiamaka went and lodged complaint at the police Area Command, Nnewi against him.

He said that one day after. he had returned from the Oversea trip he went to at an Nnewi Magistrate Court where he had matter in the Court was confronted by about two men in mufti who attempted to arrest him. He said that it was his lawyer who aided him to escape from the arrest, otherwise, the men wanted to put hand-cuff on him and take him away.

The apparently bewildered Onwunzo said that the shocker was, however, later to be revealed to him when he went to the police Area Command Nnewi, and, was told that a petition was lodged against him by one of his town's man, Mr. Bennet Izuegbunam, his wife, Agnes and daughter, Chiamaka.

He said that the trio viciously and maliciously lied to the police that he attempted to kidnap Mr. Bennet; that they lodged a complaint that on September 1 and 2, 2009, he made attempts to kidnap Mr. Bennet.

Onwunzo recalled that Bennet, his wife and daughter in their petition alleged that on September 1, at about 8.30pm, that he invaded their house with six hefty men who covered their faces on a mission to kidnap Bennet. They stated in their petition that when Onwunzo and his men arrived their house that night, that it was Chiamaka who met them at the gate " and, that after she told Mr. Onwunzo when he inquired about the whereabouts of their father that he had gone to his place of work at the Magistrate Court where he is a security guard, he handed a threatening message to her to driver to her father before storming out furiously with his men. He narrated that Chiamaka told the police that he told her to warn her father that if he did not concede the piece of land he is struggling with him that he will kill him.

Onwunzo further narrated that Bennett also told the police that at about 5.20am the following day after he visited his home with his boys that he stormed his work place at the Magistrate Court with his six hefty men, but, that on sighting them, he escaped, and, hid inside a nearby bush, and, remained there until day break proper.

Interestingly, however, the story of Mr. Bethrand Onwunzo in the hands Mr. Bennet Izuegbunam, his wife, Agnes, a civil servant (primary school teacher) and Chiamaka eventually turned out as a case of the hunter who became the hunted.

This is because each of the trio of Bennet, his wife and daughter were later to be pronounced guilty of giving false information to the police against Mr. Onwunzo after the matter was charged to the Court. Each of them bagged a Court sentence for giving false information to the police against Mr. Onwunzo.

For instance, while Bennet was sentenced to 30 days community service, his wife, Agnes who was the first to be sentenced by the Court was thrown into prison for six months. Chiamaka on the other hand was sentenced to prison for two months with an option of N20,000 fine.

Three Justices of the Court of Appeal, Enugu division: Justices Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, Tom Shuabu Yakubu and Misituba Omodere Bolaji-Yusuff on July 19, 2018 affirmed the conviction and sentencing of Bennet to 30 days community service by an New High Court presided by Justice C. C. Okaa. Justice Okaa sentenced Bennet after setting aside the ruling of Magistrate Erinne O. N who earlier discharged and acquitted Bennet, but, pronounced her daughter, Chiamaka guilty of the false information charges. Erinne delivered his ruling on February 23, 2016, on charge No. NMC/24c/2010 and sentenced Chiamaka to three months imprisonment with an option of N20,000 fine. The charge was between Commissioner of Police vs Bennet Izuegbunam and Chiamaka Izuegbunam.

The Appeal Court, Enugu judgment which affirmed Justice Okaa ruling was delivered by Justice Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, and, concurred by Justice Bolaji-Yusuff.

Justice C. C. Okaa's ruling was based on appeal brought to the Court against the judgment delivered by
His Worship, O. N. Erinne who discharged and acquitted Bennet Izuegbunam on the charges of conspiracy and giving false information in a. No. NMC/24C/10: commissioner of police vs Bennet Izuegbunam and Chiamaka Izuegbunam.

Notedly, while the Appeal Court, Enugu which affirmed the sentence handed to Bennet was marked: Appeal No. CA/E/60c/2017 between Benneth Izuegbunam (Appellant) and Commissioner of Police (Respondent) the Justice C. C. Okaa of Nnewi High Court ruling was on an appeal marked: Appeal No. HN/2CA/2016, Charge No. NMC/24C/2010, and was delivered on July 19, 2017. His Worship Erinne, O. N ruling on charge No. NMC/24C/2010 between Commissioner of police and Bennet Izuegbunam and Chiamaka Izuegbunam.

It was His Worship Obidike Obiora of an Nnewi Chief Magistrate Court who sentenced Agnes to six months imprisonment without option of fine in charge marked No.NMC/23c/2010, delivered on May 8, 2015.

More chilling about the entire saga, Mr. Onwunzo, however, recalled was that the kidnap allegation was leveled against him shortly after a law was promulgated by the Anambra state making kidnapping a Capital Offence.

�NDI ANAMBRA SOUTH !!!!

MEET EMMANUEL NWACHUKWU (OGANIRU ANAMBRA SOUTH)

Born February 1, 1963 to the family of Chief Joseph O. Nwachukwu, and Mrs Josephine N. Nwachukwu. He hails from Umuhu, Ukpor in Nnewi South LGA of Anambra State.

Emmanuel is a 1987 graduate of Accounting from University of Nigeria Nsukka. He has has certificate in Advanced Management Programmes (AMP) with the Lagos Business School and IESE University in Barcelona, Spain.

His several years of top-flight experience include senior management responsibility at Corporate and General Investments, CGI Limited, a funds management and consulting company and senior management positions at UBA Plc. He was a key member of the turnaround management team of New Nigeria Bank (NNB) Plc, which recapitalized, restructured and repositioned the bank in 2000 before it joined other banks to consolidate into Unity Bank.

He left NNB Plc in 2004 to help set up Berkeley Group Plc, a private equity firm with investments in telecoms, oil & gas and financial services sectors. As the Group Executive Director of Berkeley Group Plc, he led the group in the bid and acquisition of the West African assets of Willbros Group Inc. of USA.

He moved in 2007 to become the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Willbros Group, later renamed Ascot, a major pipelines construction company. He stepped down from the Board of Ascot in April, 2012, and returned to Berkeley Group Plc to anchor the Group’s power privatization interests through PRIMENIZA ENERGY LIMITED. The firm that bided for Afam Power Plant.

Similarly, he coordinated the integration of Multi-Links Telecoms Ltd and MTS Telecoms Ltd into Capcom Telecoms Limited, the owner of 5,500Km of Optic Fibre, as Finance Director. Emmanuel is a non-executive director of Frontier Capital and Regus Nigeria, an international brand.

As a distinguished Community Leader, he was the President General (PG) of Ukpor Improvement Union (UIU) from 2017 to 2020. A position through which he exhibited great leadership that galvanised significant development for his home town.

Emma is married to Mrs. Paulyn Emma-Nwachukwu (Acharaugo), and the marriage is blessed with lovely children. Emma is offering to represent the good people of Anambra South at the Red chamber in the 10th Senate. He is coming with a promise of unprecedented progress - - OGANIRU!

#TeamOnodugo
#OganiruAnambraSouth

THIS IS WHERE WE MUST GET IT RIGHT: NDI ANAMBRA SOUTH ARISE!

Against the backdrop of bad governance and poor representation and the seeming hopelessness of the Nigerian situation, there remains for the people, the hope that society can still find few intelligent minds on whom the new Nigeria will be built.

Emma Nwachukwu (Onodugo) is one of such intelligent minds who has mustered the courage to speak for his people on the hallowed grounds of the Nigerian Senate to engender lawful guidelines for a total overhaul and rebuilding of the Nigerian State.

There is no doubt that the coming general election will be key and strongly decisive towards building the bridge that will birth the new Nigeria. Unlike others before it, this election will be a battle between the old norm and the new order. It will be a war between quality and mediocrity, truth and fallacies, and between reality and propaganda.

Ndi Anambra South, this is the time to find men and women with proven integrity and capacity to represent the zone. We must jettison mediocrity and incompetency which has cost Anambra South so much.

Despite the huge resources appropriated for the development of the zone, infrastructural decay fester. The people trudge on in poverty while their porcine representative returns empty echoes from the red chambers.

Today, Anambra South needs someone who can influence positive change in the zone. The people need a Senator with the capacity to build bridges of strategic partnerships across the geopolitical territories and a man of integrity who commands trust and respect and who genuinely cares for his people.

The obvious is that it takes a man who has established cordial political relationships with various interest groups to get their nod when a bill that concerns his people is presented on the floor of the house. That man is EMMA NWACHUKWU who has consistently insisted on OGANIRU ANAMBRA SOUTH.

The business of the National Assembly is a serious one and only someone with the required doggedness can get something meaningful out of it.

Ndi Anambra South, let us secure our future today. We must do away with sentiments and face the reality. The era of politics of stomach infrastructure is gone. This is the time to get it right and secure the future.

We must seize this golden opportunity to set the zone on the right path by supporting EMMA NWACHUKWU to secure the ticket of our Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA to represent ndi Anambra South at the Senate.

NDI ANAMBRA SOUTH, LET'S SEND EMMA NWACHUKWU TO THE SENATE!

© TEAM ONODUGO 2023

Watch video here:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BIC9U8p37g

Obiano's Farewell Address

I Touched a Dream

Being the farewell speech to the people of Anambra State from the Governor, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano on March 16, 2022

Ndi Anambra ekenem unu.

Eight years ago, when I gave my inaugural address, I shared my vision of a greater Anambra State with you. To some people, it sounded like a dream. To many, it came across as the usual sweet-talk from a politician. And yet to others, it carried the light of hope. Umu nnem, today, most of those dreams I shared with you have come true!

You asked for safety, we gave you “Nigeria’s safest state.” You asked for dignity; we sent our children to a global contest of intelligence and they defeated America, China, Spain and Turkey and brought back dignity and honour. You asked for legacies, we gave you monuments. Ndi Anambra, I touched a dream!

Brothers and sisters, as your governor, I worked under extreme pressure. I took many hard decisions. I stepped on toes. I didn’t answer some phone calls. I lost some friends on account of these. If you are one of those who felt offended by what I did or did not do, please forgive me. For in the words of the great Nelson Mandela, “Forgiveness liberates the soul.” A governor is also human. Whatever I did was for the good of Anambra State. Dalunu!

Umu nnem, I’m also aware that I did not fulfill every promise I made. But no government in the world has ever kept all its promises or solved all the problems of its time. However, my intentions were pure and my ambitions sincere. Let history be the judge!

Now, let’s take a look at what we did. Our efforts were audacious; covering major areas of development, from the softest to the hardest issues that challenge modern governance. While I have decided to leave my account of stewardship to historians and students of leadership, it may be necessary to recall that my Team and I began by defining the realities of our environment.

SECURITY

We figured that we would not be able to make reasonable progress unless we found a solution to the challenge of insecurity and public safety in Anambra State. In response to that, we organized Nigeria’s first international conference on security and flew in an Israeli security expert to facilitate the conference. The outcome was a revolutionary security architecture which helped us launch an all-out war on crime in our dear state. The crackdown was heavy; but in the end, we took back our state from the men of the underworld. I have not the slightest doubt that the glory of the new Anambra began with our victory over crime and criminalities.

The Soft Issues of Governance

Our campaign to return self-belief to our people was subtle but effective. The melodious Anambra Anthem, the Anambra logo and symbols of unique identity, the core values which are recited by school children every day; are all silent efforts to give our people’s pride back to them. Through these silent efforts, we have succeeded in raising some generations of Anambra children who have enough self-esteem to compete with their mates from across the world. Our concept of ana alu olu, ana alu mmadu which emphasizes commitment to the welfare of Anambra workers also led to improved loyalty and productivity from the workers. I must however recall that my administration was hit by two major recessions. But we still increased workers’ salaries and never owed salaries or pensions for one day. Our policy of “Doing more with Less” ensured that Anambra was insulated from the ravages of recession while we rolled out a Stimulus Package to reflate our sub-national economy.

The N20m Community-Choose-Your-Projects-Initiative

It is interesting to recall that our Economic Stimulus Package actually gave rise to the highly acclaimed N20m Community Choose-Your-Project Initiative, which has become a much sought-after model in rural development studies. This initiative also ensured that my administration touched all the 181 communities in Anambra State with projects of their own choices. The success recorded in the first phase of the project encouraged the administration to do even more; leading to the commencement of the second phase of the project. As a result of this, all the communities got projects worth N40m each from my administration.

Indeed, one of the major achievements that I look back to with pride is the establishment of a Court of Appeal in Awka. Until that development, our people had always travelled to Enugu to seek justice. But the setting up of the court has restored our people’s pride and dignity.

Education

We approached Education in three broad areas: Students’ Welfare, Teachers’ Welfare and Infrastructure Development. Essentially, my administration set out to maintain the competitive advantage our state has enjoyed in education over other states in the country and take it a notch higher. To achieve that, we sent Anambra teachers on off-shore training and exposed them to global best practices. We did that because we knew that the best way to take charge of tomorrow is to inculcate the right character in our teachers today. This is one of the secrets of Anambra’s great performances in education under my watch. In infrastructure, the 1000-room hostels we built in 12 technical colleges across the state are monuments that will speak for me long after I’m gone. In addition, we funded both missionary and public schools in equal measure. We donated the sum of N2.8bn to both Mission and Public Schoools. In Students’ Welfare, we have offered scholarships to over 300 students. A direct outcome of this is that both our school children and their teachers won impressive awards under my watch. And with this development, I have no doubt that the future belongs to Anambra State!

Health

In the words of America’s Ralph Waldo Emerson, “the first wealth is health.” My Team and I believed in this axiom. Health comes before wealth. One of our greatest legacies in the health sector is the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA) which was set up to make quality health delivery services easy and accessible to the greater number of our people. With only N12,000 per year, residents of this state can access high quality healthcare as they like. Our second major legacy in the health sector is the Anambra Oxygen Plant which is the biggest state-owned oxygen plant in Nigeria. This investment has continued to play an unforgettable role in the fight against COVID-19. The third major legacy is the Immaculate Heart Multi-Specialist Hospital Aguleri. This hospital is a showpiece of medical excellence. It is equipped with the most modern facilities that can be seen in any hospital across the world. Beyond these, we also paid a great deal of attention to the challenges of delivering quality healthcare to the riverine areas. We floated 26 water ambulances to deliver medical supplies to riverine communities. We also provided Keke ambulances for quick emergency shuttles in locations where conventional vehicles cannot easily access. And finally, we donated the sum of N1.2bn to all mission and government owned hospitals in the state to strengthen their capacities to respond to the medical needs of our people.

My Economic Blueprint

Fellow citizens, when leadership is focused and innovative, it invokes the future. My team and I worked very hard to invoke the future of Anambra State. We worked on my Economic Blueprint which is anchored on Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade & Commerce and Oil & Gas.

Agriculture

When we lit the fire of agricultural revolution in Nteje on May 15, 2014, we created a fertile soil for big industrial farms like Coscharis, JOSAN Agro, Chelsea Farms, Excel Farms and Lynden Farms to thrive. Our story changed immediately afterwards. Rice production output climbed from 80,000 metric tons in 2014 to 525,000 metric tons in 2021. Maize production rose from 15,902 metric tons to 74,255 metric tons. Cassava rose from 275,832 metric tons in 2014 to 2,060,687 and Vegetables from 48,032 metric tons in 2014 to 482,400 metric tons. We now have over 160,000 farmers and 3000 co-operative societies for farmers. In less than five years of operation, Coscharis Farms had quickly added a fully automated 40,000 metric tons rice mill to its investments. JOSAN Agro also added 50,000 metric tons rice mill at Umumbo to its fast expanding line of operation. Similarly, Lynden Farms expanded its scope beyond the 90,000 bird-facility it started with in Igbariam. It now has three production houses with an output of 265,000 birds laying an average of 72,000 crates of eggs per day.

Industrialization:

Our foray into industrialization was driven by the Anambra Small Business Agency (ASBA) which I set up on December 8, 2014. Since then, ASBA has successfully funded 10,000 cooperatives, micro enterprises and artisans while also providing operating capital to 300 small and medium enterprises. ASBA’s success has attracted Nigeria’s most modern Small and Medium Enterprises complex to Nkwelle Ezunaka. The complex houses an ultramodern industrial shoe-making hub with cutting edge technology and a capacity to produce shoes that compare with shoes made in Europe. One of the machines in the complex has a capacity to produce 1,500 soles per hour. On the strength of these stellar achievements, Anambra was declared the “Best State in Support of SMEs” and honoured at the Presidential Villa, Abuja in 2018. Today, made in Anambra shoes are exported to other West African countries on a weekly basis.

Oil and Gas

The crowning glory of our efforts in oil and gas is the recognition of Anambra State as an oil-producing state by the federal government. We have 15 oil wells at the moment. With this achievement, our dear state is now qualified to receive additional revenues from the 13% derivation fund given to oil producing states. This will definitely give a big financial elbowroom to my successor and make it easier for the state to undertake more ambitious projects. In addition, we successfully constructed two bridges to open access to the oilfields. They are the Aguleri Otu Bridge (which is also the longest bridge in the South East; measuring 280 meters long) and the Umueje Bridge. The Umueje Bridge also offers a direct access to the multibillion Naira worth Chelsea Farms. Before now, the oilfields could only be accessed through Enugu State.

Trade and Commerce

Our remarkable legacy in Trade and Commerce is the market modernization scheme which ensured the disbursement of the sum of N10m each to the 63 markets in Anambra State. It helped the various Traders’ Associations to upgrade the facilities in their markets. We also relocated many markets to lend depth to commerce and boost the capacity of our markets.

Power Supply

Ndi Anambra, you may recall that in my Inaugural Address I had assured you that my administration would pay a great deal of attention to power supply in our dear state. Today, I am delighted to report that we successfully constructed a 33 kVa distribution line from Oji River sub-station in Enugu State to supply electricity in Orumba North and South and even Isuochi town in Abia State. We also constructed another 33 kVa line from Agu Awka to Anambra International Airport to ensure a 22-hour supply of electricity to the airport per day. But perhaps even more important than that is our partnership with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for the construction of electricity projects in Ifite-dunu, Umuchu, Amansea and Aguleri that will change power supply in Anambra State for the better.

The Overall Impact of my Blueprint

Fellow citizens, the direct result of implementing my blueprint is that under my watch, the economy of Anambra State grew from N3.2trn to N4.4trn. That comfortably placed us as Nigeria’s fourth largest economy. Another direct result is that under my watch again, Anambra joined Lagos and Rivers as the only states in Nigeria that could meet their operating obligations with funds from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and earnings from Value Added Tax (VAT). Still under my watch, poverty rate in our dear state dropped from 53% in 2010 to 14.8% in 2020. Our dear state was also rated as the state with the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria in 2020 at a stunning 13.1%. That was a time when the national average stood at 27%. Similarly, we were also rated as the state with the best Fiscal Responsibility Index in Nigeria after only Rivers State. And finally, to crown it all, Anambra State attracted the sum of $10.2m in foreign direct investment in 2020. Ndi Anambra, these statistics tell a simple story. A story of resilience in the face of incredible odds. A story of my stewardship to you.

Our Fight against Gully Erosion

It is important to mention our titanic struggle against gully erosion which threatens to swallow up our 4,844 square kilometers of land. Some of those gully erosion sites had swallowed large areas and several buildings before we moved in. A good example is the 100 Foot Road Nnewi which was threatening to swallow the famous Nkwo Nnewi Spare-parts Market before we moved in. The perplexity of fighting gully erosion is that you sink billions of naira in a big hole only to show a resurfaced patch of land afterwards. Anybody could walk past a reclaimed erosion site without knowing the enormous financial resources that went into reclaiming it. But that’s what we did in Nnewi, Amachalla Awka, Ugamuma Obosi, Minaj Obosi, Abagana, Enugwu-Ukwu, Nkpor, Nnewichi, Ezinifite, Ojoto, Ikenga Ogidi, Ekwueme Square and Nkisi Aroli among many other places.

Anambra International Passenger/Cargo Airport Umueri

Ndi Anambra, no experience compares to the pleasure of touching a dream. The feeling is unbelievable. It is even more so if the dream had lasted for 30 long years. Ndi Anambra we touched a dream when we commissioned the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport Umueri. We are a people who covet dignity and honour. That airport has restored the dignity of our people and opened a new economic corridor for the entire South East region. The airport is a monument onto the ambitions of Ndi Anambra. It is a tribute to our desire to reject average and expand the frontiers of excellence in all we do!

International Convention Center Awka

The Awka International Convention Center represents the size of our dream. In its grandeur and sublime aesthetics, the Center points at the huge possibilities for Anambra State. In concept and execution, the International Convention Center did not pay attention to modesty. It reflects our collective drive for the best in whatever we do.
In both the City Stadium and the iconic flyovers in Awka and Amawbia, we see a statement in disarming beauty. They speak the language of the future. Just like the dazzle of the streetlights that shimmer all over our landscape at night. The 17 bridges and 113 roads we completed are also part of our distinctive landmarks. The robust development of Tourism Treasures like the Ogba Ukwu Caves and Waterfalls at Owerre-Ezukala and Ogbunike Caves in Ogbunike has added tourism to the many attractive offerings from Anambra State. They are things that remind us that we are the Light of the Nation.

A Promise Kept

Ndi Anambra, you may recall that the title of my inaugural address is “Expanding the Frontiers of Excellence.” Now if you look at the sparkling elegance of the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport and the intimidating immensity of the International Convention Center, you may accept that my Team and I have indeed walked our talk. Also, in the same inaugural address, I had declared and I quote that “under my administration, we have no choice than to decide whether we are truly the sons and daughters of our fathers and true heirs to their long history of pioneering excellence.” Again, I think we have shown that we are true sons and daughters of our fathers and mothers. I think we have pioneered a few things and set a few standards for the future generation. Ndi Anambra, I think we have run this race well. I can look history boldly in the eye and dare it to judge me. I know it will be kind to me!

Historic Elections Under my Watch

Umunnem, I cannot end this speech without thanking you for the incredible support you gave me in the past eight years. I look back to all the historic records we made with pride. I look back to 21/21 with a deep sense of gratitude. What comes to my mind when I do that is the brilliant quote from American basketball icon, Kobe Bryant that “Winning takes precedence over all things.” Ndi b’anyi, winning is such a wonderful experience! Twenty-one over twenty is a watershed in the political history of this country. It was a moment when a proud people rose to their feet as one to reject every attempt at imposition. I thank you for that. I also thank you for the memorable nineteen-over-twenty-one victory you gave Prof Chukwuma Soludo in the last election. You rose against threats of violence and brazen intimidation to ensure that the vision of society we had worked hard to entrench in the past eight years is sustained. Dalunu rinne.

Ndi Anambra, it is not always easy to say goodbye. But I am happy that I am leaving you in good hands. I pray you to give the same support I enjoyed from you to our new governor. I have no doubt that he will surpass all our expectations.

Umunnem, dalunu
Oga adili unu mma o!
God bless Anambra State.

God bless Nigeria


Willie Obiano

Outrage: As Mrs Obiano condemns stripping and parading of a woman for alleged adultry

The wife of the Governor of Anambra State and founder of the charity organization, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFE), Dr. Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano (Osodieme) has expressed outrage over stripping and parading naked of a woman alleged to have committed adultry by some persons in a video circulating on social media platforms.
Mrs. Obiano condemned the treatment meted out to the woman in a statement she made through the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Mr. Emeka Ozumba. She said:

"My attention was drawn to a video clip containing graphic images of a woman subjected to ignominious treatment of the worst kind. She was not only publicly condemned over alleged adultery, but paraded stark naked on the streets. I must say that the conduct of the persons who took laws into their hands to debase the hapless woman was barbaric and disgusting".

"How could anyone have contrived to subject a fellow human being to such debasing treatment in this 21st century beats my imagination. I am particularly unhappy because it is a clear betrayal and an affront on the values  of our society and a demarketing of the efforts we made in the last eight years to promote the dignity and respect for our women."

Mrs Obiano said that she has already called the attention of the relevant authorities to weigh in and bring the perpetrators of the  dastardly act to book as it cannot be condoned in the society.

Eze, Obiano’s Chief Press Secretary Decorated with Medal of Honour


James Ngwu Eze, Governor Willie Obiano’s Chief Press Secretary was among the dignitaries and high achievers conferred with medals of honour by the Government of Anambra State in a colourful ceremony in Awka last Wednesday.


The piece of communication that announced Eze’s selection for the honour revealed that Enugu born Eze was awarded “the DISTINGUISHED ANAMBRA COMMANDER MEDAL for his outstanding achievements in his profession and contributions to the prosperity and good image of Anambra State.”


Eze who is also a decorated poet and speech writer has distinguished himself as a consummate communications expert and image management consultant through the years. He was at different times the External Communications Manager at Fidelity Bank Plc, Senior Public Relations Manager at Airtel Nigeria.


Eze had brought his wealth of experience to bear on his job as Governor Obiano’s spokesman, doubling as chief press secretary, speech writer/ researcher and documentary scriptwriter/producer while still retaining a firm handle on his creative writing.


Over the course time, Eze grew in stature and gathered large social media following with his perspicacious analysis of public affairs and occasional splash of powerful poems on his handles.  


His debut collection of poems won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize for 2020 and his follow up effort is one of the most awaited poetry collections in Nigeria at the moment. His second book project is collection of speeches by Governor Willie Obiano titled I Touched A Dream which he edited. 


Speaking of the honour conferred on him by the Government of Anambra State, Eze said, “This is a priceless gift from Anambra State. I will live with the memory of this honour forever. I’m most grateful to Governor Willie Obiano for giving me the chance to serve. I am indebted to Anambra State for recognizing my talent and giving wings to my imagination to fly as a creative writer and a reputation manager. Dalunu Ndi Anambra.”


Eze is also fondly remembered for his ceaseless striving to animate the Anambra cultural space with literary activities; curating annual poetry evenings entitled “A Flutter in the Woods” in Awka, the state capital and co-hosting Nigeria’s first full fledged poetry festival in honour of Christopher Okigbo known as Return to Idoto which is held in the poet’s hometown of Ojoto.

Watch video here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4TkCk2R-X0

The Governor of Anambra State His Excellency Chief Dr Willie Obiano (Akpokuedike Global) has held a valedictory Exco session with members of his State Executive council the highest decision making body of the government at the newly commissioned Anambra International Convention Centre (ICC) Awka.

Shortly after that, he received the report of the Anambra vision 2070 committee report headed by the Governor-Elect Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

Book Presentation

You are cordially invited to the public presentation of the book, EBELECHUKWU OBIANO: ANAMBRA FIRST LADY OF GRASSROOTS

Date: Tuesday March 8, 2022
Venue: Prof Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre.
Time: 11am Prompt
Author: Emeka Ozumba

Day 5

Obiano’s Response to Igbo Affairs

By James Eze

The Igbo are often impatient with their leaders. Our republican nature makes it difficult for us to completely accept any leader in a manner that gets in the way of questioning them. For a people who bear philosophical names like Ezebuilo (kingship attracts enmity), the leader is always on the spot instead of the top. The result is that a silent distrust simmers between leadership and the people. This is why Igbo political leaders are hardly ever seen to be doing enough for their people while in office. The most loved Igbo leaders are often adored in retrospect. Governor Willie Obiano may be one of them.

In recent memory, it is hard to see any Igbo governor who has taken up major issues that have wider thematic implications for the Igbo world than Obiano. In 2018, the national debate for Restructuring reached fever pitch. Conversations were going on among ethnic and regional groups across the country. Other regions stepped out boldly to organize summits on restructuring. But because the period was dangerously close to the 2019 election year, most Igbo governors did not want to be seen as dabbling in controversial national issues that would cast them in the mould of enemies of Nigeria. So, they turned down the request from Ohaneze Ndigbo and other cultural associations to host the Igbo Summit on Restructuring in their various states. But Governor Obiano quickly accepted that request.

Consequently, the Igbo Summit on Restructuring held in Awka on May 21, 2018 to a resounding success and eventually gave birth to a historic document known as “The Ekwueme Square Declaration.” The document contains the Igbo charter of demands from the federal government. But beyond accepting to host a summit which his fellow governors had tactically avoided, Obiano had also delivered a weighty address titled “A Case for a Balanced Federation” in which he had boldly declared “I know what my people want from Nigeria and the question we must ask of Nigeria. We must ask for a just, fair and equitable federation where every citizen is guaranteed the freedom to be the best they can be and to aspire to the highest office in the land regardless of their tribe, culture and religion. And that is what Nigeria in its present structure, has not given to us! For if we rose from the ruins of the Civil War to rebuild Eastern Nigeria in record time, there should be no doubt about what Ndigbo can bring to the table in a fair, just and equitable Nigeria.” It would be hard for any student of history to forget this.

Again, to mark the Easter celebration in 2017, Governor Obiano choose a nostalgic theme that endeared him to Ndigbo when he decided to host Igbo musicians that healed Igboland with their music during and after the Biafran War. Tagged “A Night of Nostalgia,” the event brought twelve famous pop stars of the 70s together for a big and memorable concert where they evoked memories of surviving the war with the hit songs that helped Ndigbo to heal faster from the disruptions and dislocations of the war. It was such a delight to watch stars like Sweet Breeze, Funkies, Wrinkars Experience, Soky Ohale, Wings, Semi-Colon, One World, Aktion, Apostles, Foundars 15 and the legendary producer, Pal Akaronu on one stage. Other legends like Chief Chika Okpala (Chief Zebrudaya of the New Masquerade fame) were also on the stage that night. Governor Obiano gave each of them the sum of N1m and thanked them for using their talents to rekindle the desire to live again among Ndigbo after the Biafran War. That event has become a symbolic chapter in the war memory of Ndigbo.

Similarly, no Igbo governor has shown more interest in the affairs of the first generation of players of the famous Rangers International Football Club of Enugu than Willie Obiano. After assuming office in 2014, Obiano had placed the group which goes by the name “Ex-Rangers” on a monthly salary which presumably comes handy to the ageing stars. He also hosts them from time to time in a show that gives him the opportunity to thank them directly for what they did for Ndigbo with their football talent. It would be recalled that the famous Igbo spirit took a dive after the Biafran War. Our people took the defeat badly. But the pioneer set of Rangers International took it upon itself to prove to Nigeria that a defeat in battle did not necessarily guarantee a victory in the football field. As it turned out, the boys played every game with the anger of a wounded lion. They defeated every opposition in Nigeria and went on to rule West Africa with their gutsy display on the field of play. Their success and seeming invincibility lifted the spirit of a demoralized people and spurred them to retrieve their broken lives. Obiano has never lost sight of the symbolism of their exploits. He even hosted them a fortnight ago with legends like Christian Chukwu and Emma Okala in attendance. It is important for an Igbo leader to have a good sense of history and a long memory of what is dear to his people. Obiano has shown this over and again.

Beyond all these, Obiano’s thoughts on the Igbo condition has remained engaging and consistent. He has consistently appealed to the Federal Government to give the Great Zik of Africa a national holiday. His argument is that all over Africa, Zik’s contemporaries have been similarly honoured; like Nkrumah in Ghana, Kenyetta in Kenya, Nyerere in Tanzania and Neto in Angola. Unhappy with the continuing neglect of Zik by the Federal Government, Obiano had gone ahead to declare November 16 a Public Holiday in Anambra State, in the hope that other South Eastern states would follow suit to eventually speed up its adoption by the Federal Government. It is still hoped that something will give in no distant time while Anambra alone has continued to honour Zik’s holiday at the moment.

Again, unlike most of his fellow political leaders, Obiano is fiercely proud of his Igbo identity. A memorable proof of Obiano’s pride in his Igboness is subtly embedded in his address at the World Igbo Congress which took place in New York on Saturday September 3, 2016. Revving the audience to an emotional peak, Obiano had declared, “Brothers and sisters, the Igbo story is a narrative in courage. A great epic that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. The story of a people who rose vigorously from the rubble of genocide and extinction to assert their membership of the human race in the 21st century with so much brilliance, so much promise. It is a story I am immensely proud of.” It was obviously this pride that made him to organize Ozoemezina; a historic memorial for Biafran War victims.

What more can we say about this man who has blazed a lasting trail in Igbo memory.

Day 4

The Humanity of Willie Obiano

By James Eze

When the story is finally told, it would be remembered that Governor Willie Obiano is probably the first governor in Nigeria who spent eight years in office and never took a salary. Obiano signed away his salary to charity from his first month in office. And with a handful of days left, it is not out of place to finally acknowledge the symbolism of that act.

As it turned out though, giving away his salary was the least of Obiano’s humane act as a governor. His philosophy of ana alu olu ana alu mmadu (fix lives before you fix things) was to gradually evolve into a subtle theme that ran through much of his stay in office. It was the silent force behind Obiano’s decision to increase the salary of workers at a time when Nigeria was in the throes of recession. It was the energy behind his decision to clear the areas of pensions owed the old employees of the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) and National Light that was outstanding for 25 years. It was the motivation behind his choice to clear the areas of salaries owed both local government employees and the staff of Anambra State Water Corporation by previous administrations within his first term in office. It was also the main reason in his eight years in office, civil servants were given bags of rice at Christmas to ensure that no one was left out of the circle of happiness.

But perhaps we would appreciate Obiano’s remarkable humanity better if we realized that his government was the first in Nigeria to set up a proper office on Disability Matters and the first to aggressively pursue the passing of the Disability Rights Bill into law to ensure that our brothers and sisters who live with all forms of physical disability are treated as decent human beings who deserve dignity. The Anambra State Disability Law prohibits any form of discrimination against people living with disability in the state. Obiano was also the first to set up a Disability Rights Commission and charge it with the mandate to formulate and implement policies and programmes it considers appropriate for the education and well-being of people living with disability. To give fillip to his decision, he offered scholarship to students living with disability in Anambra State from primary to tertiary levels. He also appointed a brilliant but blind lawyer as his Special Adviser on Disability Matters and made a member of the disability community a Permanent Secretary in one of the ministries.

History will also record the fact that Obiano and his wife mustered enough kindness in their time in office to provide a home for the society’s cast-away and adopted many abandoned babies. In fact, they built a special home in Nteje where the mentally deranged people, the homeless, waifs, tramps and vagrants are rehabilitated and reunited with their families. The bulk of Obiano’s forfeited salaries went into the running of the Nteje home. It is also on record that in October 2015, Obiano granted amnesty to 25 prisoners serving jail terms in prisons in the state and gave each of them N1 million to ease themselves back into the society. It had not been done before. Again, he offered scholarships to orphans. A case in point is the scholarship he gave to the children of the victims of the “Mubi 12” massacre which took place in Mubi, Adamawa State in 2012.

Driven by his keen sense of justice, Obiano always stayed above the fray. He never threw any punches back at people who hounded him and was quick to forgive those who offended him and ask for forgiveness from those who felt offended by him. Two years ago when some traditional rulers staged a royal coup against him with an unauthorized trip to the Presidency to stir malcontent against him, Obiano showed anger by placing a suspension on them. But he rescinded the order shortly after in a rare show of mercy when the popular clamour was for outright dethronement. In much the same way, Obiano is the only governor in Nigerian history to have tendered an unreserved public apology to his predecessor and pleaded for forgiveness even when the offence remains unknown.

And well…the Obiano administration will forever be remembered as the time when the Anambra youth had his day in the sun. The governor offered employment to hundreds of youths and ensured that wealth trickled down to people to whom government had formerly been as distant as the moon.

In simpler terms, Obiano’s government belonged to the people. He placed the people first in all he did. He lifted the weak and stabilized the strong. He will be remembered for a long time to come.

Day 3: The Pushback at Gully Erosion

Leaders are judged by their response to the dominant issues of their time. The menace of gully erosion has been a lingering nightmare to Ndi Anambra for ages. How did Governor Willie Obiano react to this threat to the people’s peace of mind?

Well...come with me.

From a period stretching beyond the vast reaches of memory, Anambra State has been plagued by the corrosive menace of gully erosion. To many communities across the state, the rainy season comes with a mix bag of pleasure and pain. For the rain that nourishes farmlands for crops to grow also washes away homes, livelihoods and large swathes of history when it suddenly turns into storm water and races through fragile soil surfaces with deadly velocity.

Researchers claim that gully erosion became a living nightmare in Anambra State when the first deep gullies appeared in Nanka in 1850. Today, Anambra is riddled with over 900 gully erosion sites. Successive administrations have struggled to stem the dangerous tide of this menace. But it would seem that the more efforts are made, the more the gully sites multiply. With over 900 gully erosion sites Anambra is probably the most ecologically devastated location in West Africa. This grim reality had led to repeated calls by Governor Willie Obiano, for Anambra to be declared an “Ecologically Endangered State.”

Governor Obiano did not stop at the call for Anambra to be declared an “ecologically endangered state.” In fact, he took bold steps to confront the menace by setting up the Anambra offices of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), shortly after he was sworn in as governor. He also quickly provided the necessary counterpart funding to enable the project take-off immediately. The results were amazing. Headed by ebullient Project Coordinator, Engr Mike Ivenso, Anambra NEWMAP had turned the tears of so many folks displaced by gully erosion to cheers.

Through a combination of grit, focus and a cold resolve to make a difference, Anambra NEWMAP has left indelible footmarks across Anambra State, once frightening gully erosion sites like the St Thomas Aquinas/Nero Plaza, Awka, the Amachalla Site, Awka, the New Heritage/Omagba Site, Onitsha, the Ekwueme Square/Federal Secretariat Complex, Awka, the Uga Amuma Site in Obosi, the Ikenga Ogidi site, the Enugwu-Ukwu site, the Abidi Umuoji Site, the Nkpor Flyover Site, the Nnewichi Site, the Ojoto Site, the Ire Obosi Site and the Abagana Site. There are also the Nkisi Aroli Site, the Ezinifite Site and then the most dreaded of them all; the 100-Foot Road site in Nnewi which once threatened to swallow the famous Nkwo Market which is the leading auto spare parts market in Nigeria.

Indeed, the Obiano administration had tackled the threat of gully erosion in a bold and pragmatic manner that would serve as a benchmark to future administrations. For instance, under Obiano’s watch, the fight against erosion was combative and humane. People who were whimsically uprooted by the menace were quickly reintegrated back to society under the Livelihood Support Scheme of the fight back. In essence, it was not only eroded landscapes that are resuscitated through bio-remediation but broken lives were also healed with large sums of money that would help residents whose homes and businesses were swept away by erosion to find their economic feet again. This component of the fight against gully erosion had enriched many lives and turned the proverbial gnashing of teeth to songs of praises for the Obiano administration.

Another aspect of the fight back is the establishment of a Road Design Committee by the Anambra State Government. This is because research has shown that most of the gully erosion sites across the state were caused by poorly terminated drainages. The Road Design Committee was set up to ensure that all drainages from road projects across the state were properly terminated in nearby streams or natural waterways. That move took care of future threats to the environment from roads built without attention to proper channeling of water.

Yet another masterstroke of the Obiano administration is the successful establishment of Anambra State Erosion, Watershed and Climate Change Agency tackle the threat of gully erosion on a permanent basis. The Agency is the state’s response to clear and present threats to its delicate ecology in a structured and sustainable way. With an institution like this, Governor Willie Obiano has shown himself as a strategic thinker who had a deep understanding of the threat of gully erosion to Ndi Anambra and knew exactly what to do to solve the problem.

The Countdown 2

Obiano’s Impact

By James Eze

In the history of modern society, leadership has been the greatest catalyst for human development. Every remarkable society or human civilization has been a product of leadership that is visionary, competent and wise. When leadership elevates its act, societies rise to their greatest heights; but when leadership fails, societies fall with it!

In the past eight years, Anambra State has experienced a momentous rise under the visionary and competent leadership of Governor Willie Obiano. It has been widely whispered that the state is slowly rising to the fullness of its promise and the fulfillment of its destiny.

But this should not come as a surprise, really. Obiano had made his ambitions clear from the beginning. For instance, in his Inaugural Address, Governor Obiano had declared that, “the time has come to prove to ourselves that the entrepreneurial spirit for which our people are known all over the world can take firm roots at home; that together as one, we can be masters of our own house.” Eight years after, the entire landscape of Anambra State speaks in loud affirmation that Willie Obiano has put the Anambra Dream within a touching distance!

Obiano came with an Economic Blueprint which declared that his Vision was “to make Anambra the 1st Choice investment destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities” while his Mission was “to create a socially stable business-friendly environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth creating opportunities.”

Today, no one is in doubt that Anambra is a better place to live and pursue one’s happiness. The performance indicators are there for all to see. In the past eight years, Governor Obiano had increased workers’ salaries even when Nigeria’s economy was in recession. He attracted massive investments into the agricultural sector which helped to bring down unemployment and crime, he built 18 solid bridges and 131 roads to open up industrial and agricultural clusters, he invested heavily in education and today, Anambra children are wining major academic laurels across the world and finally, he created an investment-friendly environment and in 2020 when COVID-19 made war on the world, Anambra was reported to have attracted $10.2m in foreign direct investments.

In fact, the impact of Obiano’s Economic Blueprint is remarkable. In eight years that were marred by two recessions and a colossal slump in global oil earnings, Obiano grew Anambra’s subnational economy from N3.2trn to N4.2trn. Through his managerial competence, Anambra State led other states in Nigeria as the state with the lowest poverty rate, indicating a drop from 53% in 2010 to 14.8% in 2020. Anambra was also rated as the state with the lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria at 13.1% when the national average stood at 27%. Also under Obiano’s watch, Anambra joined Lagos and Rivers as the only states in Nigeria that could meet their operating obligations with funds from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and earnings from Value Added Tax (VAT). And finally, under Obiano, Anambra was rated as the state with the best Fiscal Responsibility Index in Nigeria. The only state that beat her to the first position was Rivers State. These are not mere conjectures. They are verifiable facts. Obiano has had a tremendous impact. That should not be in doubt!

However, what appears to be the ultimate game changer in Obiano’s stunning results is the success he recorded in getting the Federal Government to formally admit Anambra into Nigeria’s league of oil-producing states. In fact, it has been confirmed that the state would receive her first 13% derivation fund from the Federal Government this month. There is no telling the import of this revenue on the state when it finally drops. And when we remember that these resources shall be managed by Prof Chukwuma Soludo, it becomes clearer that Obiano is leaving Anambra State in the best possible position ever! That is impact!

Beyond these impressive facts though, Governor Obiano has also woven a delicate tapestry that ensure that Anambra State emerges as a formidable economic power. A few things point us in that direction. They are; the International Conference Center Awka which is the largest single event center in Nigeria with a capacity to sit 10,000 people, the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport Umueri which is rated among some of the best airports in West Africa today and of course, the brand new Awka City Stadium. Any serious thinker can see that Governor Obiano has creatively laid a foundation for the prosperity of Anambra State. Indeed, when you connect the dots between West Africa’s largest retail market in Onitsha, West Africa’s leading Auto City in Nnewi, Nigeria’s largest event center in Awka and West Africa’s most modern airport in Umueri, you will inevitably see the outline of a major economic corridor in Anambra State. This becomes even clearer when we add Golden Tulip Agulu Lake Hotel, Agulu which was started by Obiano’s predecessor but completed by him. The hotel is one of the most serene holiday resorts in South East Nigeria. Therefore, prospective investors can easily fly into Umueri Airport and lodge comfortably in Golden Tulip Agulu Lake Hotel and begin to make business inquiries in the state. That is the power of purposeful leadership… the ability of a leader to connect the dots between people and events with opportunities. Again, that is impact!

Happily, in response to Obiano’s visionary leadership, Anambra’s numerous industrialists and entrepreneurs have started taking parts of their businesses back to their home state. Obiano’s Aku Luo Uno call has struck a chord with the entrepreneurial pride of the people and they are moving back to help in building a new Anambra State. He has rekindled the Anambra pride and invoked the people’s passion for excellence. He has lit a candle in the corner of the people’s heart. Now they are fanning the flame into a glorious blaze!

Indeed, in eight years of hard work, Governor Obiano has elevated Anambra State to an enviable status. Anambra has become a house on the hill which no attentive passerby can miss or ignore.

Finally, that is impact!

The Countdown

17 days from today, Governor Willie Obiano will hand over power to the governor elect, Prof Chukwuma Soludo after eight historic years in office. Obiano is the second governor to successfully complete his two terms in office since Anambra State was created 30 years ago.

Today, we begin a Countdown to his exit with a daily serialization of the highpoints of his days in office. We shall look at the epic moments he either created or responded to as a leader through a compelling narrative style that invokes those moments with the freshness of dawn.

Come with me...

Ozoemezina - Obiano’s Tribute to Igbo Memory

By James Eze (eziokwubundu@gmail.com)

Seven years ago, Governor Willie Obiano symbolically laid wreaths before a long list of Ndigbo who fell to the booming guns of the Biafran War.

On that January day, as he bent down to place the wreaths at the foot of a piece of plain glass bearing the names of the casualties, time stood still at Alex Ekwueme Square! Thousands of Igbo people from the five states in the South East and parts of Rivers and Delta States had gathered to make peace with a troubling past. It was perhaps one moment in history when memory took the glint of precious amour and Ndigbo wore it proudly in Ekwueme Square.

In that EPIC moment, Governor Obiano nudged Ndigbo to accept the full weight of history and march proudly onto a bright new future with a resolve to NEVER AGAIN allow history repeat itself at our expense. That event which remains the most widely accepted Memorial of the Biafran War to date was fittingly titled Ozoemezina – NEVER AGAIN!

Ozoemezina was a day set aside for memory; a watershed in our collective ability to remember. You felt it once you set foot on Ekwueme Square that day. The dry harmattan wind stung the eyes and drew involuntary tears down people’s cheeks that were instantly licked up by the baking sun. Masquerades from different parts of Igboland filed out in their bizarre splendour to lend solemnity to the day. People came from the farthest points of Igbo land, looking distinct and woebegone but united by grief and the quest to bring closure to a past that had defied Time’s ceaseless plea to stop tugging at memory.

In the distance, the Ajofia masquerade from Otolo Nnewi stood out among the visiting ancestors of the clan who had returned to mourn their children that the war claimed. It towered above fellow ancestors like a silhouette, a dark silver grey smoke curling out of its head to complete the dread it inspired. Its horde of attendants flocked round it in what seemed absolute paternal affection to an illustrious ancestor come back to life. The surrounding din was almost mythical. But Ajofia still managed to project its enchanted voice over the crowd and utter some incantations known only to its fellow spirits. Over there in the milling crowd, Ijele swayed in extravagant showboating. A panoply of colours and charm, Ijele invokes riveting mental pictures of a peacock. There were lesser ancestral spirits in the audience, each with its peculiar gait and sense of selfhood. There were masquerades that spoke only in grunts. There were some that spoke nothing at all. Yet there were those that seemed to have found exaltation in their hideousness and others that sought to echo the heavenly essence of beauty in its manifest fullness. That reminded me of the Igbo belief in the duality of things. Ife kwulu, ife akwudebe ya! Nothing ever stands alone! Neither bravery, nor cowardice, nor beauty nor ugliness!

Dr Alex Ekwueme for whom the Square was named was in the audience with his wife Beatrice. He looked so distraught that on his face alone it was easy to read the full meaning of Ozoemezina. Biafran War veterans, Joe Achuzie and his comrades-in-arms were all there. The veterans looked every bit like I thought they would; wizened but spritely with eyes that blazed like headlamps in the dark. I gawked at them in awe as I imagined what these men must have experienced; the pangs of hunger and starvation, the guts of erstwhile comrades spilling out in final supplication to the earth goddess to heal the land that had been overwhelmed by evil, the smell of death in the rubble of gutted afternoons as they prayed to see another nightfall. I wondered which one of them had stood next to the Ogbunigwe Launcher that I saw the other day at the War Museum and pulled the trigger on an advancing battalion in an ambush. I wondered if their sunken cheeks and shriveled biceps once hand the full complements of flesh. I wondered how they coped with the listless early days of peace after surviving the horrors of war; how they battled the thousand voices in their heads, the crippling ennui! Then I felt fiercely proud of them. I felt happy that they were there as vestiges of the War and living symbols of an iron will that would neither bend nor break! In their fading dignity, they reminded me that pride was still important; that when a war is lost, something is lost but when pride is lost, everything is lost!

A sense of absolute grief swept through me when Governor Obiano and Dr. Ekwueme moved over to a little tent with a little sign that says Ndi ife melu (the bereaved or the mourners). There in the little tent, they sat in representation of the entire Igbo nation to receive sympathizers who filed out in a long line to condole with Ndigbo on the tragedy that had befallen them. Billionaire businessman, Prince Arthur Eze soon joined them in the tent. Governor Obiano’s face was a mask of anguish and pain as he shook hands with the leaders of the delegations of all the town unions, market associations and cultural groups across Igboland who played the role of early callers to the house of the bereaved.

Gazing into his ponderous countenance that afternoon, the weight of what Willie Obiano had done with Ozoemezina finally sank in. It struck me that he had always wanted to do this – to confer dignity to his kit and kin who were denied the appeasement of a proper burial. I remembered how he had sounded while answering a call from the Presidency earlier that morning at the Governor’s Lodge. “I just want to bury my people. There is nothing more to it,” he had assured President Jonathan on the other side for the umpteenth time. It had been a nerve wrecking contest between him and the entire security apparatchik that had expressed grave concerns about the event.

This is why I shake my head ruefully when some youngsters and the uninformed accuse him of ordering the killing of some youths who took part in a protest at Nkpor some years ago. Nobody who remembers Ozoemezina will believe such a story!

More pictures

Mrs. Obiano Commissions Toilets in two Markets
       ...Restates Commitment to Charity
By Daniel Eze

Wife of the Governor of Anambra State and founder of the charity organization, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative, CAFE, Dr. (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano (Osodieme) has commissioned two toilet projects on 18 December 2021 at Eke Fada Market, Owerre-Ezukala and Afor Enugwu-Umuonyia, Orumba South Local Government Area.

The projects, powered by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, are among the twenty-two already built by CAFE in select rural markets across Anambra State and donated to help stop open defecation.

The toilets, which come with steady running water and standby generator set, are expected to provide decent enclosure for traders, especially the market women, and promote personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness.

Speaking at each of the markets, Mrs. Obiano, represented by the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Renewal, Architect Mike Okonkwo, thanked the people for voting for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in November 6 governorship election. She noted that even though her husband's tenure is officially winding down in March next year, she is still committed to continue working through her NGO to improve fortunes of the less privileged in the society.


The governor's wife stated that the toilet projects with many other programmes of CAFE, are her way of supporting her husband's leadership efforts, asked the women who would be taking care of the projects to ensure that they are properly and constantly maintained.

She also expressed happiness that her husband, Governor Obiano, would leave office with his shoulders high, having laid a strong foundation for successful leadership in his more than seven years in power.

In his remarks, Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Emeka Ozumba, who is also CAFE's Project Manager, explained that through the rural market toilet scheme Mrs. Obiano aims to protect the dignity of women and give them a sense of decency, as well as boost the campaign to stop open defecation and hygiene-related sicknesses in the communities.

Transition Committee Chairman of Orumba South, Chief Cyprian Okereke, in his remarks said that the governor's wife has effectively used CAFE to set a template for social intervention in Anambra State and beyond. In the same vein, the President General of Owerre-Ezukala, Barrister Anayo Emejuo, and his Enugwu-Umuonyia counterpart, Mr Hillary Mbanusi, said that the toilet projects would help greatly in the markets. They praised the governor's wife for providing solid support to her husband's legacies.

The women of Owerre-Ezukalla and Enugwu Umuonyia were not left out as they sang and danced whilst commending Osodieme for fulfilling her promises to their respective communities.

Governor Obiano: When will they stop underrating him?

By James Eze

It is hard to believe but true that governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State is one of the most terribly underrated and wrongly vilified political leaders in the South East. This may not sound strange to anyone who is aware that much of Obiano’s eight years in office have been spent fending off brutal attacks from his predecessor. The last of these cruel attacks was a vacuous story planted in a national daily, alleging that he was on the watch-list of an anti-graft agency. The story has been proven to be a piece of poorly couched propaganda fueled by vendetta. Indeed, the campaign to distract Obiano and expose him to hate and ridicule has been consistent, far ranging and vicious.

It was therefore not surprising to hear Sam Amadi wailing on Facebook about Obiano’s final unveiling. In a post entitled “So surprising that Obiano has a legacy project,” and shared on December 8, 2021, Amadi, a former gubernatorial aspirant in Imo State wailed thusly, “I am traumatized that somewhere in the future, Obiano could even be considered more consequential than my much beloved Peter Obi. Hard to bear.” Such audacity!

Amadi was writing about the wave making Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport and the gravitas it has given Obiano as a visionary leader. He is deeply pained that Obiano had accomplished what his hero could not even dream of. It is somewhat surprising that Amadi who prides himself as a thinker and strategist had allowed himself to be swept away by the fiendish efforts of the former governor to make his successor look like a poor waxwork. It would be unfair to blame Amadi though. Obiano is a victim of vindictive campaign. No other governor in Nigeria has had an influential revenge-seeking enemy breath down his neck for eight years like him. We are not talking about an ordinary enemy here. We are talking about a man who enjoys the adulation of many Nigerians. Something had to give. And it did. Many otherwise smart people whom you would have expected to take certain stories with a pinch of salt also believe the calumny campaign against Obiano. If only they knew better. Their own moment of awakening is sure to come.

There is a simple explanation for that though. For one, it is far easier to swallow a blatant falsehood about a Nigerian political leader than to believe their innocence. For another, Nigerians hold their political leaders in acute suspicion. It takes a lot of mind bending to convince them that a governor is not a spineless wimp whose sole mission in office is to steal public funds. This perception is often hardened if there is a deliberate and sustained campaign to strengthen it.

And that is why, they have continued to underrate Obiano in spite of his array of glittering legacies that dot the Anambra landscape. That is why they have refused to acknowledge his stellar achievements. It would be too much kindness to accept that someone so viciously maligned had actually done better than their hero. The pain of this admission is clearly embedded in Sam Amadi’s voice and it shone when he wrote “I have always believed that Obiano was a mistake. The brutal criminality of the leadership of APGA on the Imo Governorship Primary in 2018 added to this dislike.” Amadi believed everything the former governor’s spin doctors spewed out about Obiano without question, without second thoughts. How pathetic!

Nevertheless, we would be naïve to assume that Amadi is alone in this. In fact, Amadi deserves our respect for having the courage to admit his error of judgement; to finally wash the voodoo off his face and come to full wakefulness. Many others who were struck blind by the former governor’s voodoo men have yet to regain their sight. Not even the eventual commencement of commercial flights in the Anambra International Airport can jolt them out of that spell.

Obiano’s achievements speak for him. The Awka International Convention Center was designed to look like America’s iconic B52 Bomber. The 10,000 capacity center speaks of the huge aspirations of Anambra State in its symbolic design and immense capacity. The Awka City Stadium is an eye-catchy sporting facility that meets FIFA standards. The Anambra International Airport is a monument to the king-size ambition of Anambra State. The three flyovers in Awka and Amawbia are landmarks of greatness. The Gold medal won by Anambra school girls at the World technovation Fair in USA in 2018 is a testament to Obiano’s revolution in the education sector. The mechanized rice farms in Ayamelum, the ultramodern rice mill in Igbariam, the largest poultry farm in the South East, the longest bridge in the South East and the eventual acceptance of Anambra State as an oil-bearing state are all immeasurable legacies of Willie Obiano. Sadly, those who are willfully in the firm grip of the false atmosphere induced by the former governor have chosen to live in absolute denial of these facts. It is their choice.

But the question is; why is it impossible to accept that Anambra did not descend into the abyss of bad governance after the former governor? Why is it difficult to accept that Willie Obiano has not only proven, against popular belief, to be an effective political leader but also a smart politician who has outfoxed his greatest political enemy and handed him three defeats in a row? Why is it so easy to underrate Willie Obiano? How many times must a hunter slay a lion before he is addressed as ogbu agu!

And just a few months to handover, the verdict of history is out. The beloved predecessor pales in stature when placed beside his successor. Pound for pound, the difference is clear. The former has illusions of greatness. The later stands on hard surface of greatness.

Anambra State Politics: Why Obiano Remains Condemned in Obi’s Court

Okechukwu Anarado
After about seven years of superficial veiling of the strained relationship between Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra State and his immediate predecessor, Chief Peter Obi, the veneer restraints and pretexts appear to have fallen overboard; the recent decoys deployed by Obi’s media handlers in seeking to grimly smear the image of Governor Obiano in the consciousness of the public so suggests.

Very recently, the social media space was awash with reports of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s purported placement of Gov. Willie Obiano in their watch-list. The Commission was said to have formally written the Immigration Services advising them to keep tabs on the governor and ensure that he does not escape abroad after handing over power to his successor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, on the 17th of March, 2022. These speculations were predicated on trumped-up allegations of financial crimes against the governor. How puerile! One wonders why and how such primely discreet investigative duty of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission can or should be conceived, planned, monitored and almost executed on the media space, majorly on social media. A close investigation points to ex-governor Obi’s camp as the source of the disinformation designed to malign Obiano, but which to greater measures ridicules the sponsor, and the corporate image of the nation’s foremost economic and financial ethos gatekeepers – the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In their obsession to undermine the nobility of Gov. Obiano’s person and impugn the respect/privileges of his office, these Obiano’s unkindest detractors would neither spare the integrity of hallowed agencies of government, nor mind the collateral maleficent injuries and revulsions their deliberate lies cause the public.

In what appears Obi’s final push to get at Gov. Obiano before his tenure rounds off, his men have chosen a suicide-like struggle in trying to unearth and impose validity on their age-long speculative media charges of financial impropriety against the governor. The persistent efforts of Obi’s men to force their unending lies against Obiano into the consciousness of the public make discerning minds to ruminate over the root of the seemingly intractable feud that would not allow the governor and his predecessor peaceable thoughts about each other. Nobody is deceived by the deafening figures and weighty accusations bandied by Obi’s men on which Obiano’s purported hound rests. It is notable that since Obi, who ruled Anambra State for eight years under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and handed over to Obiano (17 March, 2014), jumped ship to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP (October, 2014), the relationship between the two illustrious sons of Anambra has increasingly been in tatters. This, despite the efforts of respected personages across the clergy, traditional stools and public service to bridge the gap between the two and stem the predictable conflict amongst the numerous admirers of the two feuding political leaders.

Although Chief Obi has repeatedly made public pronouncements that he holds nothing against his successor, it is public knowledge that he has been seething over Obiano’s failure or refusal to refund him over N7bn he claimed he expended on the electioneering that produced Obiano as his successor. This core subject of Obi’s anger was disclosed by the same voices from Obi’s camp who have ever since the disagreement resumed maintained surreptitious calls for Obiano’s head: investing heavily in sponsored media distractions of his government, and vainly insisting always on pronouncing non-performance verdict on the governor.

It all started with Obi’s hyped claim of N75bn bequest to Obiano. This was so slyly sold to the public by Obi’s men that Obiano’s belated sound rebuttal of the validity hardly corrected the popular impression that had quickly taken a life of its own. It is of remarkable note that when engaged at enlightened fora, the same Obi’s men did openly submit to Obiano’s superior position that there was no such cash legacy. But they would mischievously go back to the false claim with the belief that the public already fell for the bait. Based on that assumed initial moral high ground, they would latch on the phantom N75bn bequest each time they dream-up unsubstantiated vicious attacks on Obiano, hoping always to mine from the naivety of the gullible public. But Anambra people, who know and understand their ex-governor very well, would not be deceived in perpetuity by Obi. They would not be pulled by the nose by the man whose negative wishes for Obiano have left bereft of fair judgment of an administration into whose hands he dutifully laboured to entrust Anambra.

Obiano’s sin against Obi, for which his crucifixion is sought by his benefactor-in-Chief, could only be compared to Senator Chris Ngige’s ‘mortal sin’ against the Uba’s which caused the liberation of Anambra State from the morbid stranglehold of voracious godfathers who would not let Anambra be. Ngige suffered untold woes and made huge personal sacrifices to live his conviction for free and better Anambra. Today, Obiano is on the throes of vile ambushes tactically deployed by a subtle but vicious capitalist godfather who would not let his (godfather’s) presumed gains go without putting up a good fight. And the godfather cares less how much goes into the ruinous fight insofar as the target suffers commensurate character bruises.

This explains the abysmal condemnation Obiano and his administration suffer in Obi’s hand. In the many years of Anambra’s acclaim as the safest state in Nigeria, Obi’s men find it very hard to commend the gargantuan feat; Anambra Schools win almost every winnable academic trophy under Obiano’s watch, it is Obi’s labour; Obiano changes the infrastructural bearing of Awka, and these deliberate naysayers, talking through their hats, would announce the collapse of the three flyovers along the Amawbia-Awka axis of the express way, even before the flyovers were completed; they would readily offer the bill of quantities and imaginary cost of the construction. The list of Obi’s negative insinuations against Obiano abound. Neither the imposing International Convention Centre almost completed in Awka, nor the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport built and made functional by Chief Willie Obiano in record time of less than two years could elicit any kind sentiment from Obi’s camp. Rather Obi’s men would barefacedly lie that Obiano selfishly built the Airport in his hometown; they would dispel a project that was Obi’s missed dream as a white elephant venture. Shouldn’t there be a limit to anger, envy, sense of loss or other human passions! The instances of Obi’s struggle to negate everything Obiano expose the ex-governor’s inane affectation in judging his successor. Such profoundly subjective judgments are therefore suspect and cannot be trusted by discerning minds.

If I were Chief Peter Obi, I would rather advise a positive critique of Chief Willie Obiano’s government. This will make room for objective critiquing of the low and high points of the administration. Only this approach will show Obi a statesman whose interest in national politics is public knowledge. Obi should spare the rest of us the victimhood he is nursing over the poor returns his godfather enterprise yields him. Obi should know that he is not and cannot be as saintly as he would want the public to believe. His repeated attacks on Obiano against Obiano’s unbleached amenable disposition to peace in their fold is a worrisome backlash on Obi’s public image. It is only ennobling for the aggressor here to sheath his sword in his interest and that of society. Obiano might not be the best thing to have happened to Anambra; neither Ngige, Obi nor any before them was. But Obiano’s sincerity of purpose in governance, his compassionate heart and his ingenuous choices in governance have unarguably offered the state some of the best things it craves after, topmost of which are high sense of safety and freedom (the outburst of insecurity surrounding the gubernatorial election, regardless), the Anambra International Passenger and Cargo Airport, the widely celebrated choice of a successor in Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, who, he truly believes, is greater than he (Obiano) is; and more importantly, an emboldened Anambra spirit. Chief Obiano is finishing strong, no doubt; and no amount of wilful subterfuge by whosoever will deny him the reward of his impactful labour in service to Anambra and Ndi-Anambra.

Okechukwu Anarado writes from Adazi-Nnukwu

OBIANO RETIRES OBI FROM POLITICS

(By a special correspondent)


The end may have come for the political journey of former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi at the hands of Governor Willie Obiano.

The defeat of the PDP in the November 6, Anambra State governorship election is seen by political observers as a personal defeat for Obi. The PDP's candidate in the election, Mr Valentine Ozigbo was Obi's personal choice. Ozigbo's nomination immediately triggered the exit of five gubernatorial aspirants from the PDP.

The result of the November 6, 2021 poll won by the APGA's Professor Chukwuma Soludo marked the third crushing defeat for Obi in the State since 2017 at the hands of APGA led by Willie Obiano.

Mr Peter Obi, who nurses vice presidential or presidential ambition first suffered stinging defeat at the hands of Obiano in the State governorship poll of 2017. In the election, Obi's handpicked PDP candidate, Oseloka Obaze was beaten to a distant third position after Obi had sworn to stop Obiano's reelection "with the last drop of my blood."

Analysts say the former governor may have misread his low political weight with the pattern of voting in the southeast in the 2019 presidential election in which Obi was PDP's vice presidential candidate.

Dr Magnus Ihekwere, a university don, said the votes cast for PDP in the southeast in the election was not for an individual. "Those were protest votes against marginalisation by Buhari's government. It didn't matter who and who were on the PDP ticket. The votes were built on sentiments for another Ekwueme after 35 years."

Another analyst and former councillor in Idemili North Local Council , Hon Ike Okafor agrees. Okafor said the result of the House of Assembly election in Anambra State, a week after the 2019 presidential poll, showed who was on ground in the State. Governor Willie Obiano led APGA to win 24 out of the 30 State assembly seats.

Pundits contend that the latest defeat of Obi and his candidate in this year's governorship election was a strong indication of his non acceptance by the state electorate.

APGA easily won the election on the combination of Governor Willie Obiano's achievements and Soludo's qualifications.

Obi's consistent losses have exposed his actual worth outside of the media, opines Madam Joy Nwuka, a trader. "Politics is not making noise in the newspapers everyday. They said they brought Obiano into politics. But see how Akpokuedike has been winning."

The fear of Obi's continued slide into political oblivion is high given the unwritten rule of Nigerian politics that a politician going for top political office must first deliver his base to his party in elections.