Cuche:

The result was announced, rejoinders followed. Less than 15% of the voting population of the state determined the results. A phenomenon which many of us knew would set a wrong precedent

To be Contd.

My brother please don't continue. The less than 15% lie or mistake by you have done the job. How can write such a thing and expect informed people to read on. The voters turnout in that election was about 27%. Just add the result of the parties and divide by 1.8m times 100.

FYI save when our people want to show their overwhelming support for Jonathan, results in Anambra are decided always by percentages below or around 30%. Check out Nguge vs Dora where all the candidates scored less than 150k votes where we had more than 600k regd voters; John Emeka & Margery Okadigbo vs Joy Emordi where we had about 120k votes out of more than 500k regd voters.

[size=25pt]Appeal Court Voids Anambra PDP’s Candidates List[/size]
Channels Television.
February 6, 2015


The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the judgments of the Federal High Court, Abuja which upheld the Ejike Oguebego-led Executive Committee as the true leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State.



The appellate court also set aside the Federal High Court’s decision which on thursday voided the Colonel Augustine Akobundo-led caretaker/ad-hoc committee established by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to run the affairs of its Anambra chapter and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting the list of candidates that emanated from the primaries conducted by the caretaker committee.

The court, in two unanimous judgments, upheld the two appeals filed by the PDP and a chieftain of the party, Chukwudi Okasia against the December 5, 2014 judgments by Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

By the judgments on Thursday, all the candidates produced in the primaries held by the Oguebego-led Exco of the Anambra PDP would no longer be acceptable to INEC until the Supreme Court decides otherwise.

The Court of Appeal having set aside both judgments by the lower court, struck out the suits on which the judgments were given on the ground that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit which bordered on the party’s internal affairs.

The appellate court, which queried the locus standi of Oguebego and Chucks Okoye, who claimed the Chairman and Secretary of the Anambra chapter of the PDP, held that by virtue of a March 17, 2012 judgment by Justice Kekemeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oguebego and Okoye were not members of the party’s Exco because the judgment annulled the election from which they purportedly emerged.

The Court of Appeal further held that the suits on which the Justice Chukwu’s judgments were based were not only an abuse of court process, but were wrongly commenced via originating summons.

The court held that it ought to have been commenced with writ of summons as there were needs for parties to call witnesses.

Source: http://www.channelstv.com/2015/02/06/appeal-court-voids-anambra-pdps-candidates-list/

Eselu oya forward march to Supreme Court.

The struggle continues

This PDP practice of Fielding more than one candidate for senatorial elections in Anambra needs to be stamped out. Why should both Mrs Okadigbo and Stella be campaigning for Anambra north senatorial seat under PDP? APGA needs to protest against this silly practice.

I predicted eselu may not withstand the financial muscles of Andy Ubah and Stella Oduah combined but lets see how this would end. They shouldn't just allow Ekwunife to win central

Gamechanger:


The less than 15% lie or mistake by you have done the job. How can write such a thing and expect informed people to read on. The voters turnout in that election was about 27%. Just add the result of the parties and divide by 1.8m times 100..

@Gamechanger. My 15% wasn't an oversight. Let me explain
On sight estimation of the figures. Obiano had about 180,000 Ngige and Nwoye got about 90,000 each, Ubah got about 40,000. For my eligible voters, I considered a population of about 2.5 million which had the majority of the subset who presented at the polling stations at wards with their cards whose names where either omitted or swapped to a distant ward.
Now if INEC decided in its perverted(permit my usage of that word) wisdom to alter the voters register barely a week to the election just few months after it had announced it had weeded the register of phantom voters which gave Anambra about 2.4m. A week to the election they came again with a figure of about 1.8m and they could not paste the revised register in most of the wards. In fact, in my ward the list only came with the adhoc staffs on the morning of the accreditations. I am sure INEC blamed computer for such a tattered register
Will you then not work your denominator of total eligible voters on the population that came out to vote with their cards but were either told of the new development of a week old revised register? That to me are the eligible voters with which I derived the voter apathy syndrome
My concern is to identify the causes of voter apathy (with reference to the past incidence ) and the solutions to it. Without dwelling much in the past, let me quickly recall the events of the supplementary elections with the expected harvest of voters in the Idemili North axis. Previously, we worked with a voting population of about 180,000 distributed across over 200 units in that area, but by the time of supplementary elections a week after the disputed elections INEC again its wisdom had dropped this figure to about 100,000. Now for you to know that apathy towards the credible conduct of elections is progressives like APC. Most of the wards had just an average of 20 voters showing up, with some having just 4 persons people went about their normal business
I am not trying to indict INEC wholly in the high prevalence of voters apathy, however, any event that will reduce the credibility of an election is in itself a major culprit. Hopefully, with the shift in date of the elections, INEC should have more time to plan for its exigencies and logistics ensuring that the PVCs are in the hands of legitimate voters
to be Contd

Zonacom:
This PDP practice of Fielding more than one candidate for senatorial elections in Anambra needs to be stamped out. Why should both Mrs Okadigbo and Stella be campaigning for Anambra north senatorial seat under PDP? APGA needs to protest against this silly practice.

So you caught the game. It gives them an advantage because with two men each with a pool of supporters campaign side by side brings a larger number eventually under the same party. Even when a candidate is sidelined for another few days to the election , the likelihood that the supporters will remain with the party is very high
In 2013, the courts determined that the authentic Anambra PDP chapter was the one led by Ejike Oguebego following which his faction fielded the candidate for the guber. Ken Emeakayi's faction was declared illegal
Now again the same suit is resurfacing. Is that how our Judiciary operates? Suits like that should not even be entertained, but I see it is pure business for some people

FreeGlobe:
I predicted eselu may not withstand the financial muscles of Andy Ubah and Stella Oduah combined but lets see how this would end. They shouldn't just allow Ekwunife to win central

Sometimes, I wonder if this Anambra South Senatorial seat is a birthright for the Ubas. Dr Ubah,( is he now a Professor ) of Political Sc dept UNN, I love that man 1999-2003
Dr Andy, a former assistant to OBJ (since 2007)
Now Chief Chris
All brothers
I am not jealous just wondering

Multiple Candidates: Awka High Court Finally Restrains PDP Elements From Campaigning

The vaunting ambition of Hon Mrs. Uche Ekwunife who is seeking to represent Anambra Central in the Senate and other PDP stalwarts seeking elective positions in Anambra State in the coming general elections has finally grounded to a halt following an injunction from Federal High Court 1, sitting in Awka, restraining PDP and tow others from putting up multiple candidates for one elective position in the coming elections.

This followed a motion brought before Justice Ibrahim Bature Gafai by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and two others in which the plaintiff prayed the court to restrain PDP from presenting multiple candidates for the same positions in the coming elections outside of those that were duly cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

APGA argued through its prosecutor, Patrick Nwankwo Ikweto, SAN, that the continued campaign for votes by PDP elements and others whose names did not appear on the INEC List was against the 1999 Constitution and the nation’s Electoral Act.

The party further maintained that Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution allows only a political party to campaign for votes while section 100 (1) of the Electoral Act entitles only a candidate and his party to campaign for elections. Section 31 (3) summarily requires INEC to publish the particulars of a candidate of a party thereby making it illegal for candidates whose names were not published by INEC to campaign for elections.

In his ruling, on the suit number SHC/AWK/CS/23/2015, Justice Gafai ordered the parties in dispute to maintain the status quo. Justice Gafai also ordered that all persons who are not candidates published by INEC should cease forthwith from campaigning for elections pending the determination of the substantive suit.

With this legal instrument in place, all political aspirants in the state who have been campaigning for votes in absolute defiance to the new Anambra State law against illegal solicitation for votes entitled the “Breaches of the Peace and Unlawful Assemblies Law which took effect from January 20, 2015 are wilfully asking for arrest and possible prosecution.

[size=13pt]Ndi nwem na ndim nwe,
Biko, Have some O' Mpa!
Eselu will not represent Anambra at the Senate.[/size]

Obiano Launches New State Mass Transit Buses

The Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, had commissioned 40 brand new 59-seater Buses for Anambra State Mass Transit to boost transportation in the state.

Launching the vehicles at the governor’s lodge in Amambra, Mr Obiano said the welfare and well-being of the people of the State was paramount and should not be compromised.

He maintained that the Buses would ply the whole Local Government Areas with the transport fare at half of the current commercial rate.

He also assured the residents of the state that the ‘Operation Fill All Pot Holes’ on Anambra roads would continue for a better living standard for everyone in the State.

Governor Obiano explained that the gesture would complement the services of the 200 city cabs launched in December last year which had impacted on the people’s lives positively.

Governor Obiano assured that the drivers will be well trained to provide efficient services while enhanced technology will follow the next consignment to make sure people are happy in the State.

The State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Chuma Mbonu, while disclosing that the buses will commence operations next week, said that the scheme had given a big boost to the transport sector in the State.
http://www.channelstv.com/2015/02/07/obiano-launches-new-state-mass-transit-buses/

OBIANO APPRECIATES PENSIONERS, GIVES OUT RICE

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has distributed the first set of 2,660 bags of rice to pensioners in the State. Performing the function at Independence Square, Amawbia, Governor Obiano said the welfare of pensioners, who served the State faithfully in the past, would remain a priority throughout the life span of his administration.

The beneficiaries are retired primary school teachers and local government workers from Anaocha, Awka North, Awka South, Dunukofia and Njikoka local government areas.

The Governor recalled that on inception his administration offset N1.8b pension arrears and had since maintained regular monthly payment in line with his promise to deliver on physical and human infrastructure. He restated the resolve of his government to give Awka a befitting capital status and announced that work would soon commence on the Ukwu – oji Isi – agu road.

Obiano urged the people to give APGA resounding victory in the coming election to consolidate good governance in the state.

The State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mrs Azuka Enemuo said over ten thousand pensioners would benefit from the exercise across the State. Enemuo recalled that APGA governments in the State had paid over N42b pension arrears owed since 1999 during which time, she said, the retired workers suffered untold hardship. She disclosed that the state secretariat of the pensioners’ association has been completed and would soon be commissioned.

In their reactions, the pensioners wished the Governor God’s blessings. Mr Felix Okafor expressed gratitude to Obiano for his good gesture. Mrs Kate Chikweobi prayed God to endow the Governor with wisdom to pilot the affairs of the state.
http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/169234/1/obiano-appreciates-pensioners-gives-out-rice.html

9inches:
OBIANO APPRECIATES PENSIONERS, GIVES OUT RICE

Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has distributed the first set of 2,660 bags of rice to pensioners in the State. Performing the function at Independence Square, Amawbia, Governor Obiano said the welfare of pensioners, who served the State faithfully in the past, would remain a priority throughout the life span of his administration.

The beneficiaries are retired primary school teachers and local government workers from Anaocha, Awka North, Awka South, Dunukofia and Njikoka local government areas.

The Governor recalled that on inception his administration offset N1.8b pension arrears and had since maintained regular monthly payment in line with his promise to deliver on physical and human infrastructure. He restated the resolve of his government to give Awka a befitting capital status and announced that work would soon commence on the Ukwu – oji Isi – agu road.

Obiano urged the people to give APGA resounding victory in the coming election to consolidate good governance in the state.

The State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Mrs Azuka Enemuo said over ten thousand pensioners would benefit from the exercise across the State. Enemuo recalled that APGA governments in the State had paid over N42b pension arrears owed since 1999 during which time, she said, the retired workers suffered untold hardship. She disclosed that the state secretariat of the pensioners’ association has been completed and would soon be commissioned.

In their reactions, the pensioners wished the Governor God’s blessings. Mr Felix Okafor expressed gratitude to Obiano for his good gesture. Mrs Kate Chikweobi prayed God to endow the Governor with wisdom to pilot the affairs of the state.
http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/169234/1/obiano-appreciates-pensioners-gives-out-rice.html

hehe sounds like stomach infrastructure

Cuche:

Sometimes, I wonder if this Anambra South Senatorial seat is a birthright for the Ubas. Dr Ubah,( is he now a Professor ) of Political Sc dept UNN, I love that man 1999-2003
Dr Andy, a former assistant to OBJ (since 2007)
Now Chief Chris
All brothers
I am not jealous just wondering

lol. Eselu is very formidable in Anambra south. He was the one that delivered the seat for all his brothers. He is the last born. It will take serious politicking for them to lose that seat. The who family including Senator ugochukwu is supporting Chris over Andy. I have also been hearing rumors of his friendship with Obiano which he confirmed during their campaign at ogbaru.

He maintained that the Buses would ply the whole Local Government Areas with the transport fare at half of the current commercial rate .
He also assured the residents of the state that the
‘Operation Fill All Pot Holes’ on Anambra roads would
continue for a better living standard for everyone in
the State.
Governor Obiano explained that the gesture would
complement the services of the 200 city cabs launched in December last year which had impacted on the people’s lives positively.
Governor Obiano assured that the drivers will be well
trained to provide efficient services while enhanced
technology will follow the next consignment to make
sure people are happy in the State .

Obiano in less than a year has already done more than his predecessor in 8 years! interesting. With this, people will start paying around 50 naira or so to Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha from wherever in Anambra. Apart from Ngige road revolution in 2003, this would be the first time the masses are having a feel of government. Definitely, the governor would not need "ojukwu's last wish" to win his second tenure convincingly

Anambra Broadcasting Service 30th Anniversary : Pat Utomi Storms Anambra.

http://247ureports.com/anambra-broadcasting-service-30th-anniversary-pat-utomi-storms-anambra/

Onitsha Mall New render.

cjrane:
Onitsha Mall New render.

^^^Nice! Where there any changes made to the design?

I hope they landscape the surrounding area in keeping with what's in the renders!

IGBOSON1:


^^^Nice! Where there any changes made to the design?

I hope they landscape the surrounding area in keeping with what's in the renders!

Actually i can't tell if there were any changes.
Like you, i'm hoping they get the final product as close as possible to the render.
The landscaping is critical to be done well.
We have to pray that attention is paid to landscaping and it is done exactly as in the render. You know how our people regard landscaping.

I heard Obiano was stoned in Agulu during a campaign tour, can someone confirm?

IdiAmin1:
I heard Obiano was stoned in Agulu during a campaign tour, can someone confirm?

it is a lie. Here is what happened
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/IgboWorldForum/conversations/messages/248087

Disregard any article or propaganda by the illiterate called "mazi odera." He is sponsored by Peter obi.

FreeGlobe:

it is a lie. Here is what happened
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/IgboWorldForum/conversations/messages/248087

Disregard any article or propaganda by the illiterate called "mazi odera." He is sponsored by Peter obi.

This "ODERA-IGBO" guy is so disgusting with his write up. He can't even construct a simple sentence!!!!!!!!!!!!

Billionaire from War

Our Reporter
Sunday, February 8, 2015


"I was in Primary 3 in 1967 when the Nigerian Civil War started. I was living with my grandmother at Nnobi. I was schooling at St. Paul's. I stopped schooling and started trading with my uncle. At the heat of the civil war in 1968/69, most of the young men stopped going out.

"In the morning, they would go and hide. And he was the only son of the family. So I was the one going to the market. He was trading in fishing materials. We used to go to other villages to buy from those involved in the business. That was what we were doing until the end of the civil war. After the civil war on 12th of January 1970, my father died. He died on 20th shortly after the civil war. So I went back to Nnewi. In those days, widowhood was one year in which a woman would not go out. My mother was selling akara. It was until some part of 1970 that I went back to Nnobi to resume school. I started in Primary 4. That was 1970. I did Primary 4, 1970, did Primary 5, 1971. In 1972, I went back to Nnewi to do my Primary 6. That time, things were not easy.

[b]"On April 1, 1972, that was when Nigeria changed from left to right-hand drive. So there was one month holiday from April 1 to ending. I was thinking of what I would be doing. I decided to approach one man that sells newspapers if he can be allowing me to sell newspapers and be earning some commission. The man accepted and I started selling newspapers and lottery tickets. I was able to save five pounds, nine shillings in that one month. I discovered that it was a good business, so I used the money to establish a small poultry at the back of my mother's kitchen. I bought 540 birds. That was how I started poultry while schooling. And when I came back from school, I would go and sell lottery along with newspapers and magazines to take care of my birds. By October most of the birds got matured. Then I started selling eggs. In the morning, people would be queuing up to buy my eggs. Sometimes I was selling between 18 to 24 dozens a day. That was how I was managing. I was doing it till November during my Primary 6 exams. I invested the proceeds into selling raffle, which also fetched me money. After my primary school, my maternal uncle Ben Akubueze invited me to join him in the fishing material trading. I left on 17th December 1970 for Onitsha. I spent five years as an apprentice. At the end of my apprenticeship I was supposed to be settled but he told my mother that he would not be able to settle me then because he had a lot of stock...[/b]

"My mother gave me one thousand naira as seed money. Then that December, my immediate senior sister got married and there was a dowry of N300 paid. So my mother gave it to somebody to keep. She collected the money and gave it to me. I had N1,300. That morning, she woke me up and prayed from 5 o'clock till 7 in the morning. She came out of the room and was crying. Outside, the sun was rising and she knelt down and prayed. Then gave me the N1,300. She placed the money in my hand and carried sand and put on top of it and asked me to go and prosper, saying: 'If the sand in this land finishes, your money will finish. If the sand doesn't finish, your money will not finish.'

"She cleaned her eyes, I went and showered then left for Lagos. That money was too small to do business. I went to Ghana anyway. I will buy some fishing hooks from Nigeria and sell in Ghana. After selling it, I will buy pepper, chewing stick and straw hat, which I will come and sell in Lagos. I was selling them to Yoruba women..."

This is the voice of A.C. Okafor, a child of the Biafran War telling me how he started business from zero to become one of the richest men in Nigeria today east of the Niger River. He is not alone. There are other indomitable spirits like him whose childhood and innocence were disrupted by war. By dint of hard work, determination, passion, persistence and the grace of God, they battled all odds to become billionaires. How did they do it? What is their story?

For some time now, I have been compiling their stories-stories that mirror the can-do spirit of the Igbo race. Stories of men who overcame adversity. Entrepreneurs who used their God-given talents to make money, to create businesses and employ thousands of Nigerians. To me, they are the true heroes of Nigeria. Anyone who can create jobs for our teeming masses, all looking up to the government for jobs, is a hero. I have in mind entrepreneurs like Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi of the Nestle Oil Group (Sun's Hospitality Man of the Year Award winner), Chief (Sir) James Uzochukwu Uduji of Cometstar Manufacturing Company Ltd., Chief Poly Emenike of Neros Pharmaceuticals, Chidi Anyaegbu, the transport magnate, Tony Elumelu, the corporate giant, Cosmas Maduka, the auto giant, Stella Okoli of Emzor, Chief Charles Odunukwe of Colonades (winner of Sun's Hospitality Man of the Year Award). The list goes on and on.

Interviewing these entrepreneurs is a whole learning experience. The story of Chika Okafor, 58, chairman of Chicason cannot be fully told in a column like this. From zero, this child of the Biafran War became a hero, building an indigenous conglomerate with presence in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Kenya and Guinea.

The secret of business success, he reveals, is integrity. He told the story of how he made his first big break by returning some fishing materials that were over-supplied to him by some Indians.

"I had to return the money because it was not my money," Okafor says. "And I would not prosper if I tamper with it. So I believe. They now asked: What can we do for you? I told them the only thing they can do for me is to reserve the goods for me and not to sell to another person. Because the thing was in very high demand in Ghana. So they reserved the goods for me. By the time I finished selling the goods, I made N28,000. It was big news in the industry."

Today, Okafor has been more than blessed. He owns A-Z Petroleum and a chain of companies. In Kenya, Burundi, Guinea, Liberia and Ghana, he either has oil blocks or he is concluding plans to have. In Sierra Leone, he has nine mining licences for iron ore, diamond and gold.

"In all these oil blocks we are doing exploratory work," he admits. "In Nigeria, we started with barite-what they use in drilling oil. We have more than 40 licences for that too. We have mining leases in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Cross River. To the glory of God, we are equally into real estate. We are one of the two companies that got approval to do 100,000 houses for Nigerian civil servants, starting with 25,000 in Abuja. In Nigeria, we have over 4,000 staff.

"We are also into cement manufacturing. We took over a company called International Cement in Sagamu. What we are trying to do is to add value to the economy."

The idea for the story of Igbo business giants started at Camp Neya last year when Chief Orji Uzor Kalu introduced me and Dimgba Igwe to Chief Cletus Ibeto, saying: "These are the two foremost biographers in Nigeria today. Let them write your story."

Today, Nigeria is in the midst of what looks like another war. Why must an election turn into war? Why is the ghost of June 12 rearing its ugly head again? The story of Nigeria is like the story of the Bourbons in the French Revolution. "They learnt nothing and forgot nothing" is what Talleyrand famously described it. Similarly in Nigeria, through our behaviour, we seemed to have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing about our tragic political past.

http://nigeriaworld.com/cgi-bin/axs/ax.pl?http://odili.net/news/source/2015/feb/8/513.html

******* ******* *******

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azpetroleum.com%2F&ei=6rLYVOyWIc_waLvEgJAC&usg=AFQjCNEgv-x0fK9vQ1UHIoW9YQ8DII7EBQ

I just love all these stories of success against the odds! This is yet another story of a man that was born without a silver spoon in his mouth, yet struggled doggedly against the odds to raise to the dizzying heights of entrepreneurial and corporate success that we we see today!

They need to compile all these uplifting stories in a book and distribute among school kids so they can have the hope that -whatever the obstacles they may presently face- with hardwork, education and faith in God, the sky can be their limit!

I hope they do more stories on the other Titans of business from Alaigbo!

Anambra signs N100bn agreement for international market

The Anambra State Government has signed an agreement with a private market developer, Burkam Group Nigeria Limited, to build, operate and transfer, a N100 billion ultra-modern international market at Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.
The market, which was started in 1999 under the administration of the former governor of the state, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, but suffered some hitches, is expected to commence operation in March, this year, with about 1,300 of expected 20,000 shops already built.
Speaking shortly before signing the contract, which will last for 15 years, the Anambra State Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Mr. Ifeatu Olejeme, who represented Governor Willie Obiano, said the state government was backing the project hundred per cent.
He said the market was in line with one of the governor’s four pillars of development, trade and commerce, to improve the opportunities of traders and the people of the state.
Olejeme said the market, situated on the Onitsha- Owerri Expressway, when completed, would have all the facilities of a modern and international market
such as fire service, convenience, parking lots, canteen, baking services, nursery and primary schools for nursing mothers among other basic
infrastructure.
He said the establishment of the market would help redistribute wealth among the communities in the state, and transform the immediate environment as
their land and other things would appreciate.
The commissioner promised that the state government would do the fencing of the market and the ring roads to show its commitment to the success of the project.
The Chairman and managing director of Burkam Group Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Hassan Burkar, said with this agreement, the company would work 18 hours daily to meet the March 2015 deadline, as­
suring that he would not fail the stakeholders of the market.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=103926

massive. Interesting that a northerner is investing this much in the south east! What of the oba airport that went along with this market?

FreeGlobe:
massive. Interesting that a northerner is investing this much in the south east! What of the oba airport that went along with this market?

not sure if that news is recent at least I know work has been going on that market for some months now...airport in oba?where is the space?

asha80:
not sure if that news is recent at least I know work has been going on that market for some months now...airport in oba?where is the space?

The news is recent, today's news on Sun. I guess the contract was just signed weekend. Yes. when mbadinuju started the market he also intended to build an international airport along with the market. Infact the airport was the first project Andy Ubah awarded during his stint as governor so the land is already mapped out there.

asha80:
not sure if that news is recent at least I know work has been going on that market for some months now...airport in oba?where is the space?

^^^You're right! I read of that investment at least 4 months ago!

Would be nice if the gov't could be serious about updating their website with news updates, pics and video-clips of all these investments! This is not only for our benefit, but could also spur new investors to decide investing in the state! A state gov't website is a veritable tool for reaching out to the entire world and should be used effectively in this digital age!

Another point i want to make is that all these new investments are a pointer to the fact that Anambra (if they don't decide to partner with Asaba or Enugu by building a rail link to their airports) needs an international gateway to the outside world ASAP! This is not just desirable, but critically necessary if the state wants to maximise returns on these investments and increase its IGR exponentially! Personally, i wouldn't mind if the state gov't took out a loan of some sort for this!

And that river port in Onitsha should be put to use too!

asha80:
not sure if that news is recent at least I know work has been going on that market for some months now...airport in oba?where is the space?

When I passed there last week they were putting interrlocking stones there, the market is of international standard, its the most beautiful market in Anambra State now.
Very soon people will start moving into the shops

OkijaAmaka:


When I passed there last week they were putting interrlocking stones there, the market is of international standard, its the most beautiful market in Anambra State now.
Very soon people will start moving into the shops

well that's good to know because I know work has been going on that market if you passin the express....at least it will decongest Onitsha..i also wonder who the hell is building a market just under the niger bridge?

An insight into ANSIPPA operations so far..

How we turned Anambra into Nigeria’s investment destination of choice –Ekwunife, ANSIPPA Boss

Mr. Joe Billy Ekwunife is the managing director of Anambra State Investment promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA.), a special purpose vehicle established by the state government to facilitate the industrialization process of the state through helping prospective entrepreneurs overcome the hurdles of infrastructure and land title constraints.

In less than ten months of its establishment, AN­SIPPA under Ekwunife has attracted over $1.7billion investment in various sectors of the state’s economy, a development officials believe will raise its internally generated revenue to about N2.5billion per month over the next few months from about N1bilion cur­rently as well as facilitate job creation for Nigerian youths.

He explained that recent survey had shown that the state moved dramatically from occupying the 32nd position in business friendly environment ranking to about 15 per cent, assuring that the steady rise was bound to continue until it becomes the number one in­vestment destination in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

This is because, ahead of the full implementation of the Federal Government’s Economic Trasnsformation Agenda and the automotive policy, the state is already home to several huge investments in automobile assembly plants and a couple of other investments in the agricultural value chain.

Ekwunife stated that ANSIPPA which came into being through a law passed by the state House of Assembly, achieved the feat of getting land titles for investors coming to set up businesses in the state within 6 to 8 weeks, as opposed to over two years in parts of the country.

In this interview with Daily Sun, the ANSIPPA boss explains the philosophy behind the agen­cy and efforts being made by the Obiano administration to achieve its lofty objectives.

Excerpts.

Our history

ANSIPPA was inaugurated by Governor Willy Obiano in May 2014. We started in a one-room office in a hotel but later moved to its present location in October after it was commissioned by the Governor.

As a special purpose vehicle, (SPV) the law establishing ANSIPPA was passed by the Anambra State House of Assembly in April 2014. That was about the first assignment the Governor undertook because we believe the agency is a very strategic and key component of our administration’s 4 pillars of eco­nomic development, comprising Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil and Gas with other enablers like education, security and all that. If you observe, the Gov­ernor on coming on board tackled the state’s security challenge and within weeks and months, Anambra became relatively free of criminals and hoodlums. At least people who visited home from other parts of the country for last Christmas holidays all testified to this. As a matter of fact, Obiano doesn’t even want to take credit for that because he believes that was what a governor should do ordinarily.


However, we have now seen that this singu­lar achievement has boosted what we are do­ing in ANSIPPA, which is to attract, promote, manage and protect investments in the state.

We have been effectively in operations for about seven months and through the active leadership of the governor, ANSIPPA has been able to attract investments to the tune of $1.7 billion which cut across various sectors of the economy.

If you want to break it down, I can tell you that we had about $600 million in investment in agriculture, and close to $400 million in industrials, while oil and gas and power sector accounted for close to $350 million. In other sectors like hospitality, real estate, we have attracted close to $300-$400 million.

Today we are signing two major Memoran­dum of Understanding which will bring about $150 million in investment in vehicle assem­bly plant and liquefied natural gas distribution. We believe this will help industries bring down their cost of production. If all these projects are implemented, it then means the industrial clusters will reduce the cost of powering their plants by at least 30 percent. So, we appreciate the governor for his vision which is also in tandem of the vision and mission to make Anambra the first choice investment destination in the country which is now beginning to materialize.

It is very important to note that before AN­SIPPA came into being, Anambra was number 32 in terms of investments destinations among the 36 states of the federation. But lately though not fully confirmed, unofficial reports indicate that since the onset of Governor Obiano’s administration, we have moved probably to number 15 from 32. This is more so because ANSIPPA has a board that is made up of world-class economic council. It’s an 11- man board but the beauty of it is that within , we have five key commissioners and ministers on the board. We have Commissioner for Lands, finance, trade and industry, economic planning and budget and the Attorney General as members of its board.

It was deliberate and very visionary of the governor because all these sit to appraise all the projects and all of them have had to make input into whatever we are doing. We have what I call one-stop shop agency where all the relevant to project approval are done really quickly without the inhibition of any bureau­cratic bottleneck

For instance in other states or prior to set ­ting up of ANSIPPA, it takes an average of 18 months to get a Certificate of Occupancy, but now, if you come here and you want your C of O that will enable you bring investment to the state and employ our youths, if you have a piece of land and it passes the generic assess­ment in ANSIPPA, it will take 6-8 weeks for you to get your C of O. It’s unprecedented in Nigeria. This is because the governor has the vision of a private sector operator to improve the state in all ramifications and has decided to set up ANSIPPA to fasttrack the processes. You can see where we are, that we’re not in the secretariat where people carry files about without achieving tangible results. That is the image of the new Anambra State we are building.

Number of projects on ground

I can count them. It’s between 10 and 15 so far but I can tell you that I receive an average of 120 proposals every day. I can also tell you that we are so professional that sometimes, we have 120 proposals and 111 of them are not good, which means we are very selective. But once you meet our policy requirements, we can tell you that it will be given express treatment.

Some of the MOUs we’re signing today, we made first contact with those involved in December and we’re signing it in late January. That is the speed with which we pursue these proposals because my board meets twice a month, largely to consider proposals and review the ones we have. So, I can say that we have handled between 12 and 15 projects with total amount ranging from $400 million to $300, 200, 50 and so on. When you add all of them up, it’s over $1.7 billion.

Message to potential investors/allaying fears on security

Governor Willy Obiano has done a marvelous job in the area of security and he took it for granted and said that’s what he ought to do. So, what he has done here in just seven months will be celebrated for over three or four years in others states. But we are excited that the confidence of the busi­ness community is back in the state. Most of the investors, that is Ndi Anambra have now developed enough confidence to bring their partners from overseas to come and invest locally. So, the assurance is there. I Just spoke with some friends a short while ago, people brought their families for the yuletide celebrations last year, stayed for many weeks and there was no single incident of kidnap­ping or criminality in the entire state because the criminals know that the government will always go for them and dislodge them. If you pass through Onitsha for example, you see the beauty of that commercial city. You’ll see the cleaned up environment which has helped rebuild the peoples’ confidence in the state and government. So, what am I telling people the world over is that Anambra is safe. Anambra is secure. Social media and internet is now busy telling the whole world what is happening in Anambra State. I get a lot of mails, calls, SMS about what is happening in the state. We have a governor whose paramount interest is to safeguard the lives and property of the citizens. In fact, people are scrambling to see how they can join the fray. So, the state is secure and safe and I’m telling them same too.

Power

I’ve just told you we signed MOU about seven weeks ago on a power plant that will produce 80 megawatts of electricity. Re­member the entire country is running on about 3,000 megawatts. The 80 megawatts will be spread around the industrial clusters. All these will soon happen. It’s a question of time. All the MOUs have between 18-24 months imple­mentation time. We’re doing another power project that is going to run on gas. Some will run on solar. These will be put at the farms to irrigate them, and around the clusters. It may take a while but once they come onboard, power issue will be a thing of the past. It will be available, full and affordable. Nigerians are willing to pay for services that are good and so if you give them uninterrupted electricity, they will be willing to pay. Where it becomes a problem is when you don’t provide the service and you try to charge them. We believe our government is on the right path which is also the treason it has been able to attract investments covering sectors like power, oil and gas and agriculture which is one of the main pillars of the state’s eco­nomic development. Anambra today produces about 60,000 metric tons of rice annually and we consume over 370,000 metric tons of rice, so there is a gap of almost 300,000. So, with the three major rice produc­tion MoUs we’ve signed, once they come on stream, we’re going to produce about 320,000 metric tons. With that, the gap is already closed and the state will become a net exporter of rice to other states in the next one or two years.

So, the governor chose his pillars very well and is pursuing them vig­orously and that is why I can assure you that the power challenge will eventually be solved. It has to be solved through IPPs. If we rely on government, we won’t do that and because of the confidence potential investors are having on Anambra, they are beginning to come and look at power, oil and gas, putting infrastructure in place because power is key to optimal performance of these projects and lower the cost of production.

Location of the projects

There is one of the projects at Ozubulu focusing on industrialization while the agricul­tural projects are located towards Awka North, Ayemelum where we have massive land. To do a major agriculture project, we’re talking of about 1-2,000 hectares of land. You’re talking about 4 million plots. One thing the governor has done is that through the agricultural implementation, they have mapped out these areas. We now have them partitioned. The areas that will grow rice, the area that will grow tomatoes, the area that will be used for industrialization have all been mapped out. If you come to trade and industry, they are building a major market in Ogbunike. It is a very hi-tech modern market that will gulp up to $350 million. That way, you don’t have to fly to China. The market is so developed and computerized that everything you want is there. The clusters are spread all over the senatorial zones because there is committee that mapped out the areas suitable for certain crops or projects. So the locations are Awka, like Awka Capital Development Au­thority; another location is Ozubulu, Nnewi and all that. The ACDA is charged with ensuring standards in building development. They have mapped out the areas that will be for highrise, the areas for low buildings, areas for commercial purposes, schools and other development stan­dards. So you can’t come now and start developing in Awka. All these are in progress and in the next one or two years, if you come to Anambra State, it will be total transformation entirely.

Why we’re expanding into auto industry

Yes! The state is a leader in auto related activities in Nigeria mainly by being importers of vehicles. Apart from Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Limited that is into production, we don’t have much in production. In any case, this company we’re signing MoU with today is not doing only production of cars and buses but in fact it is doing tractors that will serve in agricultural projects, that is talking about earth-moving equipment used for road construction and other com­mercial activities. So they will be producing those heavy duty machin­eries that we normally import into the country, when they commence operations full blast. With that, they will be helping other companies and business interests. At the end of the day the aim of all these efforts is Jobs! Jobs!! Jobs!!!.

We have discovered that job creation is paramount to engage our youths so that they can disengage from crime. These projects will also grow the state’s socio-economic fortunes.

For instance during the construc­tionphase, we are going to hire at least 200 direct employment for the Ndi Anambra. When it has fully ma­tured, we’re going to create at least 2,000 direct jobs and you know that for every direct job you create, you created at least four indirect jobs. Look at the agric sector for example, at the end of the day, we’ll create at least 150,000 jobs for the youths. Part of the plans is to make you (the investor) commit to the commu­nity through the Corporate Social Responsibility. You devote certain percentage of your profit to the de­velopment of schools, provide bore­holes and all that for the community where you operate. It is part of what I do here. If you’re not going to do that, then it won’t work because I won’t put your structure into place. The host community where you are operating, you’ve taken their land. You must have some form of deal to compensate them. For instance, if they are producing cassava, pro­vided that they met your standards, you must buy all that the cassava they cultivate. You must give them seedlings where necessary, you must encourage them. So, with this plan, you give everyone a sense of belonging, create employment in the process and develop the economy.

Next investment plan

The governor has the plan to build a cargo airport in Anambra around Umuleri. The land is there already. Remember Orient Petroleum is located there as well. They have oil wells. We are looking at having refineries. Those are the areas in oil and gas. If Orient Petro­leum is producing oil, gas and then aviation fuel, that will be a good development. Remember some international airlines go to Ghana to refuel but when ours is operational, they can come here to refuel. So, we are looking at various areas of investment and development. We’re looking at introducing value chain in agriculture. One thing is to produce but another is to provide the storage so that after the season of the crops, you still have the goods fresh to consume and sell. The usual challenge in agriculture in Nigeria is poor storage facilities. Two or three months after the harvest, we don’t have the means to preserve the farm produce and soon they go out of season and we start afresh again. So, we’re looking at value chain in all these sectors that investors are com­ing into. By value chain I mean that you’re producing cassava which you are converting to starch. We are also looking at waste management and recycling. So, the waste from the cassava and the farm generally are going to be collected and converted into cheap sources of energy or power. These are some of the things that will come in the second stage of our investment plan.

Orient petroleum

They are producing at low capacity at the moment. They are refining about 2,000-2,500 bar­rels a day. They have the capacity to push it up to 55,000 barrels per day and you know Anambra State has a very tiny equity. Besides, it’s a pri­vate investment. Through ANSIPA, we’re looking at ways of cooperat­ing with them, see how funds will be attracted from either international donors or sources or other outlets so that they can expand. They have good potentials. They have many oil wells and they have tapped only less than 1 percent. They have full gas reserve and all these are going to be exploited. They are looking at so many options. The governor inau­gurated a committee on oil and gas recently headed by a well known oil man. They are looking at ways of helping Orient Petroleum live up to its potentials.

Incentives to investors

Aside giving them lands, we do all documentation about perfection of the land and all that. All investments in Anambra via the PPP comes with Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that drives that transaction. When you acquire a plot of land in a good location say at about N1.5 million and you require 20,000 plots which is 1,000 hectares. We’re not going to give you at the rate of N1.5, multiplied by 20,000 because that is over N2 billion. Some of these things are weighed and reduced or waived. They are part of Anambra’s contribution to make these projects a reality. We also assist in tax relief where necessary and all that. Like I said, we have a one-stop shop where you come in and sit in the comfort of this office, I will do all the leg work and documentation that within days, all the paper work is ready. That will save weeks and months of tracing and carrying files from office to office or from ministry to ministry. These are the things that make Anambra unique in terms of investment attraction. If we tell you that we’ll conclude in 60 days, we try to even deliver in 50 days.

State’s equity in the projects

Yes our equity is the land we have provided because in some places we have taken 5 per cent and in others 10 per cent equity.

We look at the infrastructure we have provided in these MoUs because it takes about N90million to N100million to do one kilometer of road and if you do about three kilometers you would have invested about N300 to N400milion. Those are the things we value in addition to other intangibles the state govern­ment is providing to come up with the actual equity the government is putting into these projects.

Partnership with Chinese

I wouldn’t say we are partnering a lot with Chinese but these are people with special skills that made Nigerian businessmen to think of bringing them because they have special skills. But the MoUs we have so far signed cut across investors from America, Europe and Chinese. As a matter of fact by next week we will be receiving 35man strong Thailand Trade Mission and Business delegation coming to Awka to hold discussions with the government and business commu­nity. We are also looking at South Africa and businessmen from across the world.

Project continuity

There was a law establishing ANSIPPA which was passed by the Anambra state House of Assembly and it’s a law that will outlive the present administration. So whatever we are doing with ANSIPPA is covered by law and investors would be rest assured that we are not existing by a government fiat but by a law duly passed by the state assembly. There are certain things we cannot do because we are regulated by a law passed by the State House of Assembly.http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=103845

Schematics:
An insight into ANSIPPA operations so far..

the issue is monitoring these mous so that they materialize.