₦airaland Forum

Niseamaka: I wonder what politics have to do with this.

The winner of the recently concluded governorship election in Anambra State, Willie Obiano, has said that he is tired of receiving congratulatory messages from members of the public, begging him to deliver on good governance when he assumes office.

In a recent tweet on his Twitter handle, Obiano described the messages as frustrating and heartbreaking. He asked concerned Nigerians to stop begging him to fulfil his campaign promises.

A quick check on Twitter by our correspondent shows that some Nigerians have asked Obiano not to disappoint them when his tenure begins.

Noting that since the people of Anambra State had given the governor-elect their mandate, as declared by INEC, they urged him to go ahead and fulfil his pledge to transform the state.

For instance, Joseph Onuorah, in a tweet to Obiano, wrote, “Congratulations…Out of relative obscurity, you have an opportunity to discover a divine mission: Please fulfil it in Anambra State.”

But the governor-elect says such pleas were not only unnecessary and needless but premature.

“The pleas are almost breaking my heart. I’m convinced it is my duty to work for you as your elected governor. I shouldn’t be begged. We will now go back to the drawing room to ensure that our manifesto becomes a reality. It is about ensuring that Anambra will work in our time. I appreciate you all for giving me your mandate,” Obiano replied.

The governor-elect also promised not to emulate some politicians who abandoned their social media friends after coasting home to victory at the polls.

Obiano, who describes himself as an astute banker, philanthropist and advocate of excellence and boasts a combined following of 12, 497 people on Facebook and Twitter, said he would never bite the finger that fed him.

He told his followers on Twitter and those who made use of various social networking sites to mobilise support for him that he could not but “thank God for social media.”

To prove his point that he will stay glued to the social media, even after being sworn in as the governor, Obiano said he had been “dashing in and out” of Twitter to respond to goodwill messages sent to him, in spite of his busy schedule.

He said he had “campaigned vigorously” on Twitter, noting that it would amount to a great disservice to his followers and fans on the social network to abandon those who stood by him and ensured his victory at the polls.

In a series of tweets, Obiano writes, “You will still see me here on Twitter. I’m here with you. It will be a long journey, but I want to rely on your sincere observations here on Twitter of our successes and mistakes to get this journey right.

“We must thank God for the social media. I thank you all for the messages of goodwill. I quickly dashed in this morning (Monday) to make a few tweets and dashed out again.

“Unfortunately, I can’t reply all your tweets individually, but I must thank you here and now for sending them. This victory is dedicated to God who is the creator of all and to you who believed in our message.”

Still relishing his victory in the governorship election, Obiano told his friends on Facebook that he held a thanksgiving service with his wife on Sunday to begin on a sound note.

“My people, we held a thanksgiving service at the Obiano Auditorium Aguleri, yesterday (Sunday). We are so full of thanks to God. We are also thankful to you all.

“Let us practice a lifestyle of gratitude because naturally, the more grateful we are, the more blessings we receive,” a message on his Facebook page read on Monday.

Expressing his gratitude on Facebook, he adds, “Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for partaking in the campaign both on ground and online. We will keep the flag flying.”

Meanwhile, Obiano who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, has started using his Twitter handle to canvass support from his political opponents.

He has specifically tweeted messages to the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Chris Ngige; Labour Party, Ifeanyi Ubah; and Peoples Democratic Party, Tony Nwoye, soliciting their support and saying “we all won.”

“I deeply appreciate my comrades, Tony Nwoye, Chris Ngige and Ifeanyi Ubah. We all campaigned vigorously on Twitter. I congratulate my brothers for such a great campaign. Our state, Anambra, needs to be united and I call on you to use our big influence in playing this role,” Obiano states on Twitter.

However, only Ubah has responded to the olive branch extended by Obiano to the other three governorship candidates on the microblogging service.

Ubah, in his response, congratulated Obiano whom he describes as the “Independent National Electoral Commission’s winner” but notes in another tweet that the electoral process through which he (Obiano) emerged is “a matter for another day.”

A check on the Twitter page of the PDP standard bearer in the election, Tony Nwoye, showed that he had since left the account dormant. The last time he made use of the account was on November 19, three days after the first round of the election.

During his election campaign, Nwoye managed to post 162 tweets while he boasted a following of 132 people.

However, Ngige and Ubah have continued to make use of their respective Twitter handles to respond to inquiries and observations from their supporters, even after the conduct of the supplementary election.

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GOVERNOR lbrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State will be among the 12 people who will be awarded doctorate degrees of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, on November 30.

The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, made this known at a news conference, to herald the 11th convocation of the institution on Thursday in Okada.

He said Dankwambo, who would be awarded Doctors of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Accountancy, ‘had successfully defended his thesis.”

Osaghae said, of the 1007 graduands, 35 would be awarded masters degrees, four postgraduate diploma degrees and 12 doctorate degrees.

The vice chancellor said that 29 graduands made first class, 320 second class upper, 345 second class lower and 13 had third class.

He said the university would also confer honorary doctorate degrees on Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Amnesty, Mr Kingskey Kuku and Chairman, Ray-Royal Construction, Reverend Mathew Okpebholo.

Osaghae said retired General Abdulramah Dambazau would deliver the convocation lecture entitled: “Overcoming Nigeria’s security challenges.”

He said that all the institution’s existing 31 academic programmes got 100 per cent in National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditation.

The vice chancellor said that the NUC also accredited additional 14 programmes for the institution.

“The NUC has also approved for us to run a part time degree programmes in the institution,” he said.

Upper Sharia court in Bauchi has sentenced a 30-year-old man, Umar Mohammed Kandahar to death by stoning, for impregnating his younger sister.

The court records, made available to journalists on Wednesday in Bauchi , showed that Umar was arraigned before Upper Sharia Court Unguwar Jaki, by the Bauchi State Shari’ah Commission, where he was accused of impregnating his younger sister from the same father.

Counsel to the Shariah Commission, Barrister Dayyabu Ayuba, told the court that the suspect is married with three wives, but forcefully had sex with his younger sister.

According to Ayuba, the younger sister was brought to his house by their father to help take her to school, but instead, he forced her and had sexual intercourse with her, when she was 16 years old. The act resulted in pregnancy and she has already delivered a baby, contrary to section 136(1) of the Bauchi State Penal code law 2001.

When asked by the presiding Shariah court judge, the accused pleaded guilty, but disagreed that he forced her to have sexual intercourse; instead he maintained that she accepted to have a sex with him. The Shariah Court Judge, Musa Barde sentenced him to death by stoning.

Meanwhile, the accused, has filed an appeal against the judgment before the Bauchi State Sharia Court of Appeal, arguing that he did not agree with the judgment.

Counsel to Umar, Barrister Sadiq Abubakar on Wednesday, filed a motion before Bauchi State High court number seven, asking for the bail of the accused, pending the determination of his appeal by the Sharia Court of appeal.

He told the court that the accused family suffered because of his detention since 2011 and asked the court to release him on bail, to ease the sufferings of his family.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Aliyu Baba Usman, has fixed Monday, November 25, 2013, for mentioning of the appeal.

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State on Monday distributed 58 brand new cars to Directors in the state Civil Service, the first Governor since the state was created to do so. Governor Obi presented the vehicles at the Governor’s Lodge.

Obi said the gesture was a fulfilment of his earlier promise and demonstration of his commitment to encourage and motivate workers and assured that he would continue to provide all necessary incentives that would enable workers improve on productivity as well as continue working for the state till the last day of his government.

In his appreciation, the state Head of Service, Chidi Ezeoke, while thanking the Governor for the gesture, recalled that it was the first time a Governor provided such incentive since the Old Anambra State.

Ezeoke noted that Obi has brought smiles to the faces of civil servants and called on other Governors to follow his footsteps to assist workers to attain their full potential.

The state Head of Service explained that the vehicles would enhance the activities of the Directors being the hub of the Civil Service and expressed the hope that the State would never slide back to its difficult past.

In the separate reactions, some of the beneficiaries, including Harry Udu and Godwin Uzoigwe, said the Governor had given an unprecedented life line to the state workforce and was leaving legacy posterity would always be proud of. He assured that they would reciprocate the gesture by working harder and diligently to achieve the set goals

Also reacting, Azuka Okeke said it was surprising to them where the Governor got all the billions of Naira he was spending for the progress and development of the state.

He, however, said it was possible due to his fiscal discipline and responsibility.

chidinwachukwu: Bunch of Hypocrits,If APC wins in Southwest, Nigeria has started getting their Electoral System right.IF APGA wins in Anambra Nigeria will soon Disintegrate.Obasanjo President wow!,Nigerian is developing,Goodluck President Nigeria will soon Disintegrate anything not off them is Bad.May God help us in this Country