Obiano’s one year impressive, says APGA chieftain

On March 17, 2015, the administration of Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State will clock one year. In this interview, notable Igbo Leader and a chieftain of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, the Ogrisi Igbo  bares

his mind on the governor’s performance so far.  Ezeonwuka who is a member of APGA Board of Trustees (BoT) also spoke on the forthcoming general elections and other issues.

 What’s your assessment of Governor Willie Obiano’s administration in Anambra State?

I cannot hesitate to give Obiano a pass mark following his one-year in office because he has done wonderfully well in most critical areas of governance vis-à-vis security, education, agriculture, road and sports.  In fact, his performance in the last 12 months exceeded our expectations. It is like a dream come true. Take for instance, nobody believed that Anambra could get rid of kidnappers and armed robbers. Today kidnappers and armed robbers, who hitherto, terrorized residents and visitors in the state, have been flushed out completely.

Before now, cases of kidnapping and robbery were reported on daily basis in the commercial cities of Onitsha and Nnewi in particular and people there were relocating to Asaba, Abuja and other places including neighbouring countries like Ghana and Benin Republic. Some people went to Europe and China in search of cover and safety of their families and businesses. Those already living abroad refused to come home and potential investors ran away. But all these are now in the past because people now have adequate security cover. People now sleep with their eyes closed and those who ran away are coming back. Anambra as far as I’m concerned is now safe for investors. That is why Coscharis came down to invest in rice production. Make the environment conducive and investors will come. That is what Obiano has done.

In the areas of agriculture and sports, he has done wonders. For instance, successive governments neglected Rojenny Stadium completely. Governor Peter Obi brought in some money but the amount was nowhere near the works required to put the stadium in good shape. Obiano came in and took over the renovation of the stadium completely and even initiated the project of building basketball and volleyball pitches.

On Education and Health, he has consolidated on inherent quality service delivery through the churches from immediate past administration and ensured that the sectors are accorded proper attention they deserve. On road and infrastructure he is not doing badly. Construction companies are everywhere around the state working on various roads. Very soon Awka will wear a new look like Apapa in Lagos or Maitama in Abuja with the kind of massive flyover and by pass that is currently on going along the Enugu – Onitsha Expressway. The Governor maintained the good relationship between Ndi Anambra and the Federal Government and we have continued to enjoy federal presence in the state.

The story of his achievement is not complete without the mention of the burial of the fallen heroes. And I can tell you that we have started to reap the interest of the burial.

So going by what he has done in the past twelve months Obiano is a wonderful Governor and nobody can take that away from him.

How do you hope that APGA will be fair in the forthcoming general election both in Anambra and beyond?

From all indications, we are going to do well not only in Anambra but in other places across the country. In one of my interviews, I said that APGA is fielding the best candidates ahead of other parties. In Anambra for instance, we have quality candidates for National and state Assembly seats that are better than what other parties are parading. Take for instance in Anambra central senatorial district APGA is fielding Sir Victor Umeh who we all know has a wonderful credibility. Umeh as the National Chairman of APGA has proven to be an indefatigable leader of the present generation in Igboland and his capabilities to do well in the senate is not in doubt. That APGA is alive today is consequent upon the leadership skills of Umeh. People believed that APGA will die after the exit of Eze Igbo Gburugburu, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu but here we are with APGA bubbling and growing from strength to strength. And nobody can take the success away from the National Chairman. I believe that the good people of Anambra central will see reasons to give him the mandate to go and represent them bearing in mind that he will make Ndigbo proud in the senate in the forthcoming elections.

In Anambra North senatorial district APGA is fielding Dubem Obaze, a well articulate and unassuming gentleman who is very popular in the state. He served as a commissioner for years and commands a household name in the state. In the South we have former Vice Chairman of the National Communication Commission (NCC), Dr Ernest Ndukwe as the candidate of APGA. Now tell me the party that has a better candidate who is refined with such a high profile sound pedigree like Ndukwe in Anambra South?

In the race for the Federal House of Representatives we have the likes of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu junior running for Nnewi federal constituency. He is a sure bet because the people of the constituency will massively vote for him. We have Dozie Nwankwo, a young successful entrepreneur and philanthropist gunning for Njikoka Federal constituency, For Awka federal constituency we have on board Godson Ezenagu who is also a renowned philanthropist and popular enough to win election. The list is endless.

Where is the Igbo man considering the controversy surrounding the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan by Ohaneze Ndigbo?

 The Igbo man is behind Jonathan’s reelection bid. There is no controversy or argument about that. From Anambra to Enugu, Ebonyi to Abia and even Imo, which is under the APC, Ndigbo will all vote for Jonathan. Buhari, the Presidential candidate of APC has no vision for Ndigbo. When Buhari came to Anambra, I listened carefully to his speech and to my surprise; he didn’t say anything about the second Niger Bridge and how he could bring federal presence to the southeast. He didn’t talk about any issue of Igbo interest all through his campaign in the five states of the southeast so tell me why we should vote for him?

Thank God the elections were postponed. It saved the country from what could have been a huge mess. The INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega was far from reality when he said that INEC was ready to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 14 and 28, 2015, From what we have seen following the postponement of the elections, it is very clear that, it was absolutely impossible to conduct the elections in February. A lot of people didn’t have PVC as at that time. Card reader machines were not tested, as at that time and the whole exercise could have been kangaroo elections to the shame of this country. Those who are calling for Jega’s exit are not speaking out of point. I commend the idea of shifting the election and if there is need to further shift the elections I will support it.

Coming to your question, really there is tension in the land and some of our people in the North have even disappeared from their base for fear of imminent violence. You cannot blame them because safety is very important.  However, the Presidency and the Security chiefs are aware of the situation, I think they are equal to task of protecting the country against possible outbreak of election violence. The Police. Military and other security agencies have to do their work and ensure adequate security. Nigerians are interested in these elections and all hands must be on deck. This is one. Two, election is not a not a do-or-die affair and thus the gladiators and their supporters will have to understand it so. President Jonathan was perfect enough to declare that no ambition is worth human life and we should take note of that. The election is a human affair and any affair that is well managed is sure of yielding profitable results

Interview By Zika Bobby