A philanthropist turned politician, Senator Al Ubanesse Igbeke, a ranking Senator of the Federal Republic, a former member of the National Political Reform Conference, the Director General of APGA Campagin Organization and the Ambassador Extraordinaire & Plenipotentiary to the Governor of Anambra State, has continued to gasp in the euphoria of the successes recorded by the administration of Chief Dr. Willie Obiano in just one year in office and the geometric progression that the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, as a party, has continued to make. Sen. Igbeke who described the one year in office of Governor Willie Obiano as very eventful and skyrocketing also maintained that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has shown Nigerians what civil rule and democratic governance are all about and thus deserves as a matter of necessity and consolidation to be re-elected come March 28. He spoke this much in an interview with our correspondent, Excerpts:
The Governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Obiano is one year in office, what is your assessment of his administration’s performance?
To me, a year in a four year term is really not enough yardstick to measure performance but it could be a pointer as to how well the office holder would do in the long run. Howerver, there is an Igbo adage that says; “you can only tell a blind man that there is no oil in the soup, but that of salt, the blind man will decide that by himself by using his tongue”. Anambra state under Governor Willie Obiano is getting transformed. Just within a short while of his emergence, security was restored and all can sleep with two eyes closed. And he has continued to throw result-oriented punches. I will say that Governor Willie Obiano’s one year in office has been very eventful with skyrocketing performance. First, he tackled crime and criminality with dispatch. He committed security votes to what it is actually meant for; fighting crime. And created enabling environment for businesses to thrive and restored investors confidence in the state which is why Anambra state has suddenly become foreign and local investment destination. That there is near zero violent crime rate in Anambra state today is because Governor Willie Obiano believes that the success of his socioeconomic policies is dependent on his ability to ensure and guarantee the protection of lives and property in the state; committing huge resources and intelligence into securing the state and wrestling her from the claws and jaws of kidnappers, armed robbers and other acts of banditry and gangstarism.
Is it only in the area of security that the Governor could be ad-judged to have performed exceedingly well?
Certainly not! But you know, in appraising Governor Obiano’s one year in office, we must take into account what the security situation was before he came in and what it has been since he came into office. Ofcourse, this was a man that met an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of about N500 million a month, and in less than one year blocked conduit pipes through which the revenues of the state drain into individual pockets and succeeded in raising the IGR base of the state to N1.1 billion monthly and has set a new target base of N3.3billion monthly. He is constructing five over head bridges (flyover) simultaneously in Awka, to make Awka a truly state capital which previous administrations couldn’t muster courage to delve into. He is running riot with construction of roads aimed at crisscrossing all the nooks and crannies of Anambra State. Cargo and aircraft refuelling airport is afoot in Anambra state, he has secured approval from the federal government. Which is to say that aircrafts both on local and international routes will land in Anambra state for refuelling. In the whole Eastern Nigeria there is no cargo airport, which is why our importers and businessmen still bring in their goods through Muritala Mohammed Airport, Lagos despite the internationalization of Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu, which for now does not have cargo section. Anambra state under Governor Obiano’s watch, in less than a year has attracted investments of about $3 billion dollars and the target in four years is between $15 billion to $20 billion. You can imagine when this money is converted to naira, it will come to trillions of naira. Now, if this kind of amount is circulating in a state like Anambra, the economy of the state will be so robust, the internally generated revenue will increase, job opportunities will be created and that automatically leads to transformation of all sorts. And while being mindful of his promise to continue (all projects started by previous administrations), complete (all projects started by previous administrations which cut across all projects ever awarded in Anambra state) and commence new projects (awarded by his administration), Governor Willie Obiano has been busy flagging off and or commissioning projects in the last one year because governance to him is all about touching lives. Workers and other commuters in the state now move from place to place with much ease as a result of the “Willie is Working” buses he provided. Workers get their salaries before the end of the month under Governor Willie Obiano. And for the first time; Anambra workers got their entitlements for 2014 on the 24th of December, 2014, as against the usual practice of getting their entitlements deep into the new year. Our hospitals are being rebuilt, remodeled and equipped. Our schools are getting adequate attention from his government. Anambra as agrarian state has never had it so good, agriculture has continued to receive the best of attention from this government, local farmers seem to be the greatest beneficiaries of this governmet. This is a man that has come to work for the people of Anambra state and he has demonstrated overwhelming capacity to do that and that is the reason why I am involved, not only to support him but to ensure he becomes the acknowledged most performing Governor in the whole federation.
But with all these you’ve enumerated, the Governor still gets criticized
…(Cuts in) By who?
Mostly by people loyal to his predecessor and benefactor.
That is inconsequential because the people of Anambra state, who are daily feeling the impact of Governor Willie Obiano’s administration in very many positive ways are happy and wished he had been around a little longer. But then, lets not forget the fact that too many thorns and pit falls were orchestrated against this government by the people you refered to to create a picture of unpreparedness and under-performance. Incidentally, they are shocked to see that the government is firing from all cylinders. These were the people that awarded more contracts in three months to their exit than they ever did in any three months since they came into office. Carried out promotions and increased salaries at the twilight of their government which they had hitherto refused to do. Conducted Council elections three months to their exit, an exercise they vowed never to conduct while they held sway. Disbursed billions of state funds to churches, charity organizations, NGOs and frivolity ends and left near empty treasury for the young administration. Divided and caused communal rifts in so many communities by giving staff of office less than three months to their exit to people who did not pass through the process of coronation talk more of being Igwe-elect in their various communities, and made them over night Igwe over a people who do not want them. Their calculation actually was that by now, most communities in Anambra state would have been embroiled in fratricidal war, contractors would have abandoned projects they are handling and there would have been industrial and labour crisis because of unpaid salaries and then, of course, they will place the blame on the new government of Chief Willie Obiano. If not, how can one explain to me, Ubanesse, the rationale behind the fire brigade frenzy with which state funds were filtered away under the guise they did, three months to the end of their reign in office. Awarding contracts to contractors without giving the contractors funds to execute the said contracts they awarded. You will agree with me that this was done in bad fate. But Governor Willie Obiano has been paying for those contracts all in the spirit of “continuing with all projects awarded by past administrations,” even though that their motive for awarding those contracts less than three months to their exit was sinister and ominous. All that, were aimed at making the government of Chief Willie Obiano stumble, but like a title hungry pugilist, Governor Willie Obiano has continued to throw result-oriented punches in all aspects of governance contrary to their machinations so they resorted to cheap and laughable blackmail and criticism.
The wife of the Governor is said to have a pet project that is taking care of alot of women and vulnerable children, how complimentary is that?
Very complimentary and infact a midas touch of its own, it is called Caring Family Enhancement (CAFE). An initiative she midwifed, aimed at giving meaning to the dispossessed and disadvantaged, particularly, the wretched of the earth and without much publicity or noise, she has in the last 12 months traversed the nooks and crannies of Anambra State, combing and picking the pieces of those shattered by life’s inequalities. Her Excellency, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano (Osodieme), is truly living up to the true meaning of her name, “Osodieme”. A woman of great cerebral prodigy, a woman whose only hunger is to reduce the pains of poverty, hunger ignorance, disease and avoidable deaths in the state. Under her watch as the First Lady of Anambra state, a silent revolution is going on through her pet project and her crusade for women and children is unequaled. Her illuminating presence no doubt, is like a spark-plug to His Excellency, the Governor of the state. I must admit that His Excellency and Her Excellency are indeed two sides of a coin and with these two, Anambra state will certainly get to her zenith in no distant time.
Your party APGA, has managed to hold on to Anambra state, as the Director General of APGA Campaign Organization, how do you hope to consolidate APGA’s hold in the coming elections?
Surprisingly, many people tend to be ignorant of the fact that the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA is the third largest political party in Nigeria and a big determinant in every general election. And far from the erroneously held impression of APGA being an Igbo party, APGA is a national party with presence in all the states of the federation and Abuja. But like every other political party in Nigeria, must have a base for its projection and for APGA, South East is our launching pad into the nation’s political space. We are opening up the party for general ownership and participation. It has to be truly a movement that it is, a party for the progressives, a party that trades in people not such that trades off potential party builders. You see, it is not just about the individual holding an elective position under the auspices of APGA, but about the character and manifesto of the party. Ever since APGA came into Anambra state, the state has witnessed steady progress. Policies and programmes are carried over into succeeding administration with thesame mindset but a renewed vigo, no change in policy-trust, no abandoned project and that is why you see Governor Obiano funding and delivering projects he did not award. That is the policy of APGA. By the time an APGA government comes into Abia state through Chief Alex Oti, Imo state through Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, Ebony state through my good friend, Senator Anthony Agbo, Zamfara state through Dr. Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi, Nassarawa state through Mr. Labaran Maku and other states, these states would begin to experience breath taking developments that could best be imagined. So it is not just about the individuals but about the consistency of the party’s contract with the people, the electorate. My position as the Director General of APGA, Anambra Campaign Organization does not enhance or surpass my status as a ranking Senator of the Federal Republic or my social status in life, but because I see in the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, a man that has hunger for success and is ready to make sacrifices for the good of the people, that is why I am involved. With all these achievements he has recorded in just one year, why won’t we support and appreciate him, why won’t the people support APGA and deliver all APGA candidates in the forthcoming elections. In Anambra state, we have three (3) seats for Senate; we have eleven (11) seats for House of Representatives and thirty (30) seats for House of Assembly, all must be won by APGA in order for the state to continue to enjoy sustainability and for our governor to have enough protection to continue with his transformation agenda and the good works he is doing without distractions.
How confident are you about APGA’s chances in this election?
The uncommon achievements recorded by Governor Willie Obiano’s administration in one year in office are enough to guarantee landslide victory for the party coupled with the fact that the candidates fielded for the elections by the party are the best. The APGA Campaign Organization which I head as the Director General is fully committed to ensuring total and resounding victory for the party. No one single seat will be lost, I’m sure you know who Ubanesse is in politics, oke ana eri ihe onye mu anya? (what belongs to a vigilant man doesn’t go missing). Hence the appeal for continued support from the electorate in making this happen. It is our argument that our Governor can only be supported through total victory in the up coming elections, so that all the candidates will in turn join hands with him to fire up the wonderful progress already being witnessed in the state. We must as well understand that pride and electoral value are at stake here, for our people mustn’t fail to key into the Igbo spirit of onye aghana nwanne ya (be your brother’s keeper) as postulated by our great leader and defender, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu ( Eze Igbo Gburu gburu). I call on all of us to be our brother’s keeper by voting for APGA to sustain the good works already started by a true son of Igboland, Governor Willie Obiano. I urge all to adopt operation deliver your booths and wards as a mantra to ensure total victory in favor of our great party, APGA.
How strong is APGA’s support for President Jonathan in the forthcoming election?
Our support for President Goodluck Jonathan is full and total. APGA did not field any candidate for the presidential election because President Jonathan has laid a road map and it is only proper to allow him make definite conclusion on the road map. He has shown Nigerians what civil rule and democratic governance are all about and thus deserves as a matter of necessity and consolidation to be re-elected come March 28. I was part of the National Political Reform Conference where far reaching resolutions and decisions were made about the future of this great country which if the report is implemented, the country will be fixed and returned to the part of accelerated growth and development and President Jonathan has assured of total implementation of the confab report. Is it the person whose party boycotted the Conference that will fix the country or the one that gathered Nigerians and made them seat and thinker on a document that is priceless and would guarantee a Nigeria that is built on mutual trust and true federalism. Noone wakes up in the morning and say he wants to go to yesterday, it is not possible. President Jonathan represents the Nigeria of tomorrow that is bright and promising, while the other, is an embodiment of yesterday which is retrogresive, suicidal and must be rejected. Let me say this for the records, the BoT Chairman of our party who also doubles as the Leader of our party, APGA, His Excellency, the Governor of Anambra state, Chief Dr. Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano (Akpokuedike ndi-Igbo) had long directed that APGA, not Anambra state APGA, but APGA as a national party to vote massively for President Goodluck Jonathan and he is determined to delivering all the candidates of our party in the forthcoming elections alongside our President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who is APGA’s adopted Presidential candidate, and APGA supporters and sympathisers are enjoined to make neccessary sacrifices in this regard as we must deliver President Goodluck Jonathan, deliver all our governorship candidates, deliver our Senatorial candidates, deliver our Federal House of Representatives candidates and deliver our State Houses of Assembly candidates in order for our Governor to have enough protection to continue the good works he is doing without distractions.
Distinguished Senator, we must thank you for speaking with us.
You are welcome now and always.
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