Citizens and residents of Anambra State will have a double celebration on August 8, 2024 as they celebrate the giant strides of former Governor Willie Obiano on his 69th birthday.
As the former governor inches closer to the septuagenarian floor, his contributions to quality healthcare, infrastructure, education, technology, investments and low debt profile during his eight-year tenure continue to be acknowledged by all and sundry.
The man known as Akpokuedike is not only a beacon of hope to his people but ranks among the best governors Anambra has produced in the Fourth Republic. He succeeded Peter Obi, another prudent manager.
Like others before, this year’s birthday presents Anambrarians a golden opportunity to congratulate him for fulfilling his promises of quality leadership to the people and deploying state resources to areas of need and greatest impact on the lives of his people.
He said, “Eight years ago when I gave my inaugural address, I shared my vision of a greater Anambra with the people. To some people, it sounded like a dream, but at the end of my eight-year tenure in 2022, those dreams came true.”
The governor started and completed, in Anambra, the first airport with the second longest runway in Nigeria. The airport, which has a CAT 2 runway that measures 3.7 kilometres by 60 metres, was built with federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue without borrowing a dime. He also built Nigeria’s biggest convention centre, with a capacity for more than 12 million people.
Akpokuedike also demonstrated his love for sports by building a world-class Awka stadium that accommodates more than 12,000 spectators. The stadium was built by a FIFA-rated contractor, recommended by the Nigeria Football Federation.
Obiano also created the Project Monitoring and Management Office and repositioned the Anambra Procurement Bureau, which enabled it to save N10bn on contracts and over-invoicing.
The governor tarred over 1,000km of roads in the state, giving priority to roads and bridges that lead to industrial clusters, agricultural belts, oil fields and commercial centres. He also re-equipped 60 secondary school science laboratories in the three senatorial zones. The gesture assisted the students in doing well in their science examinations internationally, as seen in the spike in the percentage of students with university admission qualifications to 64 per cent from 38 per cent.
It was under Obiano’s tenure that many 1,000-room hostels were built in 12 technical colleges across the state with over 300 scholarships, leading to students and teachers from the state winning many local and international awards and recognitions.
Akpokuedike also launched the Akulue Uno Campaign, leading to new investments such Coscharis Farms, Anaku, Joseph Agro, Lynden Farms and Delfarm/Songhai and Stine Farms as well as the Stanel World. The Millennium Estate and SABMiller Breweries completed the second phase of their expansion under his administration.
The action governor also built 17 bridges across the three senatorial zones in the state, including the 2.8km Aguleri-Otu bridge, the longest bridge in the South East of Nigeria.
Youth development was not left out, as he inaugurated the Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy Council to harness the creative potential of the Anambra youth and address unemployment more decisively.
The agriculture sector was also given priority. He instituted the Agricultural Export Programme with a desk to develop agro-allied export market potential of the state leading to the first official export of Anambra vegetables to the world. He continually empowered farmers with farm inputs like cassava stems, rice seeds, maize and okro seeds, free of charge. Rice millers were given de-stoners and threshers.
The governor recreated the state’s sports development commission, introducing a new sporting spirit and reintroducing different competitions and challenge cups. Team Anambra leveraged the development to win medals and trophies nationwide and beyond.
Under his leadership, Nigeria’s first international conference on security, which resulted in the setting up of “a revolutionary security architecture” against crime in the state was organised.
His administration’s economic stimulus package gave rise to the ‘N20m Community Choose-Your-Project Initiative’ under which the administration successfully touched all the 181 communities in the state with choice projects worth N40m each.
In the temple of justice, Obiano established a Court of Appeal in Awka, the state capital, and ended the usual trips to Enugu State by Anambra residents in search of justice.
On education, Akpokuedike’s government made huge investments in the offshore training of teachers that exposed them to global best practices. He donated N2.8bn to mission and public schools in the state.
His legacies in the health sector were equally gigantic as seen in the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency, which costs each resident N12,000 yearly to access high-quality healthcare.
In areas of prudence and accountability, Obiano stood out. He reportedly borrowed the least among states of the federation, with large part of the borrowed funds channelled to physical infrastructure. In its State of The States report 2021, BudgIT disclosed that while in office, Obiano prioritised capital infrastructure investment and recorded smallest operating expenses. The BudgIT report showed that as a low-debt state, Anambra’s total debt stood at N100.05bn (inclusive of $108.09 million external debt). The state’s total debt per capita stood at N16,343, significantly lower than the country’s average of N27,316. BudgIT confirmed that Anambra under Obiano had one of the smallest domestic debt burdens in the country ranking 24th by size.
Overall, the gigantic achievements by Obiano across several sectors of the economy and different parts of the state will continue to be celebrated at home and abroad for several decades to come.
Happy birthday, Akpokuedike!
Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.
