Obiano: 7 years after, will he address the accountability question?

From 2000(?)km of Roads in 2017 to 1000(?)kms in 2021…

As His Excellency Gov. Willie Obiano marks his 7th Anniversary as Executive Governor of Anambra State today, one of the many concerns constructive critics hope will be addressed is the continued absence of a credible comprehensive STEWARDSHIP ACCOUNT couriered in a format that will make verification easy for those who wish to do so.

It will be recalled that so far, apart from heavily skewed opinion articles periodically put out by political aides and information managers on a few over bloated projects they consider key achievements of the Obiano administration, the closest attempt at articulating a stewardship account in black and white was the document hurriedly put together at the twilight of His Excellency’s reelection campaign in 2017 following incessant calls on the government to account for its stewardship in explicit terms.

However, far from expectations, the tabloid shaped document contained largely pictures of projects done in the various communities lucky to have benefitted under the ”Community Choose Your Project Scheme”.

Curiously, apart from the three shabbily constructed and poorly designed overhead bridges located within three kilometer radius between Amawbia bypass and Aroma Junction, [believed to have been built at highly inflated cost] the Iyiora Bridge at Ezi Aguleri Otu, the ongoing International Conference Center at Awka and the now downgraded Anambra Airport project at Umueri, evidently commenced for want of performance, the administration has always prided the ”Community Choose Your Project Scheme” as its biggest legacy.

Sadly, the point has been severally and strongly made, particularly by this writer, both on local radios and this space, that the cumulative worth of a complete tranche of the scheme sums up to a meager N3.62b per annum – using the alleged 181 communities in Anambra [under Obiano’s watch] as template at the advertised sum of N20m per community. This is way too insignificant to warrant the type of noise idle aides of government attach to the scheme; neither does the sum justify the scheme’s classification as ‘legacy projects’.

Considering the foregoing and the continued absence of an explicit stewardship account after seven years, as well as the bogus, self-contradictory and sometimes utterly unthinkable claims consistently put forward by the administration through designated persons or offices without attaching necessary details that will enable proper interrogation of claims considered bizarre by keen observers, both critics and the opposition in the state expect that His Excellency will, for the first time, as he clocks 7 years in office, unveil one.

A situation where, for example, the government claimed that it has constructed a whopping 1000 kilometers of road network but could neither produce the names of the said roads nor their location is, to say the least, reducing governance to a state of ridicule. Especially when such claims are thrust forth at the threshold of elections.

Recall that at about this time in 2017 when this government was 3 years old in power, the MD of National Light Newspaper, Sir Chukka Nnabuife, in a contribution published in a national newspaper, emphatically stated that Gov. Obiano had constructed almost 2000 [two thousand] kilometers of road. [See interview replicated on attached info graph]. I personally took him up on the claim at the time on this space, challenging him to back it up with explicit details to enable verification. The altercation that ensued was sad but very revealing. Thank God the internet never forgets.

Again, curiously, now that Obiano is seven years old in power, rather than increase, the then advertised 2000 kilometers of road has dropped to a yet to be substantiated 1000 kilometers. That is going by official claims late last year.

To therefore appreciate the urgent need and importance of the much sought after detailed stewardship account requested of His Excellency, readers are humbly enjoined to take time to read the attached post, glean through the comments thread and take particular notice of the attempts by agents and supporters of the government to mislead observers. Some even harangued me then for challenging spurious claims and strongly speaking out against APGA and Obiano’s abhorable election-year antics. Today, some of them are back on this space talking about 16 years of APGA government accomplishments in dear state.

Obviously not proud of Obiano’s performance and determined to twist facts as usual, the have now become emergency lovers of the man they hated with so much venom, His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi’s gargantuan accomplishments and readily allude to them in their struggle and attempt to retain power come November 6. Even Ikemba’s face which had been long jettis strategic locations across the state. All in a deliberate bid to hoodwink gullible prospective voters.

Nevertheless, what will determine APGA’s fate November 6 is how a preponderance of voters see Obiano’s performance. To be able to evaluate properly, a comprehensive stewardship account replete with explicit details, including but not limited to names, location and state of projects listed will be key. Should the task prove too difficult for the relevant ministries to surmount, they should take a cue from the Peter Obi stewardship account example attached underneath.

If, for example, Obiano still maintain the laughable claim that his government inherited 101 roads from his predecessor and has reportedly completed 56 [as he further claims], he should attach a list and locations of all 101 roads and indicate those he claimed to have completed. If he claims that his administration has attracted so much FDI or even local investments, he should avail specific details and particulars of such investments/investors; not tell Ndi Anambra by word of mouth that the state has attracted invetments worth US$7.2b at election curve in 2017 only for the said investment to miraculously diminish to slightly above US$4b immediately after the election.

Ditto for all other claims.

• Comr. Chris McCool Nwosu
  Ozubulu, Ekwusigo LGA, Anambra State
  Sunday, March 14, 2021