By WILLY EYA
The long awaited governorship election in Anambra State is here. It is less than ten days from now and among the candidates of various parties, nothing matters again except politics.
They are now putting finishing touches to their game plan to sing victory songs to Awka Government House. In this interview, the governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Willie Obiano, speaks on his chances and more ahead of the November 16 date. Excerpts:
You have been on the campaign now for almost one month; with the election fast approaching, how do you see your chances?
Well, it is clear that we are going to win this election. The facts are very clear and what is giving us the confidence is the enthusiasm of Ndi Anambra, the warmth of the Ndi Anambra and the support of Ndi Anambra. From Aguleri to Orumba, I have seen our people rise up in one accord to say they want continuity; they want Obiano and Nkem Okeke.
And that gives me the sense that Ndi Anambra are finally getting the message. They fully understand the language we are speaking; the language of rapid development, the language of sustainability and the language of responsibility.
I see hope on the faces of our people wherever we go; the hope that the change that Governor Peter Obi brought to Anambra has come to stay and the hope that Nkem Okeke and I will push the boundaries of development to a whole new level. Above all, they hope that we will not betray their trust when they cast their votes for us on November 16, 2013.
And I would like to say "Yes" to that hope! I say yes because we shall continue, complete, commission all projects undertaken by Obi's administration and commence a set of highly impactful ones that will turn Anambra into an economic powerhouse. So, to answer your question more directly, our chances are very bright. Our victory is guaranteed. Anambra will decide in our favour on November 16.
What are the things that stand you and your running mate out in this race?
Dr. Nkem Okeke and I have a more impressive pedigree when compared to other contestants. We are from a very rich academic and professional background. I am sure you are aware that I hold a BSC degree and an MBA in marketing. I have been a chartered accountant since 1989 and I am a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
I started my professional career with First Bank and was there for 16 months before I joined Texaco Nigeria, as a senior accountant. I worked with them for over nine years and I was promoted to Chief Internal Auditor of the firm in my third year with expertise in auditing of refineries and bunkering. That was the experience that I took to Fidelity Bank where I worked for 23 years with nine years, as executive director in charge of business banking and the number two man.
During my time there, banks in Nigeria passed all kinds of stress but it was due to the expertise of the team that I worked with that the bank stood strong and today Fidelity Bank is one of the strongest banks in Nigeria. This is the background, experience, profile that I am bringing to bear on the work I am going to do in Anambra State.
I am very familiar with the peculiar challenges of Anambra State and I am qualified and prepared to tackle the task ahead. By the way, I was the winner of the John F. Kennedy Prize for Essay Competition in 1979, I was the best Corps member during my NYSC service year and last year in Houston, I was honoured as Africa's Distinguished Banker of the Year 2012 by the US-Africa. Based on this rich background, the electorate have seen that I have the capacity and experience to deliver.
I am sure you know that some of my opponents do not have more than NECO certificate in a state that has produced some of the brightest brains in Nigeria. NECO is the equivalent of school certificate and I do not know if it is actually equivalent to that.
Clearly, that is not the kind of thing the electorate here would be willing to take in their decision on November 16. But the important thing is what I want to do for the people and which I know are appealing to them. The feelers I am getting show that we are doing extremely well. So, I am confident that we shall win this election.
Talking about what you want to do for Anambra people when you win the election, your blueprint seems a bit complex. Can you throw more light on that?
The APGA government in Anambra State under Governor Peter Obi has done very well in terms of laying the foundation for the economic development of the state. He has done a lot of work in the area of infrastructure, health, education, tourism, security and so on.
Those are what we call the economic enablers. They are the foundations necessary for a take-off. So, what we are coming to do is to build on these foundations and launch Anambra into industrialisation. Of course, there will be jobs for our people.
At the core of the engine of industrialisation are four pillars. One is agriculture, which is important because it is going to be the springboard for industrialising Anambra State. In agriculture, I will leverage on Federal Government's existing plan, focusing on the development of the state's food basin in Ayamelum, Anambra West, Anambra East and Ogbaru to ensure self-sufficiency in all staple foods (rice, cassava, maize and yam) by 2018. We are going to organise the farmers in clusters in the form of cooperative societies so that they will be able to access funds.
All these will lead to increased food production. And when this happens, industries will be attracted to areas in processing, packaging and manufacturing. The second in the wheel is oil & gas. Anambra has been adjudged as an oil-producing state but we have not fully developed it even though they now produce 5,000 barrels per day. I understand that they have accumulated about 60,000 barrels and that they will soon be sold in Port Harcourt. That is not the intention of setting up the refinery.
The intention is for the crude to be refined there but the refinery is not in place yet. What my administration will do is to ensure that within the first one year, those refineries will be in place.
You know how businesses are set up! It is not the Anambra State Government that will use its money to set up the refineries. There are certain things that the financial institutions require for investment. Within the first one year, we shall make sure that those things are in place. The capacity is 55,000 barrels per day and that is half the size of the Warri refinery.
The Kaduna refinery is 150,000 barrels per day. But the Kaduna refinery started like the Anambra refinery with 55,000 barrels per day capacity. If we can get that, what it shows is that those natural industries that come from oil and gas will come up. I am talking about industries in the areas of fertilizer, plastics and so on.
We will organise the people in the oil and gas area in cooperatives that will enable them access the local content structure. Again, this strategy will lead to the creation of jobs. The other one is industrialisation, which I have just explained. By the time those natural industries begin to come and you mechanise agriculture and support them with infrastructure; there will be a leap in development.
Another one in the wheel of development is trade and commerce. Our people are known to be very good in trade and commerce. Because of what I have just explained, there will be increased production and manufacturing and you need to sell all those things. So, you have to organise the markets.
You create a conducive environment that will encourage people from neighbouring West African countries to come and buy those things. We will ensure that we build modern markets with a lot of space. The people that built our markets had very short sights with respect to space for parking.
If you see malls or markets built abroad, they allot so much space for parking of cars and all that. By the time we modernise and equip our markets the way it is done abroad, we would have created the enabling foundation for trade and commerce to flourish.
In housing and urban development, we will pursue an aggressive implementation of the master-plan for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi that has been laid down by the Obi administration and go into a PPP arrangement with reputable developers to build new settlements of 10,000 housing units annually in order to decongest highly populated regions of the state.
For security and social welfare, the Governor Obi administration has done very well in this area and I hope to continue the good work by creating an agency to be known as Anambra State Traffic and Safety Agency and introducing capacity building programmes for Community Vigilance Groups to assist the police in keeping our communities safe.
Governor Obi has tackled all aspects of security in Anambra State and not just kidnapping. Over the years, Governor Obi's regime has created a tactical approach to crime prevention and control, which involves a harmonious co-operation between the police and the vigilance groups. We shall explore further enhancements of this model for improved results.
We will also ensure that the police in Anambra State is active and effective and above all, on top of their responsibility. We will support the police in terms of their equipment and mobility. I will personally ensure that we equip the police to be at their best in combating crimes.
In tourism, sports & youths development, We will develop policies that will specifically promote private sector investments in hotels, resorts, parks and tourist sites in the state and establish 21 Sports Centers across all local governments to provide windows for the discovery of young talents.
For administration & civil service, we shall revise the compensation and welfare packages of civil servants in the state to ensure optimal service delivery, greater productivity and a better life for our people. In addition, we shall introduce a structured and transparent recruitment process and commence annual retreats for all civil servants (level 15 and up) to evaluate performance and enhance improvement.
But my core focus will be on agriculture, trade and commerce and industrialization. It is around this core that you have the enablers like transportation, ICT, sea port which is a very important aspect of industrialization with its ripple effects in the economy, finance, and security.
We will bring in some elements of CCTV in sensitive areas to help in the investigation of crimes. With the transparency of the current administration which we shall sustain when we are sworn in and the contacts that we have built over the years, Anambra will experience accelerated growth.
I am sure you are aware that during the last banking consolidation which compelled banks to shore up their capital base to N25 billion, Fidelity Bank where I worked as the number two man was able to muster N130 billion when so many banks could not raise N25 billion. You don't just raise that kind of money if you don't have the expertise.
I am only using this example to show that there is enough know-how in terms of our ability to source funds for our programmes. We know where to go; it is not like flipping through the newspapers to find who will give you money. We know where to get the funds, how we are going to manage it and what projects to undertake. But beyond that, we are going to continue the good job the governor is doing with the enablers in education.
We will continue what the government is doing in education. Remember, my government would be based on the four 'Cs' which are to Continue, Complete, Commission and to Commence new efforts on development.
So, in summary, when I assume position as governor, we shall run Anambra in a way that after eight years, Anambra state would have started the real journey in terms of industrialization. All the roads in the state would have been completed; so subsequent governors will not be talking about building roads rather, they will be concentrating on something different.
The Health Sector in the state would have been developed to a point where it would no longer make sense to send the sick to India or Europe for treatment and the educational standards and facilities in the state would be such that youngsters are naturally drawn to classrooms. In eight years' time, the rate of unemployment would have been drastically reduced through our rapid industrializing efforts and through the proliferation of ICT Parks, hotels and tourism and also through the glamorization of the agricultural sector. Agriculture is said to be the largest employer of labour in most economies.
Anambra has a lot of arable lands for mechanized farming. Once we glamourize agriculture by providing modern farming machines, youngsters will find it attractive and be drawn into it. That will have a significant impact on crime and security in the state.
But in all of this, power remains critical because you cannot achieve industrialization without stable power supply. This government would approach power through clusters – Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka. Each makes sense because for power, you have to pay for it. The only way you can pay for power is from the people who are making use of it.
Governor Obi has done much in this area and we would continue from where he stopped and face power squarely so that in the next four years, we are going to have stable power in the whole of Anambra State.
Of a truth, I am sure I would leave Anambra better than I met it. Anambra will certainly be a better place when we are done with the changes we hope to bring.
But what sets you apart from other candidates?
What separates me from the rest of the contestants is as clear as daylight. I am a thoroughbred professional. I played a major role in shaping the economy of this country through my contributions to the stability of Fidelity Bank which is one of the best run banks in the country today. You may wish to ask my opponents where they are coming from.
Again, I left banking with a clean record and a track record of high performance at a time when my contemporaries were either being clamped in jail or harassed by the EFCC. That should tell you about who I am. Let me also quickly add that what accrues to Anambra State from the center is really not much. Similarly, Internally Generated Revenue is also not much.
So, by the time you are done with the recurrent expenditure, you have very little for development. About 40 per cent of the funds spent on capital projects in the state comes from donor agencies.
Because of my background in banking, I am the only candidate who can attract foreign direct investment to Anambra State. Recall what we did in Fidelity Bank where we were able to raise the capital from N2 billion to Soludo's N25 billion and before I left to N130 billion capital. In the process, we moved our GDR which is the dollar-denominated balance sheet from zero to well over $500 million.
The difference between me and other candidates is that all these donor agencies are a few calls away because I have worked with them for my bank. There is no other candidate that can do that. I know where to go to and who to meet to access funds to develop the state.
Do not forget that my Deputy, Dr Nkem Okeke has a PhD in Monetary Economics. No other party offers the comparative advantage that Nkem Okeke and I present to the Nigerian people.
With our pedigree, we will be able to get the money required and at the rate required to be able to continue with the development by Governor Peter Obi's government. This is not so for other candidates because they don't have the contacts we are talking about.
So, when they finish paying salaries, they would not know where to get the money to pay contractors. Everything would begin to collapse. What is in evidence at the moment is that the people are already excited because they are emotional about our party, APGA.
If you ask me, I will say that Anambra people are already sufficiently motivated by the achievements of Governor Obi. The evidence of what Governor Obi did to fix the state is everywhere, so, Anambrarians are just waiting for the D-Day to cast their votes for APGA, a party their great leader Eze Igbo Gburugburu, late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu built and identified with until his death. But beyond the massive transformation of Anambra State by the Obi-led government, beyond the fact that Anambrarians would like to honour our leader, Ojukwu, is also most importantly the fact of our pedigree (My Deputy and I).
We have a trademark of integrity, excellence, strength of character and contacts that will take the state to the next level in its march to development. The truth is that Anambrarians know who we are; they know our ticket is one that will deliver the expected results and the people being politically discerning know that we are the best choice.
So, as I have said elsewhere, we are going to win this election on the basis of first: the performance of APGA government in Anambra State which is one of the best in the country. And we are also going to win on the basis of our experience, expertise and acceptability to the people. We are well prepared academically and professionally and we have all the contacts to make Anambra the epicenter of excellence and the pride of the entire South Eastern Nigeria. We are competent, strong and tested technocrats who know how to manage the process and improve upon the formidable foundation Governor Obi has laid. So, Anambra people should be rest assured that this tag team will deliver.
You were in Lagos recently to campaign; why that when you should be concentrating your energies on convincing the electorate at home?
Anambra people live everywhere and we would like to reach everyone and share our dreams for Anambra State with them. I have been to London and the USA to campaign. It is not only Lagos. We go to wherever Anambra people who mold public opinion live. They are all stakeholders.
The state belongs to them wherever they are. They need to know who is coming in to take charge of their state. You know that our people are always busy building economies around the world. So, when we meet them, we assure them that they can actually do better at home and assure them that we are going to provide all the facilities they need to invest at home.
The last place we visited was where they sell Tokunbo cars at Berger, Lagos. We told our people there that Anambra can become the Berger of Africa. We can go to Aguleri and make it a Car port and people would come from all parts of West Africa to buy cars from there.
We want these activities to be happening in Anambra State. We do not want to increase taxes but through extra things that we are doing, we will generate enough money to develop the state. We are going to ensure that the loopholes in the IGR are blocked. More money would come. It is very clear to me how these things should be done.
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So much confidence in his tone so we just have to wait and find out. It is one thing to say and it is another thing for it to happen