His Excellency,
Anambra State Governor,
Government House,
Awka.
07/01/2010
Sir,
Most Outstanding Governor in Integrated Development
As part of our desire to hold government accountable to the people, which led us to recently introduce Governance Report, a compendium that seeks to chronicle the achievements of chief executives of states across the country, a survey has indicated that the Peter Obi administration has taken giant strides in the area of infrastructural development.
Over the past four years, exceptional feats have been achieved in both infrastructural and human development in Anambra State, which we at The Sun Publishing Limited find quite laudable and worthy of celebration.
Among the states surveyed in the first part of this project, Anambra has emerged outstanding, and we hereby invite you to showcase the projects that pedestalled you and your government in this roll of honour.
Accept the assurances of our highest esteem as we await your favourable response.
Femi Adesina
Executive Director, Publications
Friday, January 8, 2010
ANAMBRA STATE ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLIGENCE
OPERATION GREEN JUSTICE
About 10,000 inhabitants of the 500 unit middle-class housing estate in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra state and rest of south-central Nigeria, were paralyzed when a three-day nonstop rainfall brought unprecedented disaster to their doorsteps in late July 2009. Eyewitness account described the Bridge Head Housing Estate as a “lake of houses” because only rooftops of buildings in the development were visible and everything else was under floodwater which has devastated that part of the city. Alarmed and panicked women and children were reported to be screaming in distress for help as they scrambled, often by swimming through the murky floodwater, for safety to drier grounds of adjoining neighborhoods of Fegge and Upper Iweka. Household properties of residents were seen sailing on top of the floodwater which swept everything on its way downstream toward Okpoko and beyond. "I was here when Chief Jim Nwobodo built and opened this estate in the 80s. It was a great celebration. Everybody wanted to live in this estate. It was really a hot cake. But after Nwobodo left, nobody has done anything to keep the estate in good shape. It now looks like a slum with glorified buildings", laments the tearful Pa Nwabufor Nnabuenyi who has resided in the flooded housing estate for decades. "People are really suffering here and nobody seems to be listening. Perhaps, they are waiting for the day when all those staying there would die before they can come and do something," distressed Nnabuenyi concluded.
"Since the elongating lull in the Nwangene Drainage Project, we have been virtually submerged by flood" - President General of Bridge Head Housing Estate Community, Jerome Chikeluba (Engineer).
Until recently, flooding in eastern Fegge was confined to the Silas Works and Ochanja neighborhoods. Continued increase in storm water discharge citywide, together with total blockage of drainage along the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek, have resulted in diversion of accumulated liquid waste in the flood plain into the Housing Estate, which is to the south of Silas Works Road (shown in the picture).
What was characterized as dredging should have better been described as unclogging of the natural drainage channel which had become choked up with mountains of solid waste and illegally constructed structures. Throughout the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek basin, debris have taken up the space previously occupied by spring water. WIEF conducted an extensive inspection tour of the work site at early state of the “dredging” project and compiled elaborate pictorial documentation of the situation of things at the time. Some poignant observations were made and reported about the inadequacy of the work being done, but no one took notice or cared. The solid waste excavated from the recreated drainage channel was simply dumped at edge of the canal by the government contracting company and was never removed for disposal away from the area. Within only a few months of heavy rainfall, the excavated debris fell back into the channel and blocked it again. Furthermore, since the commencement of the “dredging” project in 2007, there has never been any maintenance work commissioned by Anambra state government to ensure that the channel remains open and functional. The fact of the matter is that the so-called “dredging” contract was poorly executed and therefore, never worked as intended even for one day.
With blockage of Otumoye/Nwangene Creek drainage, flooding is inevitable in Fegge. Silas Works Road & Zik Avenue junction suffers annual flooding during rainy seasons. Whole area is deserted as traders and roadside artisans flee the devastated neighborhood for months at a time. Stagnant flood water inundation covers most of the Silas Works and Ochanja neighborhoods for many months of the rainy season. Population of pests, especially flies and mosquitoes, increases several folds and severely afflict the health and well being of residents of the area and entire business community. Whole premises can be submerged under feet of dirty water mixed with sewage & debris.
Leadership Failure of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State
The buck must stop at someone’s desk. Someone was responsible for calling the shots that misfired or missed the mark and it was not by accident. “Mea culpa” by the Obi administration is a minimum requirement for it to show a credible intent to amend its errors of the past. Has the Obi administration learned anything which would persuade it to plan and execute better going forward? All one hears and sees are claims which itemize both the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek dredging and the Umuchiana gully erosion remediation projects as major accomplishments of the Obi administration. The current approach has obviously failed to deliver protection for residents of the Bridge Head Housing Estate. Is there any change of heart and an honest desire by the Obi administration to try something new in the planning, design and execution of its public works projects in the state? As the saying goes, only fools would keep repeating the same thing while expecting different outcomes.
What is missing here is the political leadership required to set the machinery of purposeful socioeconomic development of the state in motion. Leadership includes the political courage to admit errors of omission or commission where needs be because such a gesture lends credibility to any declared intent by the incumbent administration to toe a new path of change for the better.
from Okenwa R. Nwosu, M.D.
WIEF 2010
About 10,000 inhabitants of the 500 unit middle-class housing estate in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra state and rest of south-central Nigeria, were paralyzed when a three-day nonstop rainfall brought unprecedented disaster to their doorsteps in late July 2009. Eyewitness account described the Bridge Head Housing Estate as a “lake of houses” because only rooftops of buildings in the development were visible and everything else was under floodwater which has devastated that part of the city. Alarmed and panicked women and children were reported to be screaming in distress for help as they scrambled, often by swimming through the murky floodwater, for safety to drier grounds of adjoining neighborhoods of Fegge and Upper Iweka. Household properties of residents were seen sailing on top of the floodwater which swept everything on its way downstream toward Okpoko and beyond. "I was here when Chief Jim Nwobodo built and opened this estate in the 80s. It was a great celebration. Everybody wanted to live in this estate. It was really a hot cake. But after Nwobodo left, nobody has done anything to keep the estate in good shape. It now looks like a slum with glorified buildings", laments the tearful Pa Nwabufor Nnabuenyi who has resided in the flooded housing estate for decades. "People are really suffering here and nobody seems to be listening. Perhaps, they are waiting for the day when all those staying there would die before they can come and do something," distressed Nnabuenyi concluded.
"Since the elongating lull in the Nwangene Drainage Project, we have been virtually submerged by flood" - President General of Bridge Head Housing Estate Community, Jerome Chikeluba (Engineer).
Until recently, flooding in eastern Fegge was confined to the Silas Works and Ochanja neighborhoods. Continued increase in storm water discharge citywide, together with total blockage of drainage along the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek, have resulted in diversion of accumulated liquid waste in the flood plain into the Housing Estate, which is to the south of Silas Works Road (shown in the picture).
What was characterized as dredging should have better been described as unclogging of the natural drainage channel which had become choked up with mountains of solid waste and illegally constructed structures. Throughout the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek basin, debris have taken up the space previously occupied by spring water. WIEF conducted an extensive inspection tour of the work site at early state of the “dredging” project and compiled elaborate pictorial documentation of the situation of things at the time. Some poignant observations were made and reported about the inadequacy of the work being done, but no one took notice or cared. The solid waste excavated from the recreated drainage channel was simply dumped at edge of the canal by the government contracting company and was never removed for disposal away from the area. Within only a few months of heavy rainfall, the excavated debris fell back into the channel and blocked it again. Furthermore, since the commencement of the “dredging” project in 2007, there has never been any maintenance work commissioned by Anambra state government to ensure that the channel remains open and functional. The fact of the matter is that the so-called “dredging” contract was poorly executed and therefore, never worked as intended even for one day.
With blockage of Otumoye/Nwangene Creek drainage, flooding is inevitable in Fegge. Silas Works Road & Zik Avenue junction suffers annual flooding during rainy seasons. Whole area is deserted as traders and roadside artisans flee the devastated neighborhood for months at a time. Stagnant flood water inundation covers most of the Silas Works and Ochanja neighborhoods for many months of the rainy season. Population of pests, especially flies and mosquitoes, increases several folds and severely afflict the health and well being of residents of the area and entire business community. Whole premises can be submerged under feet of dirty water mixed with sewage & debris.
Leadership Failure of Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State
The buck must stop at someone’s desk. Someone was responsible for calling the shots that misfired or missed the mark and it was not by accident. “Mea culpa” by the Obi administration is a minimum requirement for it to show a credible intent to amend its errors of the past. Has the Obi administration learned anything which would persuade it to plan and execute better going forward? All one hears and sees are claims which itemize both the Otumoye/Nwangene Creek dredging and the Umuchiana gully erosion remediation projects as major accomplishments of the Obi administration. The current approach has obviously failed to deliver protection for residents of the Bridge Head Housing Estate. Is there any change of heart and an honest desire by the Obi administration to try something new in the planning, design and execution of its public works projects in the state? As the saying goes, only fools would keep repeating the same thing while expecting different outcomes.
What is missing here is the political leadership required to set the machinery of purposeful socioeconomic development of the state in motion. Leadership includes the political courage to admit errors of omission or commission where needs be because such a gesture lends credibility to any declared intent by the incumbent administration to toe a new path of change for the better.
from Okenwa R. Nwosu, M.D.
WIEF 2010
LIST OF 100 ANAMBRA CITIZENS ( A.C) WHO ENDORSE AND GAVE ANDY UBA THUMPS UP!!!
Prof. Dora Akunyili,
Chief G. U. O. Okeke,
Maj. Gen. Sam Momah (rtd),
Emeka Etiaba ( next level)
HRH Igwe Chris Onyekwuluje,
Chief Okwuchukwu Ezeaku,
Prof. (Mrs) Ebele J. Maduewesi,
Chief Joshua Nkparu,
Hon. Mike Balonwu,
Rev. Prof Israel Okoye,
Chief C. C.. Ifeanyi, Prof. Sam Enyibe,
Prof. Onuora Nwuneli,
Barr Odi Ikpeazu,
Chief Joe Ifediobi,
Prof (Mrs) Chinelo Nzelibe,
Chief Dan Ulasi,
Barr Vin Ezeaka
Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam.
Prof. Ikechukwu Nwosu,
(Mrs.) Ify Obegolu,
Col. Ike Nwosu (rtd),
Monsignor John-Bosco Akam,
Mr. S. E. Chukwujekwu,
Dr. Obinna Uzor,
Mr. ! Ben Akah,
Prof. Paul Modum,
Prof. Patrick Ngoddy,
Dr. Eric Okunna,
Chief John Uche Onyebuchi,
Chief Chuba Egolum, .
(Engr.) Emma Nnanna,
Prof. (Mrs.) Mabel Akpuaka,
Mr. Benjamin Ezeagwu,
Arc. Lemdi Anakor,
Engr. Fort Dike,
Chief Bonny Okoye,
Prof. (Mrs) Uche Nzewi,
Mr. Tim Umeasiegbu,
Prof. Jonny Ogbaze,
Igwe (Dr.) Obi Ogene,
Mrs Njideka Okeke,
Dr. Annie Uzo Okigbo,
Dr. (Mrs) Ikechi ,
Prof. Ethel Nwagbo,
Mr. Dan Jideofor,
Dr. Emmanuel Emelumadu
Chief M. B.. Umeh.
Chief Ben Onyemaizu,
Engr. Oliver O. Oranezi,
Mr. Chike Maduekwe,
Mr. Ikenna Ndaguba,
Mr. Emeka Ifezulike,
Prof.. John Amazigo,
Chief S. C. Obieli,
Mr. Uchem Obi,
Mr. Ken Igbokwe,
Mr. Henry Jidiani,
Sir Patrick Nwosu,
Prof. Okey Mbonu,
Dr. G. Ejekam,
Dr. Ugonna Muoneke,
Mr. Okey Okafor,
Prof. Martin Aghaji,
Dr. Amamchukwu Ezike,
Dr. A. U. Kachi,
Dr. Fred Odua,
Barr. Oyibo Obasi,
Mr. Nwachukwu Egbochukwu CP (rtd),
Prof. Umeasiegbu,
Mr. Elim Dim,
Chief A. A. A Obibiaka,
Chief Ike Ndiokwelu,
Prof. B.C. E. Egboka
Dr. Obi Anyanyo.
Mr. Ajulu Uzodike,
Mr. Gerald Ilukwe,
Barr. Bright Nnebedum,
Dr. (Mrs.) Mae Nwoye,
Mr. Achuzie Ezenagu,
Mr. Agochukwu Okpalaoka,
Mr. Emmanuel Nwofor,
Dr. Goddy Onyeama,
Barr. (Mrs.) Amaka Igu-Araka,
Sir Emma Ezenwaji,
Mr. Nicholas Okoye,
Comrade Churchill Okonkwo,
Chief Ken Ikwuemesi,
Chief Osita Okosime,
Dr.. (Mrs) Nkiru Nnadozie,
Senator Ebenezer Ikeyina,
Engr. Dan Egwu,
Mrs. Chinyere Asika,
Chief E. O. Oduenyi,
Dr.. Basil Nwankwo
Mr.. Kene Nzekwe.
Chief G. U. O. Okeke,
Maj. Gen. Sam Momah (rtd),
Emeka Etiaba ( next level)
HRH Igwe Chris Onyekwuluje,
Chief Okwuchukwu Ezeaku,
Prof. (Mrs) Ebele J. Maduewesi,
Chief Joshua Nkparu,
Hon. Mike Balonwu,
Rev. Prof Israel Okoye,
Chief C. C.. Ifeanyi, Prof. Sam Enyibe,
Prof. Onuora Nwuneli,
Barr Odi Ikpeazu,
Chief Joe Ifediobi,
Prof (Mrs) Chinelo Nzelibe,
Chief Dan Ulasi,
Barr Vin Ezeaka
Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam.
Prof. Ikechukwu Nwosu,
(Mrs.) Ify Obegolu,
Col. Ike Nwosu (rtd),
Monsignor John-Bosco Akam,
Mr. S. E. Chukwujekwu,
Dr. Obinna Uzor,
Mr. ! Ben Akah,
Prof. Paul Modum,
Prof. Patrick Ngoddy,
Dr. Eric Okunna,
Chief John Uche Onyebuchi,
Chief Chuba Egolum, .
(Engr.) Emma Nnanna,
Prof. (Mrs.) Mabel Akpuaka,
Mr. Benjamin Ezeagwu,
Arc. Lemdi Anakor,
Engr. Fort Dike,
Chief Bonny Okoye,
Prof. (Mrs) Uche Nzewi,
Mr. Tim Umeasiegbu,
Prof. Jonny Ogbaze,
Igwe (Dr.) Obi Ogene,
Mrs Njideka Okeke,
Dr. Annie Uzo Okigbo,
Dr. (Mrs) Ikechi ,
Prof. Ethel Nwagbo,
Mr. Dan Jideofor,
Dr. Emmanuel Emelumadu
Chief M. B.. Umeh.
Chief Ben Onyemaizu,
Engr. Oliver O. Oranezi,
Mr. Chike Maduekwe,
Mr. Ikenna Ndaguba,
Mr. Emeka Ifezulike,
Prof.. John Amazigo,
Chief S. C. Obieli,
Mr. Uchem Obi,
Mr. Ken Igbokwe,
Mr. Henry Jidiani,
Sir Patrick Nwosu,
Prof. Okey Mbonu,
Dr. G. Ejekam,
Dr. Ugonna Muoneke,
Mr. Okey Okafor,
Prof. Martin Aghaji,
Dr. Amamchukwu Ezike,
Dr. A. U. Kachi,
Dr. Fred Odua,
Barr. Oyibo Obasi,
Mr. Nwachukwu Egbochukwu CP (rtd),
Prof. Umeasiegbu,
Mr. Elim Dim,
Chief A. A. A Obibiaka,
Chief Ike Ndiokwelu,
Prof. B.C. E. Egboka
Dr. Obi Anyanyo.
Mr. Ajulu Uzodike,
Mr. Gerald Ilukwe,
Barr. Bright Nnebedum,
Dr. (Mrs.) Mae Nwoye,
Mr. Achuzie Ezenagu,
Mr. Agochukwu Okpalaoka,
Mr. Emmanuel Nwofor,
Dr. Goddy Onyeama,
Barr. (Mrs.) Amaka Igu-Araka,
Sir Emma Ezenwaji,
Mr. Nicholas Okoye,
Comrade Churchill Okonkwo,
Chief Ken Ikwuemesi,
Chief Osita Okosime,
Dr.. (Mrs) Nkiru Nnadozie,
Senator Ebenezer Ikeyina,
Engr. Dan Egwu,
Mrs. Chinyere Asika,
Chief E. O. Oduenyi,
Dr.. Basil Nwankwo
Mr.. Kene Nzekwe.
THE BEST OF ANAMBRA HOME AND ABROAD WILL BE IN MY GOVT...ANDY UBA
I will engage a first class team of Anambrarians from home and abroad to uphold the state and I will establish a Diaspora desk on day one in office for that purpose.”
ANDY UBA
GOVERNORSHIP candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Anambra State February 6 election, Dr. Andy Uba, has declared in his new year message to Ndi Anambra that happier days are ahead for the people when his party takes over the reigns of governance in Awka and propels the state towards the next level in his first term of office.
Uba says he will not be a governor that lacks so much in vision that he will be returning N10 billion at the end of the fiscal year as a result of under implementing his approved budget, while the state is yawning for development and its citizens taking to crime due to severe unemployment.
According to Uba, “I will create employment and improve workers welfare as Labour Party is my natural political home and in the brief period I served as governor of Anambra State, I increased civil servants salary and was on the verge of announcing a vastly improved welfare package for them.”
Uba said workers will have their pride of place in the state. “I will not indulge in stockpiling Anambra cash for ulterior reasons but will use public funds for public good and not for my personal good under any guise.
I have a burning love and passion for my state and having functioned at the Presidency for eight years, I believe I have enough experience and contacts all over the country and beyond to assist in lifting our state.
“Anambra deserves a governor with an ability to see the bigger picture if you want to build a model state. Awka will wear a new look as a state capital and we deserve no less,” he said, adding: “the task ahead of me is to win the next election fairly and I am building formidable alliances to enable me rescue our state from its current state of budgetary and infrastructural under-performance and visionless drift”.
Speaking about Ojukwu’s plea for the state to vote Obi, Uba said; “I heard that but you also have to remember that the same Ojukwu had predicted last April that the Next Level structure of Emeka Etiaba will produce the next governor.
That Next Level organization is now working hard to ensure my emergence as the next governor so Ikemba’s original prediction will yet come to pass. We all saw that on NTA Newsline when he said that from Next Level office the next governor will emerge.
I believed him then and I believe him now on that prediction. I am a team builder and my record proves this. I will engage a first class team of Anambrarians from home and abroad to uphold the state and I will establish a Diaspora desk on day one in office for that purpose.”
ANDY UBA
GOVERNORSHIP candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Anambra State February 6 election, Dr. Andy Uba, has declared in his new year message to Ndi Anambra that happier days are ahead for the people when his party takes over the reigns of governance in Awka and propels the state towards the next level in his first term of office.
Uba says he will not be a governor that lacks so much in vision that he will be returning N10 billion at the end of the fiscal year as a result of under implementing his approved budget, while the state is yawning for development and its citizens taking to crime due to severe unemployment.
According to Uba, “I will create employment and improve workers welfare as Labour Party is my natural political home and in the brief period I served as governor of Anambra State, I increased civil servants salary and was on the verge of announcing a vastly improved welfare package for them.”
Uba said workers will have their pride of place in the state. “I will not indulge in stockpiling Anambra cash for ulterior reasons but will use public funds for public good and not for my personal good under any guise.
I have a burning love and passion for my state and having functioned at the Presidency for eight years, I believe I have enough experience and contacts all over the country and beyond to assist in lifting our state.
“Anambra deserves a governor with an ability to see the bigger picture if you want to build a model state. Awka will wear a new look as a state capital and we deserve no less,” he said, adding: “the task ahead of me is to win the next election fairly and I am building formidable alliances to enable me rescue our state from its current state of budgetary and infrastructural under-performance and visionless drift”.
Speaking about Ojukwu’s plea for the state to vote Obi, Uba said; “I heard that but you also have to remember that the same Ojukwu had predicted last April that the Next Level structure of Emeka Etiaba will produce the next governor.
That Next Level organization is now working hard to ensure my emergence as the next governor so Ikemba’s original prediction will yet come to pass. We all saw that on NTA Newsline when he said that from Next Level office the next governor will emerge.
I believed him then and I believe him now on that prediction. I am a team builder and my record proves this. I will engage a first class team of Anambrarians from home and abroad to uphold the state and I will establish a Diaspora desk on day one in office for that purpose.”
Anambra: Politicians recruit militias, stockpile arms – Onovo
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, recently, in Abuja, disclosed that intelligence reports gathered by the police in Anambra State ahead of the February 6, 2010 governorship election in the state indicated that majority of the politicians contesting in the election have recruited militias, most especially, armed robbers, ex-convicts, as well as kidnappers to use to cause mayhem during the election.
The IGP also said the reports also revealed that some of the politicians had acquired large quantities of mobile police uniforms, as well as large number of sophisticated arms and ammunition for use during the election.
Speaking at a meeting with governorship candidates in the 2010 Anambra election, Onovo expressed worries on the level of insecurity in the state, adding that the police will use every instrument at its disposal to ensure peaceful conduct of election on February 6.
According to him, “intelligence at the disposal of the police has it that some candidates are training militia groups while some outlawed organizations are amassing arms to be used during the campaign and election. Also, information revealed that other candidates intend to import mercenaries into the state to swell the ranks of miscreants and hoodlums in order to cause mayhem during the election.
“Also that some of you have concluded arrangements for the importation of the mercenaries from other states especially the Niger Delta. I felt that it is necessary that I let you know all this. We have been following with deep concern the activities of the major parties in Anambra, especially in the past two months.
“I tell you, we, of the police force, are not happy with what is going on. Some of you are already procuring mobile police uniforms. And you intend to distribute these uniforms to political thugs, cultists and members of motor park unions to be used to support and help you to fight, manipulate voters and other sundry activities. We also have information that you are planning to use some unregistered services and some of them are retired armed robbers or ex-convicts.
“We heard it also that the politicians are to use drivers association, that is taxi, bus, Okada riders, market union associations, Onitsha Market Union Traders Association (OMUTA), among others to rig election. Our intelligence also shows that the former chairman of NATO and now chief executive of a mass transit company has also perfected plans and is ready to finance one of the governorship candidates and is said to have recruited members of the disbanded NATO association to carry out their plans on election day.”
The IGP also said the reports also revealed that some of the politicians had acquired large quantities of mobile police uniforms, as well as large number of sophisticated arms and ammunition for use during the election.
Speaking at a meeting with governorship candidates in the 2010 Anambra election, Onovo expressed worries on the level of insecurity in the state, adding that the police will use every instrument at its disposal to ensure peaceful conduct of election on February 6.
According to him, “intelligence at the disposal of the police has it that some candidates are training militia groups while some outlawed organizations are amassing arms to be used during the campaign and election. Also, information revealed that other candidates intend to import mercenaries into the state to swell the ranks of miscreants and hoodlums in order to cause mayhem during the election.
“Also that some of you have concluded arrangements for the importation of the mercenaries from other states especially the Niger Delta. I felt that it is necessary that I let you know all this. We have been following with deep concern the activities of the major parties in Anambra, especially in the past two months.
“I tell you, we, of the police force, are not happy with what is going on. Some of you are already procuring mobile police uniforms. And you intend to distribute these uniforms to political thugs, cultists and members of motor park unions to be used to support and help you to fight, manipulate voters and other sundry activities. We also have information that you are planning to use some unregistered services and some of them are retired armed robbers or ex-convicts.
“We heard it also that the politicians are to use drivers association, that is taxi, bus, Okada riders, market union associations, Onitsha Market Union Traders Association (OMUTA), among others to rig election. Our intelligence also shows that the former chairman of NATO and now chief executive of a mass transit company has also perfected plans and is ready to finance one of the governorship candidates and is said to have recruited members of the disbanded NATO association to carry out their plans on election day.”
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