From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Chief Sylvester Nwobu-Alor, is a founding member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in Anambra State. But he is presently campaigning for the election of Oseloka Obaze of the PDP for the Saturday election. In this interview, he talks on a number of issues.
As an Elder statesman and a stakeholder in Anambra State, what is your take on this Saturday’s election?
Election is a constitutional and democratic process of changing of guards. The integral voting procedure gives the citizenry the supremacy and superiority of electing their chosen representatives and leaders, and on this score I wholly align myself with the process thereof.
The incumbent Governor Willie Obiano has been accused of non-performance by the opposition, how do you react to this?
Truly, Anambra in the recent time had had it so good in terms of governance. Starting from the regime of Ngige and then to Peter Obi’s administration, Anambra State had posted superlative and sterling results in terms of democratic dividends and performance, and so if the citizenry now complain that means there is a gap and lull in the expectation. Truly, given the current outcry and from personal observation, Willie Obiano though is a nice man but his government has not met the yearnings and expectations of Anambrarians. And that’s why you have the current discontent and dissatisfaction in the land against his style of administration.
But the government of Obiano has reacted by saying that ‘Willie is working!’ They point to the street light projects that dot the nooks and crannies of Anambra, and with all these do you still doubt their performance?
It is preposterous and prevaricating for a properly constituted government with huge allocations and IGR to point at the payment of salaries and pension as achievement. By the way, it is legal, moral and natural to pay all workers at the due time. It is unconscionable and despicable really to owe a worker who has completed his task. Therefore, Obiano’s government should not see the payment thereof, as an achievement. Besides, governments before it (that is, Ngige and Obi’s) paid salaries and pensions and still performed and packaged the infrastructures to the admiration of Ndi Anambra.
Moreso, Obiano’s government has no reason not to pay salaries and improve on the lives of Ndi Anambra because a solid financial foundation was availed by the preceding government of Peter Obi. The street light project, good as it is, is not enough to showcase given the enormous fund at Obiano’s government disposal.
What of the N20, 000,000 disbursements to communities in Anambra State by the government of Willie Obiano?
I tell you one thing, Willie is working, but regretfully Willie is indeed working woefully and that’s why his government is illogical, comical and theatrical. The twenty million development fund or whatever name called comes with too many baggages. Firstly, it is a misdirection and misappropriation. Nobody knows where he is getting the funds to finance the “Community Projects”, but assuming it is from the joint L. G. account then it is illegal.
The Local Government system as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the third tier of administration with a clearly defined and delineated obligations and mandates and which obviously does not include the wanton disbursement of cash to communities. Therefore, Obiano’s penchant for appropriating fund meant for the Local Government administration for other uses is unlawful and illegal, ab initio.
Secondly, since such disbursements are not lawfully appropriated and deployed, it gives room to all manners of manipulations. For instance, it’s been shown that the current disbursement bazaar by the current government only gets to his surrogates and lackeys.
Thirdly, the direct cash disbursement to communities being an illegality itself is also a ‘Greek gift’ whereby it’s given with the ‘right hand’ and stealthily collected by the ‘left hand’. The processes involving the hyped N20, 000,000 gifts to the communities in Anambra State are scandalous since the disbursement is an illegality enmeshed in misappropriation. It might interest you to know that up till this moment, none of the ‘Infrastructure Project’ has been completed nor commissioned.
Fourthly, it’s conduit pipe to siphon funds. Assuming the disbursement is done with a good intent (which is disproved here). What is the percentage of the N20, 000,000 to the entire statutory allocation due to a given local government? And what becomes of the gigantic reminder and where does it go? Illustratively, Awka North Local Government got a total of N4, 226,620,565 as statutory allocation from March 2014 to July 2017. And out of this total receipts, a paltry N200,000,000 was given by the Obiano administration to the entire communities as an ‘Infrastructure Project’ within the same period, leaving a floating balance of N4,026,620,565. Similar balance is replicated in all the 27 Local Governments in Anambra State.
A little while ago you talked about accusation of non performance on his government and I answered that there is discontent and dissatisfaction as far as his government is concerned and that simply means a vote of no-confidence. A government that cannot point to a single signature project to its credit has failed the electorates and does not deserve a re-election.
But why must it Obaze this time?
I believe in objectivity and not swayed by parochialism and sentiments. Honestly, the government of Obiano has not done anything positive to warrant a second tenure. I say it again; giving Obiano a second chance means total liquidation of Anambra State. To this end therefore, I urge Anambrarians to give Oseloka Henry Obaze their mandate come November 18, 2017. He is already tested and trusted having brought his Midas touch to bear on both Obi’s and Obiano’s incipient administration. The now famous and glorious MDG’s Miracle in Anambra so far is the handwork of Oseloka Obaze. Truly, as an elder statesman and a stakeholder in Anambra polity, Obaze’s international Diplomatic exposure and human management acumen, including the expertise of Chidi Onyemelukwe are sure the right steps to progress and prosperity in Anambra State.