Obiano Hails Supreme Court Judgement on APGA, Calls for Reconciliation, Healing

Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State (r) and Chief Victor Oye, National Chairman of APGA

The governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has hailed the recent Supreme Court judgement that upheld the Executive Committee of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) headed by the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court had dismissed the appeal filed by the Maxi Okwu-led faction which had sought to be declared as the authentic Executive Committee of the party and affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had on June 18, 2015 declared Umeh as the authentic National Chairman of the party.

Governor Obiano displaying a copy of the Supreme Court Judgement. With him is Chief Oye

Hailing the judgement in a rally held at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia to celebrate the victory at the weekend, Governor Obiano who is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and National Leader of the party declared the judgement as a “no victor, no vanquished,” and called for immediate reconciliation and healing among all splinter groups that exist within the party.

Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, wife of the Governor and Hon Mrs. Rita Maduagwu, Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly and a party chieftain

Addressing party faithful, Governor Obiano noted that, “It is important that we seize this great moment in history and run with the passion it has ignited in our hearts. The first thing we should do with this passion is reconciliation. We must always remember that the Maxi Okwu faction that took us to court is actually our brothers. We must strive to reabsorb them to the mainstream of the party.”

Bar Ifeatu Obi Okoye, National Publicity Secretary, a party faithful and Chief Nobert Obi, State Chairman of the party

Describing the event as APGA’s own Pentecost Day, Obiano told party members, “if you look among you, you will see tongues of flame on your heads. These tongues of flame are the flames of ‘Be your brother and your sister’s keeper.’

He assured aggrieved members of the party that their loyalty was invaluable to the party and that in due course their loyalty would be adequately recognised and rewarded.

Governor Obiano welcoming Chief Chidi Anyaegbu, Chairman, Chisco Group

Governor Obiano who declared that he was not addressing the gathering as the governor of Anambra State but as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and National Leader of the party further emphasized that the party was supreme at all times and in all situations.

Chief Mrs Obiano and Hon Maduagwu

He therefore urged party members to set aside their differences and close ranks for the impending battle over the highly contested senatorial seat of Anambra Central constituency.

Said he; “The next war we must wage is the war for Victor Umeh’s victory in the coming senatorial election in Anambra Central. Umeh has appealed for forgiveness from party members who are nursing one form of grudge or another against him. So, we must unite, close ranks and go for victory with him.”

Earlier in his opening remarks, the National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Oye had offered a detailed explanation of the Supreme Court judgement and commended the steadfastness of party members whose support and prayers never wavered all through the period of the legal process.

Governor Obiano addressing the rally

Rallying support for Chief Umeh in the coming senatorial election in Anambra Central, Chief Oye appealed to party faithful to close ranks and give a massive push to the efforts of Chief Victor Umeh to clinch the Senatorial Seat. “This is the home of APGA. Anybody struggling with us here is wasting his time because we already have a senator in Chief Victor Umeh,” he declared.

Chief Anyaegbu and other party faithful

Offering a remarkable insight in the highly anticipated election, Chief Oye said, “Any day they are ready for election, it will be a walkover because in 2003 the Supreme Court in the case between INEC and Labour party, ruled that in the case of nullification of election on grounds of qualification only those candidates that participated in the nullified election, excluding the candidate that was disqualified can participate in the re-run. And no political party shall hold a primary with the intention of appointing or nominating a new candidate for that election because the time for that exercise has elapsed.”

Chief Maja Umeh, party stalwart flanked by party members 

Describing APGA as the party to beat in 2019, Chief Oye observed that the party recently won seven councillorship positions in Niger State, sweeping the Ward of the current governor of Niger State.

Ozumba, Obidiegwu, Eze and Okagbue

“They have done everything humanly possible to frustrate us but I want to tell the people of this great state and this great country that APGA is the party to beat in 2019. I have repeatedly said it without any fear of equivocation that while PDP is haemorrhaging and APC is asphyxiating, APGA is the only political party with a clean bill of health in Nigeria today.”

Jude Emechetta and Chief Igwa

Also speaking, the wife of the governor of Anambra State, Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano called for support and prayers for the Obiano administration as leadership is usually ordained by God.

According to her, Governor Obiano is fully resolved to build a strong and prosperous state in which every onye Anambra would be proud 

 
 

Anambra Debate Team Returns from Singapore, Presents Trophy to Obiano

The Anambra Debate Team (L-R) Chinecherem Precious Oli, Mmesoma Nwankwo, Oluchukwu Godfrey, Endurance Peter and  Ugochukwu Chineke, 

Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State displaying the Trophy. With him are Dr. Nkem Okeke, Deputy Governor and Prof. Kate Omenugha, Commissioner for Education

The Anambra Debate Team that participated in the Junior School Mock Debate in Singapore last week as part of the build up to the World School Debate Championship billed for Germany in July this year has returned with the trophy it won after defeating the Debate Team of Katong Convent School, Singapore.

The Debate Team is made up of five students drawn from different public secondary schools across the state include Ugochukwu Chineke, a fourteen-year-old student Army Day Secondary School, Onitsha, Oluchukwu Godfrey, an eleven-year-old pupil of Modebe Memorial Primary School, Onitsha, Favour Mmesoma Nwankwo, an eleven-year-old student of capital City Secondary School, Awka, Endurance Peter, a thirteen-year-old student of Comprehensive Secondary School, Nawfia and Chinecherem Precious Oli, a fourteen-year-old student of Metu Memorial Secondary School, Onitsha.

Oluchukwu Godfrey, a Primary School pupil with amazing oratory holds Anambra EXCO members spell-bound

The Debate Team stormed the chambers of the Anambra State Executive Council with the trophy and was roundly applauded by the Council Members for flying the flag of the state high and doing Nigeria proud at the Mock Debate.

Receiving the trophy, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano praised the team for putting up a sterling performance in Singapore and doing the state proud.

Oluchukwu gets a Gubernatorial Handshake after her performance with Prof Solo Chukwulobelu, SSG in the midle

Governor Obiano expressed happiness that the huge investments that the state had made in education had started yielding heart-warming results and assured that his administration had singled out education as a top priority because of its overall importance to human capital development.

Noting that Anambra approaches education in three broad categories including Teachers Welfare, Infrastructural Development and Pupils/Students Development, Governor Obiano observed that gradually the state was inching closer to realising its objective of becoming one of the Top-3 states with the highest literacy rates in the country.

The teachers and coaches of the Debate Team

He commended the triumphant Debate Team and assured that the state would write a Special Commendation Letter for each of the debater that would serve as a memento.

He also commended teachers in the state for responding massively to the efforts of his administration to reposition education in the state pointing out that Anambra teachers had swiftly risen to the demands of the times.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Education, Professor Kate Omenugha revealed that Anambra, Kaduna and Niger States were originally billed to participate in the Mock Debate in Singapore in preparation for the World Championship in July but only Anambra and Niger State eventually made the trip.

Thanking Governor Obiano for assuming the role of the Pillar of Education in the state, Professor Omenugha observed that under him, Anambra had become an exemplary state in education in the country.

According to her, the essence of the Mock Debate in Singapore was to expose the children to global best practices in debating and prepare them for the World Championship coming up in Germany in July this year.

Professor Omenugha further observed that the Singapore trip provided a veritable learning platform for the children who sat under the tutelage of world class debate coaches and imbibed some crucial skills that would aid their performance at the World Championship.

Sharing their experience on the trip, Master Ugochukwu Chukwuneke from Army day Secondary School Onitsha who won the Best Speaker at the Mock Debate and Oluchukwu Godfrey from Modebe Memorial Primary School who also put up a sterling performance revealed that the tour had opened their eyes to a higher standard in debating.

They thanked Governor Obiano for providing them the opportunity to improve on their persuasive speaking skills and assured the state that they would not let Nigeria down in the World Championship   

In Obiano and Otti Igboland may finally Rebound

 

Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State

When the Civil War ended in 1970, the scientific genius that sustained the Biafran struggle for 30 months lay dormant until 1971. That was when the government of the defunct East Central State decided to establish the Project Development Institute (PRODA) Enugu, under Edict No. II of 1971. PRODA was established “to make Nigeria one of the acknowledge leaders of the scientifically and technologically developed nations of the world.” In actually, it was an attempt to harness the scientific gifts of the brains behind the astonishing inventions of the Biafran War. Sadly, like everything that has happened to the former Biafran enclave after the war, PRODA has remained largely a wishful thought; its grand vison of making Nigeria one of the scientifically and technologically developed nations of the world has suffered a stillbirth. It is so because the war genius that gave it life at birth was stifled by the Nigerian experience.

Dr. Alex Otti, Governor Elect, Abia State

Interestingly, the creative ferment that the Nigerian system tried to kill off found temporary expression in the informal sector where artisans and craftsmen flooded the markets with assorted household goods that soon became famously known as “Igbo-made.” So, from the middle 70s to mid-80s, there was a wave of manufacturing explosion across Igboland that spiked the interest of the attentive world in the war-ravaged old East Central Sate.  In both scale and ingenuity, the array of products from Aba and Onitsha that arrived most markets across West Africa at the time held an impressive industrial promise. To date, that era represents Nigeria’s brightest hope of becoming anything else but a country of consumers who would import something as mundane as toothpicks. That there was no conscious effort to nurture that burst of energy to anything of value today is a tribute to Nigeria’s well-known reputation as the cemetery for gifts and talents. There seemed to have been a conspiracy to allow that moment pass; to drown it all with silence. And it worked. What we now have of the once popular Igbo-made are a handful of leader-works in shoes and some tacky designs from Aba. Indeed the story of Aba gives a different heartache on its own. The city that once had the largest concentration of artistic talents and a bustling social scene sticks out today like a festering thumb; wilting away from the gangrene of neglect.

Hopefully, after a long, interminable spell of groping in the dark, we are beginning to see the signs that a comeback is possible. We see glimmers of hope here and there. Hope that South Eastern Nigeria which reportedly had the fastest growing economy before the war would experience a renaissance or the beginnings of it. Hope that Igboland would repossess its destiny under African skies. We saw rays of hope in Enugu under the focused leadership of Sullivan Chime. We are seeing it in a more compelling way in Anambra under Governor Willie Obiano and we hear a loud sound of it in the rhetoric and promise of the Governor Elect of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti. Yes, to many Igbo, Otti’s recent Appeal Court victory is the very birth of hope. This is because it is common logic that the economic future of Ndigbo lies in Anambra and Abia States. Once there is a resurgence of life in Onitsha/Nnewi axis and Aba, Igboland will rebound.

Since he took over the reins of leadership in Anambra State on March 17, 2014, Governor Willie Obiano has blazed a trail of excellence, establishing himself as a candle of hope for Ndi Anambra. Obiano’s pragmatic approach to governance has shown that change is possible when a leader comes prepared. Heavily influenced by his technocratic background, Obiano came into office with a vision. His vision is to make Anambra State the first choice investment destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities. He also spelt out his mission as to make Anambra State a socially stable, business-friendly environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities. In less than two years in office, Obiano has almost fulfilled both statements. He has retrieved Anambra from the choke-hold of violent criminals and created a friendly environment for business that has attracted $2.5bn in investments. He has swiftly nudged the accelerator of progress to a point where a police helicopter hovers over the skies, punching coordinates down to sophisticated patrol cars on the ground to enhance the general sense of safety. In fact, Obiano’s efficiency in crime control has turned the once dreaded Upper Iweka into a garden where a tumultuous Christmas carol heralded the Yuletide season a fortnight ago. He has built great legacy projects like the three flyovers that are nearing completion in Awka and Anambra’s longest bridge in Aguleri Otu. But what may be even more revolutionary here are the captive power projects that will form the very backbone of industrialization in the state. The most promising of this is the 80 megawatts UDIPPCO power plant in Umerum which will be powered by the untapped gas reserve in the community. With steady power supply guaranteed by this project, the industrial clusters in Onitsha, Ozubulu and Nnewi will finally draw a fresh breath of life. This will stimulate economic growth. Also, through the Anambra Small Business Association (ASBA), Obiano has disbursed N1bn micro credits to select MSMEs in the state. Knowing the catalytic role of cottage industries, when properly nurtured, these MSMEs will jump-start productivity in the industrial areas and create more jobs for the youths.   

Although I have not read Dr. Alex Otti’s blueprint for Abia, I have paid attention to his rhetoric. Otti speaks the language of change; the message of rebirth.  Otti is from the same background as Obiano. He knows that his reputation would be at stake once he is sworn in and above all, he seems to know what to do. At least, that is the sense I get when I hear him say - “We have plans to build an industrial cluster, where our young people can fully and meaningfully engage their creativity and, in so doing, create a better life for themselves, as well as a more vibrant economy for Abia. The time has come for us to look beyond oil. In fact, International Finance Corporations (IFCs) have already indicated their interest in taking up the Industrial Cluster project to the tune of One Hundred Million Dollars! This money is not made available to everyone, but only to experts and organisations these corporations trust. At the risk of sounding immodest, permit me to say that they trust my proven financial management skills, having extended the same facility to me when I headed Diamond Bank, and having seen how judiciously their funds were used then.”

I am also assured of Otti’s competence when I read the following remarks - “In my interaction with fellow APGA members, I spoke about our plans to build three flyover bridges in Aba. These flyovers will be located at Abayi (near Ngwa High School), Port Harcourt road and Ogbor Hill (near Enyimba hotel). These bridges will decongest traffic in the city, as well as create alternative routes for those going to Port Harcourt and Enugu, saving them precious time as they go about their businesses”. Indeed Otti comes with all the tall dreams of a change agent, brimming with ideas that might frighten the timid and tentative. His plan to build three bridges reminds one of what Obiano has done in Awka. He talks of plans to relocate the Ariaria market which has become a blot on the memory of people who know Aba’s glorious past. He says “our plan is to build a new Ariaria International Market across the express road. This new Ariaria will be a world-class shopping mall, and all occupiers of the present Ariaria that bring valid, verifiable papers for their shops will get new, air-conditioned shops in the mall”.

 Isn’t it about time somebody thought like this in the South East? Didn’t we all witness how Babatunde Fashola transformed the decrepit Tejuosho Market in Yaba Lagos into a glittering pizazz of commerce? Didn’t we all watch Donald Duke build Tinapa? Is Igboland bereft of leaders with supersized dreams? I don’t think so. The truth however is that such men had not been given a chance to take a shot at leadership until the emergence of Obiano and Otti.

This is therefore one good reason why every truly discerning and concerned Igbo must stand up for the preservation of the Appeal Court judgement in Owerri which firmly placed the mantle of leadership of Abia State on Dr. Alex Otti. With Obiano in Anambra and Otti in Abia, Igboland is bound to rediscover itself.

Nwokoye’s “Voices of Happiness” Wraps up Glorious Christmas in Anambra

Sir and Lady Willie Nwokoye making a welcome speech

For most people in Anambra State, last Christmas would go down as one of the most memorable in recent times. It was not only remarkably peaceful; it was also amazingly colourful. There was no greater colour than the bewitching lights of Upper Iweka and the sonorous voices that rose from its gardens on the 23^rd night to welcome Christmas with a canopy of songs. Upper Iweka that used to be the very den of daredevil robbers! And there was perhaps, nothing as amazing as watching the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano burst into a hearty song; Que Sera, Sera, by Doris Day, his boisterous voice resounding through the Yuletide night.

There at the Special Carol night, while Governor Obiano sang and urged the crowd to join him, he may not have realised that he was igniting a silent fire in the heart of one of his trusted lieutenants – Sir Willie Nwokoye, his Principal Secretary. And in the graffiti of exploding fireworks that spiralled high into the skies of Upper Iweka, Sir Nwokoye dreamt up his own brilliant interpretation of Obiano’s body language.

Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nkem Okeke flanked by Sir and lady Nwokoye

And so, the following day, Sir Nwokoye sent out texts to family, friends and colleagues, inviting them to an open session of piano, violin, flute, sax and guitar in his country home in Amawbia. As it turned out, what Nwokoye and some of his guests had imagined to be a modest evening turned out a big event as his entire compound and the surrounding neighbourhood were over-ran by guests and not just guests but quality guests and VIPs. It was an enchanting evening that was made luminous by the breath-taking performances of a cast of talented choirs, instrumentalists and solo performers. On the bill for the night were famous groups like the Lagos City Chorale, the Ciduc Chamber Chorale, The Elite Family Choir, The Sit Simon Choir, The St Mathew Catholic Choir. But the evening essentially belonged to the raw but peerless solo performance by Oluchi Odii; a contestant of the Season 8 edition of MTN Project Fame Academy. Oluchi’s rendition on the night showed a lot of promise. But it also stirred my curiosity. I wondered what inspired Sir Nwokoye into hosting such a night of enchantment. But I was not alone. My colleagues, Emeka Ozumba and Chuka Nnabuife were with me on this. So, a few days later, we sat down together with Sir Nwokoye and his lovely wife to find out why. Below are excerpts of the interview that ensued. Happy Reading…  

One of the Chorale groups in performance

Q: A couple of days ago you assembled an impressive crowd in your home for a special feast of songs tagged Voices of Happiness. There was such a distinguished gathering that the Deputy Governor and the Chief Judge were all in attendance. What was it really about?

A: Well, if you surveyed the attendance that night, the big banner on the stage told all the stories. It was my own artistic interpretation of Governor Willie Obiano and his style and idea of governance. That was what was designed on that banner with the governor in the centre blowing the opu (horn). You could also see a collage of the faces of friends of mine, my colleagues in government, friends in Lagos and so many distant places which I had kept all the while. I put them together into some kind of collage which told its own story – that the governor is blowing the opu and all the faces are laughing, which is my artistic way of saying – the source of happiness is the governor who is the man at the center of the collage, blowing the opu. Now, if you remember the Anambra Economic Equation; the Four Pillars plus the Enablers; there is an artistic side to it, because those Pillars and Enablers, what do they give ultimately? Happiness! Economics say – Gross Domestic Product (GDP). An artist would say Gross Happiness. GDP is GDP only if it translates to happiness. So, that is what I did that night. After our outing at Upper Iweka, I looked at Governor Obiano and said to myself, the message he is actually passing along to those of us who are his lieutenants at different levels is ‘replicate this in your community.’ The only way you will remain relevant is not just about going to the office but when you come back, that thing that the governor does, do it in your own small way to your community. Choose any perspective. I have chosen this perspective; which is, a concert which I call Voices of Happiness – an ensemble of five different choirs. Incidentally I got all of them at no price at all. Among them was the Lagos City Chorale. That is an indication of how Anambra is opening up at the moment. The Lagos City Chorale is owned by Emeka Nwokedi who is from Anambra. He tours all the world and wins laurels but he never brings his group back home to Anambra. But this year Emeka Nwokedi started featuring his group in Anambra, performing for some high end clients. So the previous night, he got wind of what I was planning and made a call to me and said that he was going to categorise their appearance here as Friendship Concert; which is an endorsement of the environment that is changing. I think that those of us who can; should begin to do this kind of thing. So, I did that as a statement which I am going to enlarge. Anyone can take any perspective. What I did was Voices of Happiness – classical rendition of hymns and songs. And I invited people whom I considered to think alike. So, I leave you with this poser– in every ward in Anambra, if everyone does something similar, that would be an effective way of underlining the fact that life is free, safe and happy. Because if you say it and there is no event to illustrate it, then the environment does not exist. I used this event to illustrate the fact that people can come out in the night and sing all the way. If the governor has created such environment, we should all be plucking the low hanging fruits. There are groups in the art world that are of Anambra extraction that are making waves elsewhere but they have never considered coming home because the environment is not right. Now with the snap of your fingers they are here. There is something about this state that that night underlined and I want the public to note it.

Chief Victor Oye, National Chairman of APGA flanked by the Nwokoyes

Q: From Conception to execution, how long did Voices of Happiness take?

A: The idea had always been lurking in my mind until two weeks ago; after the open air Anambra State Government sponsored Christmas Carol at Upper Iweka. When I watched the governor sing – So said I said I/whatever will be will be/the future looks bright to me/so said I said I,  it occurred to me that I could put my own gathering together. I then spoke to one or two guys that are of like minds and we started expanding the concept. It took me twenty four hours to pick up the images for the banner. I want us to isolate the things that I’ve said here – everyone is at liberty to interpret what is expected of them by the principal that they serve. My interpretation is that once the governor does an outing, is there a way that I can distil the thing down to my local environment in some variety of forms? And that’s what I did. Anambra would be electrified if after the governor’s outing everyone goes to their individual localities and begins to showcase it. That way, there is a political side to it. You don’t talk people into following you; you inspire them to follow you. If they see you as a source of happiness in any form, you don’t have to work hard to point the way politically for them to come along.

An aerial view of a cross section of the audience

I may use this opportunity to tell you that my grassroots community social responsibility engagement with my ward 1 actually holds every last Saturday of the month when I do what I call Missa and Mensa. Every last Saturday, my tithe is that I use ten percent of my salary to hold mass for the elderly. We hold mass and serve breakfast. It is like a carnival. There is this air of conviviality. So, if you see the faces on that banner, you will notice that they represent the high and the low. My cleaner’s face is there. My drivers and security men’s faces are there, side by side with the governor’s face and Pat Utomi and other important people. I think this makes a permanent mark on people’s consciousness.

Oluchi Odii giving a great performance

Q: I thought it would be a quite evening where an organist would be playing to a small group of friends but when I got here I realised that it was a huge concert. Please, is it a one off show?

A: Well, I have just created a brand for myself. And that is Voices of Happiness. If I can get this done every year at the price that I did it this year, I will keep on doing it. The difference would be that I’d keep tweaking the features but the concept and the theme will remain the same. But we will never deviate from the Voices of Happiness. This means that the mighty and the low will be in common participation in anything that I do.

Dr. Nkem Okeke, Deputy Governor, giving a speech

Q: What should we expect next from Voices of Happiness?

A: I know how things happen in Anambra. If someone starts an idea, it becomes a movement. We have just proved that it can be done. Very soon, we will begin to discover artistic talents of Anambra extraction that are domiciled somewhere contributing to a life of happiness elsewhere. When that happens, you will begin to see them come out in a deluge. It is only the Lagos City Chorale that we have identified. There are more such groups waiting to get a stage to show what they can offer; which is a way of opening the door for people outside to come and witness what is happening in Anambra. And when there is security and people know that Anambra is safe for anyone to return to and there are no events happening within the period that events wouldn’t have ordinarily happened, there is no way to illustrate that Anambra is safe.

I want to call your attention to this – I was around during last Christmas and I am around today. The difference between last Christmas and this one is that clearly most of the people that returned this year came from overseas with their families; bringing their own concept of how to celebrate Christmas. I visited two families who set up giant screens in their compounds and were shooting movies and inviting friends and families. So, that tells you that the concept of what makes people happy during Christmas is beginning to get sophisticated. Before now, it used to be traditional marriages or masquerade displays or even burials. This year, the concept got more sophisticated.

A group of violinists getting ready for a performance

Q: Do you see a tie in between what we observed this Yuletide and what has happened in the state in the last twelve months?

A: What happened in the past twelve months led to what we witnessed this Christmas. In the next twelve months, you will see something different. In the next twelve months, there will be facilities to support events that will be held here and you will find out that the hunger for those things had been bottled up all along. I was shocked by the crowd that turned up at the Voices of Happiness. We suddenly found out that we didn’t have enough seats. I didn’t expect the crowd that I saw. That tells you that there is a hunger for this type of entertainment. So someone can do an evening of reading and folklore and it would be totally sold out and you wouldn’t find a space. The reason is simple. Someone is in power and he is defining people’s ways of life. So, when I say that I am fanatical about my interpretation of Willie Obiano, I know what I am saying. There is the hard and the soft. After eight years, that is what distinguishes him. He is not a governor of the hard. Any buffoon can sign a contract for roads and the roads would be built. But not everyone can inspire an environment that will inspire the grassroots into action. When you watch governor Obaino sing at Upper Iweka and you are arts inclined, you would want to take a bit of that home. Everyone in government is free to interpret what they are expected to do. So I interpreted that after the So said I said I in Upper Iweka I should go home and create an environment for So said I said I for people who couldn’t come to Upper Iweka.

Chris Nwokedi leading the Lagos City Chorale Group in performance

Q: Are we prepared for the explosion that may result in terms of arts and entertainment from the enabling environment that the government has created in the state?

B: Arts cannot explode on a scale that it becomes uncontrollable. The more it explodes the better for society. If governor Obiano’s lieutenants interpret their roles well, you will find out that governance is not only about sitting in EXCO but as the man who leads the way acts, we interpret that this is also an additional role that we need to play that may not be spelt out in the rule book. When we do it, we create the critical mass for him. Otherwise, he dissipates energy. It does not percolate.

Q: You had hosted some scholars from Oxford University who visited Igbo Ukwu. And now you have done this. How would you describe your attitude to the arts?

B: I have always held the opinion that the arts have everything to do with it. Governor Obiano naturally does not talk much about the arts but he acts in favour of it. It would be taking huge burden off the man if you can replicate his body language.

 

James Eze, Emeka Ozumba and Mrs. Joy Odinye, Channels TV Correspondent 

Obiano Hails Otti’s Appeal Court Victory

Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State

The Governor of Anambra State and Board of Trustees Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Willie Obiano has hailed the New Year’s Eve judgement of the Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, which declared Dr. Alex Otti as the duly elected Governor of Abia State.

Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr. James Eze in Awka on New Year day, Governor Obiano who is also the National Leader of APGA, the platform on which the Abia Governor Elect, Dr Otti ran for election, described the Appeal Court judgement as a landmark decision and a huge victory for democracy.

According to him, in recent years, the nation’s judiciary had continued to rise to the expectations of the people as the midwife of the democratic process, lending crucial roots to Nigeria’s growing democratic culture.

“We in APGA have always believed in the supremacy of the law. We have always campaigned for due process and for a stronger, more independent judiciary. The Appeal Court judgement on Dr. Alex Otti has re-affirmed our confidence in the Nigerian justice system,” Governor Obiano explained.

Describing Dr Otti as a quintessential change agent who would not waste time to turn the fortunes of Abia State around, Governor Obiano expressed hope that Otti would transform Abia with APGA’s highly acclaimed model of governance.

“The Moto of our great party says ‘Onye aghana nwanne ya,’ which means “be your brother and sister’s keeper.’ It is a remarkable philosophy which stirs in every member of our party a sense of brotherhood and a sense of community. If you are a good member of a community, you would give that community the very best of your service. That is the philosophy that drives the high performance of APGA leaders. Dr. Otti will give Abia the best leadership possible,” he enthused.

The governor also expressed optimism that other APGA gubernatorial candidates pushing for the validation their mandates in the Appeal Court would get the justice that they deserve. He expressed hope that the party’s candidate for the soon to be rescheduled Anambra Central Senatorial election, Chief Victor Umeh, would triumph at the polls.

It would be recalled that the entry of Dr Otti into the last Abia gubernatorial race on the platform of APGA had upturned all political calculations in the state in view of the mass appeal of the party across the South East and the impressive track record of Dr Otti.

The Appeal Court judgement is therefore a validation of the popular wish of the Abia people who had longed for visionary leadership which Dr Otti’s technocratic background and profile in excellence would guarantee.