OBI'S INEFFECTUAL PROPAGANDA AGAINST OBIANO:Chinweozo Egbuna Amuta as shared by Evang. Chinedu Obigwe.

It is not a secret to keen watchers of Anambra politics that virtually all the harsh criticisms and vile propaganda against the APGA led administration of Governor Willie Obiano, are sponsored by his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi. The former governor has since 2014, remained implacable for whatever he perceives as his successor's offence against him. This is in spite of the olive branches extended behind the scene and openly by Governor Obiano to Mr. Obi.
As a man adept in different types of subterfuge the former governor has consistently used his media adviser, Mr. Valentine Obienyem and hired hack writers to lampoon the Obiano administration in the conventional and social media. Happily, their adverse criticisms have failed to distract Obiano from the well articulated vision and mission of his government. And this is why he has in the past six years remained focused hence he is obviously making more meaningful impacts in the lives of Ndi Anambra than his predecessors. Perhaps this is what has elicited envy from Mr. Obi, who does not believe that anybody can ever do better than him.
Unfortunately, the former governor who also performed well when he was with the All Progressives Grand Alliance, is engaging in what Nigerians pejoratively refer to as; "pull him down, PhD syndrome". This explains why despite Obiano's unprecedented accomplishments in the most important area of security and other vital sectors of the Anambra economy, especially in the building of signature projects, Obi's media mercenaries are ceaselessly engaging in vicious campaigns of calumny against the governor, his wife and his administration. They have relentlessly alleged that their paymaster bequeathed N75 billion to the Obiano administration, a claim that has been forensically proved to be a cock and bull story.
As a matter of fact, Obiano actually inherited about N9 billion from his predecessor with a debt burden of about N127 billion. Actually, Obi mischievously saddled Obiano with other responsibilities such as recruitment of over one thousand staff into the civil and public services of the state, three months to the end of the former governor's two terms of eight years. This was immediately after Chief Obiano had been elected in November 2013 by Anambra voters. At that point it was generally expected that as an outgoing governor, Obi should not take steps capable of saddling his successor with avoidable encumbrances. This probably explained why the immediate past traditional ruler of Aguleri, Igwe Christopher Idigo of blessed memory pleaded with Obi not to "place a bag of salt on Obiano's head and conjure rainfall on him". Igwe Idigo made this appeal when he led Governor Obiano's family and the Aguleri royalty to the Governor's Lodge, Amawbia, to express gratitude to the ex-governor for the invaluable roles he played in the election of their son as his successor. Even though it was long expected, the conduct of local government election in Anambra state in the twilight of Obi's tenure ahead of the swearing in of Chief Obiano as governor on March 17, 2014, was very curious. Surprisingly, Obi the same day allegedly signed and back dated cheques worth billions of naira, before driving to the Dr. Alex Ekwueme square, Awka for Obiano's inauguration.
It is on record that on August 3, 2017, during a Requiem Mass for late Reverend Father Nicholas Tagbo, the first indigenous principal of Christ the King College, CKC, Onitsha, Governor Obiano publicly apologised to Obi, for "whatever the ex-governor perceived as his offence". Notwithstanding this, Obi was quoted by the Punch newspaper to have vowed to fight Obiano's reelection bid; "with the last drop of my blood". The Anambra electorate disagreed with their former governor and voted overwhelmingly for Obiano in the November 16, 2017 gubernatorial poll. This was in spite of the massive propaganda by Obi's choristers against the incumbent governor. The voters ignored the claim of a phantom N75 billion bequeathal by the erstwhile governor to his successor. In fact, it was not difficult for the masses to disbelieve the bogus claim and other frivolous allegations. This was against the background of the numerous verifiable achievements of Governor Obiano in his first tenure.
As Anambra inches toward the 2021 gubernatorial election the Obi camp is still towing the same disingenuous and fruitless path of vile propaganda they traversed in 2017. It would again end in another colossal failure just as Obi often says that; "you cannot be doing the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result". On the basis of the visible and tangible accomplishments of the APGA led government under Obiano's watch and perpetual internal crisis of the PDP in Anambra state, whoever becomes APGA's standard bearer in next year's gubernatorial poll would once more win convincingly.
This is more so because during the 2021 electioneering campaigns, APGA would in addition to the other accomplishments of the Obiano administration flaunt completed or almost finished legacy projects which were non existent before Governor Obiano came on board about six years ago. They are; the three flyovers on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway in Awka, the longest bridge in the state across the Omambala river from Otuocha to the crude oil field in Aguleri-Otu in Anambra East local government area, the Court of Appeal and the biggest oxygen manufacturing plant in the Southeast at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, both located in Awka, the best NYSC orientation camps in Nigeria at Umuawulu-Mbaukwu in Awka South local government area, the international cargo/passenger airport, Umuleri as well as the international conference center, ICC, Awka among others.
Chinweozo Egbuna Amuta is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Grassroots Media Mobilisation.