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Chief Willie Obiano, Governor Anambra State
As the coast becomes clearer on the chances of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential race, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has endorsed the presidential aspiration of the president, urging Ndi Anambra to vote for him in the coming elections.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the Isuanaocha-Urum-Achalla Road in Awka, Anambra State yesterday, Obiano stressed that President Jonathan had earned the confidence and support of Nigerians with his dogged commitment to keeping the country as one in the face of daunting odds in the last few years.
According to him, it was easy for critics to stand at a safe corner and point fingers but only a few people could appreciate the war President Jonathan had waged in the past four years to keep the country together and leave a lasting legacy.
“As the 2015 presidential election approaches, remember to cast your votes in favour of President Jonathan,” Obiano declared, urging the people to also remember to vote for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in other categories of the coming elections.
The governor also commended the president for his relentless efforts to tackle the gale of insurgency spreading across the northern part of the country and urged Nigerians to always stand behind their leaders in moments of crisis.
“President Jonathan deserves our support at this moment in time. Terrorism is a global scourge that has made some of the world’s most powerful leaders seem incapable. President Jonathan has made the right calls. He has rallied the support of the conscionable world to the rescue of Nigeria and he deserves all the support we can give him,” the governor said.
He asked the people to “remember that all the good roads that have been built in Anambra State in the last nine years, all the schools that have been rebuilt and the various amenities that you enjoy in Anambra State were brought to you by the APGA government,” saying it was always wise to support the leadership that had brought them the most benefits.
Obiano, however, expressed dissatisfaction at the pace of work on the Isuanocha-Urum-Achalla Road project, directing the contractor handling the project to hasten up to ensure that the job was delivered on schedule.
He assured the people that on completion, the road would have all the necessary components of a modern thoroughfare, explaining that that the road was an important link between the people of Awka North and their local government headquarters in Achalla, as it traversed seven communities forming a major part of the agricultural belt of the state.
His administration, he said, was targeting an increase in the production of food crops in the state by 40 per cent within one year and disclosed that the distribution of seedlings to registered farmers’ cooperative societies would start next week.
Also speaking at the event, Mrs. Rebecca Udoji, who represents Awka North in the Anambra State House of Assembly, assured that the new road would alleviate the difficulties encountered by the people of the area in moving their farm produce to the market over the years.
She appealed to the governor to ensure the dualisation of the road as it would provide a vital by-pass to the oilfields of Aguleri.
Commissioner for Works, Callistus Ilozumb, said the 16-kilometre road with a bridge was awarded at the cost of N2.1 billion and had a completion period of two years. He added that the state executive council had also approved the extension of the project to the vocational school at Mgbakwu.