A Bounteous Harvest,
Promising Tomorrow
An Address by the
Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano on the occasion
of the First Anniversary of his Administration on March 17, 2015.
Protocols
NdiAnambranfulunanaya!
As I stand before you today, I stand in the shadow of our
great political leader, the EzeigboGburugburu, Chief ChukwuemekaOdumegwuOjukwu
who invested his twilight years in building our great party, APGA. I also stand
in the shadow of all our great ancestors…NnamdiAzikiwe, NwaforOrizu, Kenneth
Dike, Alex Ekwueme whose name adorns this historical place and other
illustrious men and women who showed the light to help us find our way in
today’s complex world.
365 day ago, we all gathered in this place to begin a journey
of colourful dreams. But we have travelled through the stony path of reality.
We have experienced a tremendous leap of the imagination. We have gazed into
the eyes of tomorrow… and we have returned to this great place, after 365 days…
with a great harvest and a bouquet of new dreams!
Now, before I go any further, I would like to acknowledge the good foundation laid by my brother and
predecessor, Chief Peter Obi. I will also not fail to express my gratitude to the
National Chairman of our great party (APGA), Chief Sir Victor Umeh, Ogbunigwe,
and other party members, traditional rulers, the clergy and the youths of
Anambra State whose firm support we
needed to embark on the big task of
building a New Anambra State. NdiAnambraogaadiliunumma o!
Looking back, ladies and gentlemen, before our ship set sail
in March last year, we dreamt of a New Anambra State … A state that would
become the 1st Choice
Investment Destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities…a
socially stable, business friendly environment that would attract both
indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities. Ndi
Anambra, to the glory of God, today, 365 days after, our dream is almost fully
realized.
You may ask me why I say this. Fellow citizens, the answer is
there for all to see. In the past one year, we have dramatically re-positioned
Anambra State. We have transformed Upper Iweka and the great commercial city of
Onitsha from being a den of robbers into one of Nigeria’s leading business-friendly
cities. We have cleaned Anambra up and returned our beloved state to the path
of renewal and rapid progress. We have kept faith with our campaign promise –
to continue, complete and commission all the projects I inherited from my
predecessor. There is not one project that we inherited that we have abandoned.
Not one! And above all,Umunnem, we have returned Anambra State to the global
investment map!
Beloved Ndi Anambra, you may ask me, “how did you do it?”
Again, the answer is there for us to see. The strategic thrust of my
administration is anchored on what I call The
Four Pillars of Development, namely – Agriculture,
Industrialization, Trade & Commerce and Oil and Gas (AITO). These Four
Pillars are firmly supported by what I call the 12 Enablers without which every effort to develop the Pillars would
have been in vain. The Enablers are made up of fundamentals like Security, Education, Healthcare, Power
Generation, the Environment, Finance, Social & Civil Infrastructure,
Housing and Urban Development, Hospitality & Tourism, Transportation, Water
& Sanitation and Youth and Sports. The Enablers are the basic spadework
we must do to lay a solid foundation for the pillars to stand.
The First and Most
Important Foundation
Beloved Ndi Anambra and friends of our dear state, when I
stood on this podium to share my dreams of a New Anambra State with you one
year ago, I declared that in Nigeria today, offering a secure environment for
life and property and finding a permanent solution to the challenges of
electricity supply are paramount to any viable economic blueprint. I also
opined that for many decades, these twin challenges had stood in the way of the
full manifestation of the ingenuity that Ndi Anambra are known for. I further
reasoned that the realization of my dreams for Anambra State depended on how
well we tackled these challenges.
Fellow citizens, looking back at how far we have come since I
made these observations, we can all see that our efforts to define our
realities at the take-off point have paid off. When we look at how safe Anambra
has become in the past one year, we will all understand how accurate our
definition has been. As the Chief Security Officer of thisState, I have a full
understanding of the enormity of the challenge that security presents to my
people. I understand what it means to conduct sacred traditional ceremonies
like a marriage in the cities for fear of kidnappers and other violent
criminals.I understand the full meaning of going to sleep with one eye open. Consequently,
I am strongly persuaded to accept that one of the greatest gifts anyone can
possibly give Ndi Anambra is the gift of a secure environment – a place where our
people’s famous enterprise and creative energy can find the greatest
expression. A place where the redeeming light that we bear will shine the
brightest and illuminate the pathway for the greatness of others…
Fellow citizens, 365 days later, we have all but achieved
that dream. We have flushed out kidnappers from Anambra State. We have cut off
their weapons supply lines and sealed off their supply routes. We have pulled down
their physical and psychological empires. Ndi Anambra when those bulldozers mow
down the warehouses where kidnappers hold their victims in captivity, when we
bring down the mansions they built with the blood-money they made from their human
cargoes, we pull at the psychological root of their business; we hack at the very
source of their evil energy. Today, we breathe a new air of freedom! Today, we
give our loved ones out in marriage under the wise gaze of our elders in the
village. Today, we feel free to bring our children home from the cities to
listen to the fantastic tales of their grandmothers under the gaze of the
full-moon. Ndib’anyi, Anambraadigokwanumma!Oburoeziokwu?
The Second Crucial
Foundation
Ladies and gentlemen, the second most significant foundation
we have laid in our journey to a New Anambra is in the area of electricity
generation. Apart from the problem of insecurity, there is no greater obstacle
to the full manifestation of our people’s famous can-do spirit than the
challenge of electricity supply. For several decades, our people’s inherent
inventive genius that sparkled through the dark years of the Civil War appeared
to have been cut off by a failure of leadership. We failed once again to
harness this ingenuity which showed itself shortly after the Civil War, in the
manufacture of quality household products that were generally referred to as
“Igbo-made.” Ndi Anambra, I stand before you today to invoke the spirit of
“Igbo-made” and to reclaim that genius! Yes! We must bring that spirit back!
Ndi b ‘anyi, okwaanyigaemeya?
I am delighted to announce that we have laid a solid
foundation for the provision of reliable electricity that will help us recover
our Midas touch. Late last year, we concluded arrangements with UD Independent
Petroleum Production Company (UDIPPCO) to build a gas-powered plant that will
generate 80 mega-watts of electricity. Similarly, barely a fortnight ago, we signed
on Falcon Corporation Limited to build another gas-powered plant that will
generate 100 mega-watts of electricity. When fully operational, the combined
output of these two power plants will wipeaway our tears over poor power supply
in Anambra State.
Report Card on our Four Pillars
NdiAnambra, when we
recovered Anambra State from kidnappers and violent criminals, we successfully
set the stage for the full exploitation of the Four Pillars of Development. To
facilitate this, we set up the Anambra State Investment Promotion and
Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) on 15th May, 2015. The results have been
tremendous. ANSIPPA has made the investment climate in Anambra state simple,
transparent, efficient and free of the usual bureaucracy. This is not
surprising. ANSIPPA is led by a Governing Council which boasts of over 300
cumulative years of experience in development finance, investment banking,
investment promotion and policy formulation.
With the efforts of ANSIPPA,Anambrais
currently Nigeria’s number 1 investment destination. With over US$2.0billion
attracted from 16 major investors in the past 12 months, we are well on our way
to achieving our economic mission.
SECTORAL OVERVIEW
Agriculture -
Our target in Agriculture is
to be among the Top-3 agricultural states in Nigeria. Our efforts in this
regard have yielded remarkable results.
So far, we have attracted over $660m investments to this sector. Some of
these investments are:
a.
The $150 million investment
in rice production and processing in Anaku, Ayamelum Local Government Area
(LGA) by Coscharis Group.
b.
Over $160 million investment
inOmor Rice Mill and 5,000 hectares farmland for rice cultivation and
processing by Joseph Agro Limited of the Aiteo Group.
c.
The $220 million Tomato and
Cassava production and processing farms in Omasi Community, Ayamelum LGA by Ekcel
Farms Limited.
d.
The $40 million investment
by Grains and Silos Limited to construct an ultra-modern grains storage
facility to support our thriving brewery industry in Onitsha and other parts of
south Eastern Nigeria.
e.
The$50 million agreement with
Delfarm and Songhai Regional Centre to transform the farmsettlements of
Igbariam into another Songhai agricultural marvel of Nigeria.
With all these investments,
we have moved to ensure that our local farmers are well positioned to take
advantage of the agricultural revolution in the State. We have organized our
farmers into 1,500 cooperatives. We have also equipped them with 100 Tractors,
45,000 tons of high-yielding rice seedlings, 18,000 tons of highly improved
maze seedlings and 700 metric tons of fertilizers. Before the end of this year,
we would have prepared over 1,000 hectares of land in readiness for mechanized
farming. Five days ago, we also commissioned the first Agricultural Training
Center in Anambra in Mgbakwu. 250 youths are currently undergoing training in
this facility in the areas of staple crop cultivation and processing,
aquaculture, piggery and horticulture. These youths will be empowered with the
initial capital to start their own micro-small-medium enterprises upon
graduation.
My dear NdiAnambra, our
efforts in agriculture will enable our state produce over 300,000 metric tonnes
of rice, 150,000 metric tonnes of cassava and 240,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes
in the next 24 months. This will transform Anambra from a net-importer today to
a self-sufficient and net exporter of staple foods in Nigeria tomorrow!
Trade & Commerce
My people, we all know how
dear trade & commerce is to Ndi Anambra. It is one area where we have shown
incomparable competence both in Nigeria and across the world. My administration
seeks to elevate this trend. Specifically, our objective is to have Anambra
listed among the Top-3 states in Trade and Commerce in Nigeria. We will achieve
this by rehabilitating our existing markets, building ultra-modern markets and
shopping malls and introducing a robust e-commerce platform.
Here are some of our key
achievements over the last 12 months:
a.
We flagged off the
construction of a $350 million wholesale shopping compex in Ogbunike in Oyi
LGA. This commercial and lifestyle complex will be the first of its kind in
Africa. It is designed to host a large number of wholesale and retail plazas,
restaurants, state-of-the-art residential estates, a convention center and a
hotel. All of these will be operated by leading brands from across the world.
b.
Onitsha Shopping Mall, which
is a public-private-partnership initiative with Africa Capital Alliance, will
open its gates to NdiAnambra in October, 2015. With shoprite, a cinema and
several global retail outlets, Onitsha Shopping Mall will offer a world class
shopping and entertainment experience right here in Anambra. We have also
increased the pace of work on the other 2 modern shopping malls in Awka and
Nnewi. ANSIPPA is currently in discussions with reputable investors to partner
with the State to ensure we complete them in record time.
c.
I am also happy to announce
that work has reached advanced stages on the 1st Phase of the 20,000-unit
International Market at Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area.
d.
Finally, we have also
started work on the three buildings that will form part of the Second ICT
Business Park in Onitsha and installed Close-Circuit Cameras (CCTV) in Main
Market, Onitsha which has completely eliminated pickpocketing and reduced petty
crimes by over 80%!
Ndib’anyi, I am certain that
these initiatives will revolutionize trade & commerce and improve access to
a wide range of quality goods and services.
Industrialization
Our choice of
Industrialization as one of the Pillars of my economic blueprint is strategic. Ndi Anambra are at the centre of the Nation’s
industrial activities. Our objective is to become one of the top 3
industrialized states in Nigeria. We are pursuing this in four key areas –
creation of modern industrial parks and small-to-medium enterprise clusters,
improved drive for investments, better access to financing and capacity
building.
Today in Anambra, we have
two main industrial parks located in Onitsha and Nnewi – improving the
infrastructure in these 2 parks is a priority. We are installing over 20 new
transformers and completing numerous strategic roads. Over the past 8 months,
my administration has earmarked and acquired land for three new industrial
parks in Oba and Orumba for medium-to-heavy non-agric industries and Awka North
LGA for agro-allied industries.
Investments in the Industrial
Sector
We have so far attracted
over $140million of investment to the manufacturing sector. These investments
include -
a.
Richbon Automotive
Industries Limited – Richbon which we flagged off 4 days ago, is investing over
$50million to build an automotive assembly plant in Ozubulu. This project, in
addition to Innoson Motors and our auto spare parts business in Nnewi will
continue to cement Anambra’s position as the auto-capital of Nigeria.
b.
The operations of Intafact
Breweries Limited, the 2nd largest brewery facility in South Eastern Nigeria,
continues to expand at an impressive rate. Recently, they invested over $150million
to expand their facility to 2.5m hectolitres. This represents a 400% increase!
c.
In addition, we hosted a
40-man Trade Mission from Thailand in January ths year and signed a bilateral
agreement with the Thai Business Community that will enable them invest in
industries across Agriculture, Manufacturing, Gas and Solid Minerals, Waste
Recycling, Healthcare, Power and Education sectors. When this initiative takes
roots, Anambrawill be a better place.
Oil & Gas
AnambraState is blessed with
over one billion barrels and 30 trillion cubic feet of oil and gas, most of
which are relatively unexploited. Our objective is to have a fully developed
and self-sufficient Oil & Gas sector in Anambra State by 2018. We intend to
achieve this through 3 broad areas of intervention – policy formulation & infrastructure development, private sector participation and community re-orientation.
In the area of Policy
formulation, we have ensured that we avoid the mistakes of our neighbours by
applying more rigour in crafting far-sighted policies and statutes to drive the
development of this sector. It is for this reason that immediately after my
inauguration, I tabled a bill in the Anambra State House of Assembly, seeking
to establish the Anambra State Oil & Gas Development Agency. This agency is
expected to harness all our prospects in the upstream, midstream and downstream
value chain and ensure a commensurate return of value to the host communities
and the State. The Bill was passed into law on April 17, 2014 and the Agency
will soon be constituted.
As a follow up, we also set
up the Oil and Gas Advisory Committee headed by our very own Dr. Emmanuel
Egbogah, the former Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Matters. My
mandate to this committee is simple. This committee must draft a comprehensive
Blueprint for the Oil & Gas sector within 18 months and advise the State on
requisite steps to be recognized as the 10th Oil Producing State in
Nigeria.
We are also investing in
infrastructure to support our Oil and Gas ambition. We have flagged off the construction
of access roads and bridges to the oil-fields in Aguleri. We’ve also revalidated
our license to build an international cargo airport in Umueri.The economic
importance of the proposed airport cannot be over-emphasized. We have concluded
plans to pipe ATK (aviation fuel) from the Orient Petroleum Refinery in Aguleri
to the Airport where a storage facility will be built for it. The idea is for
the airport to serve as a major hub for the re-fueling of international flights
in West Africa. Twenty days ago, we flagged off the construction of three
dual-carriage ways that will open up access to the proposed airport from three
strategic directions – Umueri, Awkuzu and Nteje axis.NdiAnambra, this dream
must come true!
Still on Oil & Gas, we
are partnering with UD Integrated Petroleum Production Development Company,
UDIPPCO, and Falcon Corporation Limited to invest in the development of our
gas-to-power initiative in the State.
a.
UDIPPCO will develop a
central gas processing facility, which will produce lean gas that will serve as
feedstock for various gas utilization projects, including an 80MW power plant
in the first instance; and subsequently, a urea/fertilizer plant, and a
methanol plant. I shall be flagging off the construction of the gas processing
plant in Umerum, Ayamelum Local Government Area on Friday, 20th
March, 2015.
b.
Similarly, Falcon Corporation
plans to pipe Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas across 3
strategic locations in the State. This initiative will facilitate the
transportation of natural gas across the state.
These investments will spur
the Industrialization of our dear state, drive Agriculture, most especially
agri-business and Trade & Commerce which are all key economic pillars of my
Administration.
In the aspect of Re-Orientation,
we have commenced a subtle enlightenment campaign to prepare our people,
especially the oil-producing communities on the need to get the necessary
qualifications that would help them take full advantage of this emerging
industry. To achieve this, we have set up special skills acquisitionprogrammes
for the youths in the Federal Polytechnic Okoh and the
ChukwuemekaOdumegwuOjukwu University in Igbariam. These training programmes are
offered free of charge. Our objective is to ensure that our people are adequately
prepared to fill the requirement for local content.
Tourism, Hospitality and Real Estate
In the tourism and
hospitality sector, Cardinal Developers and Trust Limited is championing a $75m
investment to complete the Onitsha Hotel project, construct a world class
3,000‐seater convention centre and build over 200 luxury flats and townhouses
in Onitsha GRA. We will be commissioning the proposed RadissonBlu Hotel,
Onitsha on 1st December, 2015; while work continues to progress on the proposed
Agulu Lake Hotel. My team is working hard to secure a world class operator
similar to the likes of Hilton, Sheraton and Radisson. We are optimistic that
we can commission this project before I commemorate my second year in office. Yesterday,
I also signed a $250 millionMoU with Africa Project Finance Development to
transform Ogbunike Cave into a World Class Resort and Theme Park. In 30 months,
it will be one of the premier tourism destinations in Africa!
Job Creation and Economic Growth
Ladies and gentlemen, during
the campaigns that made me your governor, I promised that I would not only
build roads and bridges but that I would also build the human capacity. I am
very proud to say, that through our quality investments, we have increased the
possibilities of a brighter future for our youths. In Agriculture alone, we
expect over 59,000 direct and indirect jobs. In Oil and Gas, close to 28,500
direct and indirect jobs will be created.In Trade and Commerce about 20,000 new
jobs.In Industrialization over 11,500 jobs.In Tourism and Hospitality over
6,000 jobs. In the Real Estate sector over 9,000 jobs will be created.
NdiAnambra, this translates to over 134,000 jobs and this is only the
beginning! Beyond that, we are currently equipping 500 youths with life-enhancing
skills at the technology Incubation Center in Nnewi. The youths will be trained
for two months in diverse technological skills after which they will be given
the start-up capital to begin their own businesses. We shall continue to train
500 youths in the programme every two months to build up a pool of talents that
will fuel the dreams of the New Anambra. Thankfully too, in the past year our
State’s economy has grown at the rate of 14%! Over this same period, we have
improved our tax receipts by 300%. NdiAnambra, Willie is…W-O-R-K-I-N-G! Willie
is W-O-R-K-I-N-G!! Willie is … W-O-R-K-I-N-G!!!
The Scorecard in Some Key Enablers
The Enablers are the
basic foundation carrying the Four Pillars of my administration. Time will not
permit me to provide a full report of what we have achieved in all the 13
Enablers. Because of that, I will speak on a few key Enablers.
Roads and Infrastructure -
Ndi Anambra, we have `Sustained the
momentum started by my predecessor in road construction and maintenance. We are
building three flyovers that will change the landscape of Awka for good. We
have asphalted 100 roads, thereby meeting the annual projection for road
construction in 2014. Between May 2014 and March this year,we have flagged off
30 new roads to link up strategic locations, opening access to the
agricultural, industrial and commercial areas of the state. The prestigious
Agulu Lake Hotel Resort is almost ready to open its doors to customers and work
has progressed rapidly on the 3 shopping malls in Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka. Work
has also reached advanced stages on the construction of the Three-Arms-Zone and
the new seat of government.
Finance – Ndi Anambra, you may recall that in my
New Year Message, I assured you that our hopes and dreams of a brighter future
shall not fall with falling oil prices in the international market. I am happy
to announce that we delivered on this promise.We restructured the Internal
Revenue framework of the state and laid a foundation for a healthy revenue
growth that will insulate Anambra State from falling oil prices. The benefits
are there for everyone to see. We have improved on our Internally Generated
Revenue, rising from N500m in the previous administration to N1.1 billion as at
today. In response to this we have increased workers’ salaries by15%. We shall
do more as our revenue base improves.
Transportation – Anambra
State holdsthe enviable record of being both pioneers and leaders in this all
important sector of the economy. One of our pre-eminent ancestors; Sir. Louis
OdumegwuOjuwkwu pioneered the organized Mass Transit idea in Nigeria before the
dawn of political independence. Since then, other great entrepreneurs have
followed his footsteps. Regrettably, as a state, our efforts in the mass
transit sector have not been convincing for a long time. Happily, my
administration has broken new grounds in this sector with the launch of a
comprehensive Mass Transit Scheme with 200 brand new taxis and 40 Luxurious
Buses. We have also trained 150 Traffic Officers in the new Anambra Traffic
Management Agency to help instill sanity on our roads and highways and provided
50 ultra-modern Traffic Control Posts with inbuilt solar panels for
illumination. We have continued to change the landscape with modern bus-stops.
At the same time, we are remodeling our Motor
parks and enhancing our motorways with the necessary infrastructure that will
not only create more jobs but add to the overall aesthetics of our cities.
Education– With the foundation
laid by APGA government in the past 9 years, Anambra State has bounced back to
reckoning in Education. In the past three years, we have topped the charts in
WASSCE and NECO Exams. To sustain this
performance, we have set ourselves the goal of staying in the Top-3 states with
the lowest illiteracy rate in Nigeria. We approach education in three broad
areas – infrastructure development, pupils/students
development, and teachers’ welfare.
In Infrastructure, we have renovated
862 units of 10-classroom blocks across the 21 Local Government Areas in the
state. In addition, we have disbursed the sum of N733 million to the missions
for the renovation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) mission schools. We
have distributed laptops to 220 private schools and commenced our
Safe-Schools-Initiative by building walls around them and fortifying them with
well-trained School Marshals.
In Pupils/Students Welfare, we have kept faith
with our “No-Child-Left-Behind” policy in education. Under this, we have given free education to all physically challenged
children in the state and awarded scholarships to over 100 students at all
levels of education. We have rebuilt the Special Education Center in Isulo,
Orumba.
Teachers’
Welfare – In Teachers’
Welfare, we
recently increased the salary of teachers by 15% and assisted the completion of
the Teachers’ House, Awka. We have also offered incentives of 20 percent of
their basic salaries to teachers deployed to hard-to-reach areas. This has
greatly reduced the attrition of teachers in the areas. Teachers who teach core
subjects like English, Mathematics and Sciences have been placed on a monthly
incentive and we have cleared all arrears of promotion we owed the teachers. In
doing all these, we are mindful that for any society to move in the right
direction, it must get its education right. We shall continue to
invest in education until Anambra becomes a model state in education in
Nigeria.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, beyond these achievements, I am delighted to state
here that Anambra is truly and fully on rebound. This state is too gifted, too
blessed to wander in the wilderness of purposeless leadership for too long. We
are too endowed to be without a capacity for moral re-armament…for self-renewal
and self-rediscovery.
It is perhaps for this reason that I
personally consider the consciousness we are raising in the primary and
secondary schools a more profound achievement. When I watched the five-year old
Master ArinzeOnyebuchi recite the Anambra Anthem in Nnewi the other day with
inspiring passion and zeal, I knew that our tomorrow would be greater than our
today. When I hear our school children recite the Shared values of Anambra
State, I know that we couldn’t probably have laid a stronger foundation nor
left a higher legacy. These are the little fragments that stay with the shores
when the tide returns to the sea. These are the things that make us who we are!
Ogaadiliununma o!
Dalu nu!
Willie Obiano
Governor
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