Anambrarians, inheritors of extra-ordinary legacies – Gov. Obiano

ITRealms:

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has described Anambrarians as inheritors of extra-ordinary legacies, reports ITRealms.

Gov. Obiano made this declaration at a lecture delivered at the Distinguished Lecture Series of the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, yesterday, asserting that Anambrarians are known for trail-blazing and not second fiddle.

“So, right from the outset, we set out to reign in the hearts and minds of Ndi Anambra by evoking the great epics and folklores of our ancestors,” he said.

Obiano also said that his administration is deploying what he defined as ‘The Software of Governance”, which he reminded the citizens of the Anambra State, that they have come a long way as pioneers and cannot settle for anything less.

He recalled that on assumption of office in Anambra State, hence, his administration was quick to realize that it was not enough to win election with the physical structures because there is need to build in the state.

“We recognised the fact that actual victory would be won in the psychology of the people. So, right from the outset, we set out to reign in the hearts and minds of Ndi Anambra by evoking the great epics and folklores of our ancestors,” he said.

As said by Gov. Obiano, his earliest speeches were laced with echoes of “who we are and the great ancestry we have.”

Pointing out that its crucial to remind Anambrarians that they are the inheritors of extra-ordinary legacies and we have an obligation to leave worthier legacies for our children.

In pursuit of this, his administration conceptualised and introduced a new logo for the state that would serve as a subtle reminder of this heritage.

“We also introduced a most inspiring piece of song as the Anambra Anthem,” he said, stressing that it swept through the schools and colleges like a forest fire and offered Anambra children a fresh set of mental pictures of who they are.

“We also sought to win by giving governance a human face; clearing pensions owed senior citizens and responding to the cries of the civil servants with a 15 per cent increase in salaries at a time that oil prices were crashing and states were grappling with the reality of shrinking revenues. These gestures are the software of governance,” he said.

In addition, Gov. Obiano said his administration sees aforementioned as important as building roads and bridges, which are not left out of achievements in the state.

“We made sure that Ndi Anambra could visualise themselves in the New Anambra of our dream and that they liked the picture they saw. That is the software of leadership,” Gov. Obiano said.

  +ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 

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Pix: Gov. Obiano

Obiano lays foundation for N63b Intercont​inental Trade Centre in Ogbunike

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has laid the foundation for the proposed $350 million, about N63 billion, West Africa Intercontinental Trade Centre to be situated in Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The Trade Center, DigitalSENSE Business News learnt is a major part of the Trade and Commerce category of Governor Obiano’s Four Pillars of Development.  Other pillars are Agriculture, Industrialization and Oil and Gas. 

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that on completion, the Intercontinental Trade Centre is expected to be the largest and most comprehensive commercial and entertainment complex in Africa, accommodating a large number of wholesale plazas and retail clusters, state-of-the-art residential blocks, eateries, convention centers, a boutique hotel and a motel that will be operated by leading brands across the globe.

Situated at 7 kilometers away from the commercial city of Onitsha Main Market, the largest market in West Africa, the Intercontinental Trade Center is conceived as a one-stop commercial landmark in the entire South Eastern economic block and a symbol of the entrepreneurial and commercial acumen of Ndigbo.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, Chief Obiano told DigitalSENSE Business News that it’s historical in the life of Anambra State.  

“Today marks a remarkable day in the history of our great state.  It is a sure sign that our people are marching in the right direction. Recall that my administration is focused on Four Pillars. Today I am happy that we have attracted the much needed investment in the Trade and Commerce sector. This symbolic groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of construction works on the most modern market in Africa right here in our beloved state,” he said.

Giving a rare insight into the equity structure of the project, Governor Obiano revealed that the state government controls 7 percent while the host community holds 2.5 percent of the equity.

“The $350m that is projected for this market is broken down as follows – $15.74bn will be expended on infrastructure, $4.9bn will be spent on providing electricity to the center while $31.8bn will go into the construction of residential areas in a new layout that takes into consideration the factory layout style of the project. My administration will do everything to make this project a resounding success,” the governor assured while appealing to all stake holders to rise to the challenge and deliver the proposed Trade Center in 42 months as projected. 

In his remarks, President, West Africa International Trade Center, Mr. Obiora Anyaralu, lamented the inability of previous leadership to groom generations of industrialists and entrepreneurs from Anambra State, arguing that they had invested their resources and genius in developing virtually everywhere else but their home state, Anambra State should have been like Dubai.

“I do not see any reason why we should not have something that is of international standard; something that we can appeal to our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and the Diaspora to come home and invest in. We have always done our best to invest and develop other places but we have never taken the need to invest in our home state seriously. But all that has come to an end under the leadership of Governor Obiano,” he declared.

Anyaralu further decried that Anambra businessmen and women usually build mansions in their country homes and abandon them for cockroaches, rats and reptiles to occupy because there had not been any serious planning to expand the commercial and industrial capacities of the state on a scale that would accommodate the entrepreneurial energies of Anambra people.

“The next phase is that we will change the psyche of Ndi Anambra on the way we should live. We shall plough the sum of $350m into building mega housing estates in Anambra State to provide world class residential areas for our people who want to set up businesses and relocate their families to Anambra. The estates will be built on locations with close proximity to the Trade Center so that residents can access the Center in less than 20 minutes.  When this Center is completed, it will be the only such Center in all of Africa. The only other place you can see a similar project is either Europe or America,” Mr. Anyaralu assured.

Equally speaking, Managing Director, SGN Housing and Infrastructures Limited, the funding partners, Mr. Dominic Menouh appreciated Governor Obiano for the motivation to envision a world-class market.

“This is a market that not only integrates the Nigerian idea of a place of commerce but a market that represents a point of gathering, a point of entertainment and a location where people can meet and socialize. Indeed it is the first time that a market of this type will be built in Nigeria and Africa,” he said.

Stressing that the complex will not only represent a new approach to the selling of goods and services but will also be built in line with the new and green technology.

 +Remmy Nweke @WillieisWorking #Anambra

 


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