Unraveling the Mystery Behind Gov Obiano’s Financial Magic

Last week, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State surprised many political observers when, during the 2015 Civil Service Day Celebration in Awka, he ridiculed his counterparts who “sleep” at night while owing workers a backlog of salaries, calling them irresponsible. According to him, “no responsible government goes to sleep when its workforce is having sleepless nights.”

The above would have made people wonder how the Anambra governor is able to cope with regular payment of salaries in the face of the unfolding harsh economic realities. But that’s not all. He had also announced that his administration had, within its first one year, increased salaries of the state’s civil servants by 15 percent and assured the workers of continuous regular payment.

“Less than one year into my administration, we increased workers’ salaries by 15 percent. I also assured you that I would do more if our internally generated revenue grows. Interestingly, we increased salaries at a time when oil prices were crashing and governments were looking for bailouts,” he said.

“In spite of the prevailing difficulties, we have kept our promise to always pay your salaries regularly.”

Certainly, for a governor of a state whose monthly allocation is a little over N27 billion and whose total internally generated revenue has only recently climbed to N1.1 billion to be unaffected by the current economic troubles, which have left many states of the federation broke and unable to pay salaries, Obiano by all standards should be a role model to his contemporaries.

Apart from being able to pay salaries nonetheless, he is also said to be undertaking several developmental projects in the state. Not surprisingly, he is receiving the applause of Anambra people who have continued to commend him for being a working governor.

“He pays workers posted to villages extra stipends to make going to work in villages attractive. Every festive period, he gives out goodies to civil servants. He turned Onitsha into small London, he is the best,” said Mrs. Ugo Nwazuluahu, an indigene of the state.

The above perhaps summarises the mood of the greater percentage of Anambrarians who have accepted that indeed, “Willie is Working,” which incidentally is the slogan of the administration. But what is really the mystery behind Obiano’s magic?

For Robert Okechukwu Okoroji, a chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the party in charge of Anambra State, the answer is simply financial prudence.

“Financial prudence. There is no state in Nigeria that cannot actually sustain itself if it understands and knows how to utilise its potential. Look at Zamfara, for instance. They have gold but, over the years, the gold has been illegally mined by cronies of officials of government,” he said.

But Okoroji, who is a one-time governorship aspirant in Lagos State, also believes that his party, APGA, should get some credit for giving the governor enough free hand to work. “In Anambra, it is credit to our party, APGA. It is also credit to the powerful economic engineering for which Obiano has to take credit, and it also shows that a whole lot of money is being wasted for political purposes in some states—bribing party stalwarts, awarding contracts to contractors who do not have the technical know-how but because of overbearing party influence.

“We do not have that in Anambra, and APGA does not have that kind of overbearing influence on the governor. So, there are fewer leakages.

“Obiano is a pacesetter. We all know what he did within his first one month in office. He tackled the hitherto perennial security issues in Anambra and shored up the image of the state. He has been able to manage the affairs of the state properly,” Okoroji noted.

He further explained: “The secret is that the party gives him the autonomy to function. The party doesn’t exploit the resources of the state, and it doesn’t put the kind of pressure that the APC, for instance, puts on the states it controls. I can confidently say that APC state governors made a whole lot of contributions to its presidential campaign.

“Amaechi made contributions in order to compete with Tinubu in the West. What he did not know was that Tinubu was controlling six states, and these six states were led by governors who were very loyal,” he concluded.

Udoka Udeogaranya, president of the Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria and one-time governorship aspirant in Anambra, attributed Obiano’s magic partly to his predecessor, Peter Obi, whom he noted set the pace for the current healthy economy of the state.

“His predecessor, Peter Obi, did well in the area of economic frankness in the state. He ensured that Anambra is the least indebted state in the country. Thankfully, Obiano is carrying on with that. He is not only paying workers but has also increased their salary,” Udeogaranya said.

Going forward, he traced the success of both individuals to their professional backgrounds. “Obiano is building well on Obi’s foundation, which is not surprising because both of them are from the same background. They were both bankers, and anyone who has been in financial management is expected to do well in that regard. I commend them. Other governors should try and follow their footsteps.”

In view of the ongoing rift between the current governor and his predecessor, Udeogaranya called for truce in the interest of the state.

“I appeal to them to reconcile whatever differences they have at this stage for the good of Anambra people. Both are great leaders; they should work together.”

In all, however, there is one move that seems to be generating bad blood between Obiano and the teachers in his state.

The state Ministry of Education had given an ultimatum that every teacher must buy a computer, and they have to do so from the government retailer.

The decision is presently generating conflict of interest between the state government and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Anambra State chapter. The teachers are insisting that they reserve the right to buy a computer from any retailer of their choice.

Their point is that the N90,000 allegedly fixed as the selling price of the computers is exploitative.

“You can buy a laptop with as little as N40,000 in the market,” said a teacher who declined to have his name in print.

“If the government wants to sell laptops to teachers, it should be at a subsidised rate. They shouldn’t force us to buy at N90,000. How much is our salary?” he queried.

“They claim they are not forcing teachers to buy, but they will lock you out if you don’t produce yours. Laptops are cheaper in the market,” he concluded.