RAYMOND OZOJI reports
Recall that recently the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) listed 22 states across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria with abandoned constituency and executive projects.
Anambra State was not listed amongst the 22 states with plethora of uncompleted constituency and executive projects as the ICPC confirmed when it commenced project tracking in the affected states including Enugu in November this year that the funds for the projects were released but not adequately deployed for the purpose they were meant for.
Hence the Commissioner for Finance in Anambra State Mr. Izuchukwu Okafor, the State Accountant-General Dr. Chukwudi Okoli as well as the Convener Recover Nigeria Project Comrade Osita Obi gave very cogent reasons there are no abandoned projects in Anambra following Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo's frugality and prudence in the deployment of state resources.
The Finance Commissioner told HEADLINE NEWS that it was not news that the ICPC didn't include Anambra State amongst states with abandoned projects because the state is not in the habit of owing contractors and projects are executed according to contractual agreement and specifications.
Okafor said that there are no single abandoned projects in the state and that contractors owed by previous administrations have been paid by the Soludo administration, adding that the governor has not borrowed a penny to execute projects since he came into office.
Okafor also pointed out that the arrears of pensions and gratuities are being cleared by the present administration and that workers in Anambra State have joined their counterparts in other states of the federation to enjoy the new minimum wage as he said that the least worker gets a net salary of N72,000 and above after all deductions.
The Finance Commissioner also recalled that recently Anambra State Executive Council awarded projects for upgrade of the Chinua Achebe International Airport Umueri to facilitate night landings at the airport . He added that one remarkable feature of the present state government is that while new projects are being embarked upon, old ones are also being completed.
The Commissioner maintained that it was no longer news that Anambra State is taking the lead in fiscal transparency because tax payers' money are properly and adequately utilized in security, infrastructure, health, education and a host of other sectors for the benefit and betterment of the citizenry.
Similarly, the Convener Recover Nigeria Project Comrade Osita Obi noted that if the ICPC didn't list Anambra as one of the states with abandoned uncompleted constituency projects, it implied that federal legislators from the state should be commended for their stewardships and quality representations.
Obi therefore emphasized that good governance on the part of the present administration was also responsible for the federal government's anti-graft agency not listing Anambra amongst the 22 states with plethora of abandoned uncompleted constituency and executive projects.
He explained that in the realm of executive projects, the government of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo is diligent and wonderful in the distribution of legacy projects across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
Comrade Osita Obi who told HEADLINE NEWS that he has personally took journalists on a tour of state government projects in Anambra, maintained that the transformations across the state under the Soludo administration can not be overemphasized.
Obi said Governor Soludo has transformed Okpoko community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state from being a mega slum to a new heaven with all the basic social amenities that make life worth living.
He said Soludo is completing the new Government House project that was abandoned by his predecessors and that his road projects were second to none as the entire state has become a construction site.
The activist noted that Anambra State was contending with potholes-infested roads before the advent of the present administration but expressed profound joy that the situation is being ameliorated because the Anambra State Road Maintenance Agency is on top of the situation and fixing bad portions on the roads.
Obi who hails from Umuawulu in Awka-South Local Government Area of the state also observed that Awka is now looking like a state capital and no longer like a glorified local government because the government of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo is intentional and deliberate about giving Awka a befitting status as state capital.
He said he has visited the ongoing Ekwulobia flyover project in Aguata Local Government Area and discovered that the governor is doing a great job there. Again, he said all the roads in his community Umuawulu are tarred and that the present state government is proactive and responsive to issues of infrastructural developments.
Meanwhile the State Accountant-General Dr. Chukwudi Okoli said it is absolutely not surprising that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) excluded Anambra State from states with abandoned projects because he believes it is a question of who is on the saddle.
Dr. Okoli who described Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo as an Economist of international repute, said he is transparent, accountable and also has the feelings of the people at heart. That the money he has goes into projects beneficial to the people. That once the projects are started, the money to complete them are there.
He said Anambra State has become a work site and the money to run the projects are there. That as the State Accountant-General, he could say categorically that Governor Soludo has money for all the projects he has ventured into and none of the projects would be left uncompleted.
He said since the inception of the present administration, Soludo has not ventured to take a loan. That even when the House of Assembly approved N100 Billion for him to borrow, the governor didn't borrow a penny instead he has continued to use Anambra State money for the people of Anambra State.
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