By Nkemjika Ezioku
The recent commissioning of projects by Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has got a lot of tongues wagging. Concerned stakeholders are wondering how already commissioned projects by a previous administration can be recommissioned by a successor. It is therefore important to set the record straight for posterity’s sake.
- Concerned stakeholders and supporters of Governor Willie Maduabuchi Obiano insist that the Anambra Cargo and Passengers Airport Road, which Governor Soludo claimed to have done, was indeed fully completed and commissioned on February 24, 2022. On completion, the dual carriageway measured 11.4 kilometres with 2 bridges across Oyi River and 4 box culverts. The road’s median was 100% completed with flowers planted. Street lights on stainless steel poles were fully installed along with 3 functional generators. The Federal Road Safety Corps ensured that every stretch of the road was marked according to prescribed standards. Three huts were constructed along the road to cater for the security personnel at the checkpoints.
- That Governor Soludo carried out some peripheral maintenance work on the already completed project is not enough to claim that he executed the road. To underscore this point, they referenced the Niger Bridge, completed and commissioned in 1965 under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa which has been maintained by successive federal governments without confusion as to who delivered it. The Third Mainland Bridge, a landmark structure built during the regime of President Ibrahim Babangida, has undergone multi-billion-naira repairs under successive administrations, yet the legacy remains rightly attributed to him. The Abuja National Stadium was erected by President Olusegun Obasanjo and later renovated by President Goodluck Jonathan, but Obasanjo still retains the credit for initiating the project. The list is endless. What these high-profile examples show, according to them, is that maintenance is not an excuse to take the credit that rightly belongs to the person who originated the project.
- The claim that the Airport Road was only 99% completed is just a ploy to deny Obiano the credit he deserves for building the road. As far as they are concerned, the road was 100% completed. However, this group is disturbed that this same ploy could be used in denying Obiano credit for initiating and building the Anambra Airport.
- The claim that the road was substandard which necessitated their intervention is laughable, they say, because a top-class construction company undertook the job under the close supervision of COREN-certified professionals.
- Another project misattributed to the current administration is the Otuocha, Umueri, and Umuoba Anam water scheme, a critical infrastructure project that was not only completed but also commissioned during Chief Obiano’s tenure. His administration further attracted international donor support for the Otuocha Regional Water Scheme and the Obizi-Uga Regional Water Scheme, with the state government fulfilling counterpart funding obligations.
- These projects were effectively executed under the supervision of then-Commissioner for Utilities, Emeka Ezenwanne. Footage and media reports of the commissioning ceremonies remain available online.
- Obiano’s supporters maintain that the water facilities were operational and fully functional on the day they were commissioned and remained so until he left office. However, after the handover of power, the facilities were allegedly locked up.
- The allegations by Soludo’s Commissioner for Water Resources that the Otuocha Water Scheme served only parts of Aguleri and that the incoming administration met the facility moribund and overgrown with weeds, are untrue. “How can facilities emplaced during Obiano’s second term become moribund so quickly?” the concerned stakeholders queried. They insist that only the Commissioner knows what he saw, because the communities’ traditional rulers (the Igwes), who were present at the commissioning, can better testify that the facilities were functional.
Despite their observations, they commended Governor Soludo for his statesmanlike gesture in naming the airport road “Willie Obiano Boulevard” and hope he will extend similar recognition to the International Convention Center, Awka.
