BY VINCENT UJUMADU
AWKA-THEÂ Nigerian Guild of Editors, at the weekend, in Awka, hailed Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State for his developmental strides, noting that his performance would come handy when the time comes for the people to take a decision on which direction things would go in the state.
President of the Guild and editor-in-chief of Vanguard Newspapers, Gbenga Adefaye, who spoke on behalf of the editors after inspecting some projects executed by the Obi administration in parts of the state, urged the governor to let the world know about the things he has done because they were so good to remain unpublicized.
He said: “We moved around Anambra State and it was amazing what we saw. The last time I had opportunity of moving around Anambra State was 25 years ago.
What we saw today was remarkable. We are not disappointed. If the governor had done less than what we saw, it would have been terrible for me as a person because I would not be able to defend what you are capable of doing.
If you succeed, some of us would have succeeded. We notice that there is a serious attempt to develop institutions that can run a thriving state on a sustainable basis. ”
Obi, who went down memory lane, narrated to the editors his experience since becoming governor, adding that, at a stage, he asked himself why he got into the situation.
He said: “Before I became governor, I had never been a politician. I recall the day I met Chief Victor Umeh, the APGA national chairman in 2001 and told him I wanted to contest for governor.
But then, I had made up my mind to come down and live in the state to contribute my quota toward the development of the state.
“When we came here, there was no plan. I had no office as the governor’s office was burnt down in 2004. So I was living in Onitsha from where I operated.
There was no secretariat and all the ministries were scattered around the state. I kept asking God how I could solve the problem. I kept wondering how I could get money to buy cars for the Judges, Magistrates and permanent secretaries. At a stage, I started asking myself why I had to get involved in it.
But then, it became more and more a challenge. So I started planning immediately because there was no master plan for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi. I was busy trying to provide answers to our problems and the impeachment came.”
He commended the editors for coming to see things for themselves, adding that it would help to properly inform and educate Nigerians on the true situation of things.
