By Chuks Iloegbunam
Governor
Willie Obiano displayed a sense of purpose all through the debate. He was first
asked the nature of the quarrel between him and ex-Governor Peter Obi. He
brushed it aside, saying that Mr. Obi was not a candidate in the governorship
ballot. His preference was to state his work and his plans for Ndi Anambra. In
the course of the debate, the Governor was asked if he could authenticate the
story that Mr. Obi had demanded a refund of the N7.5 billion he claimed to have
invested in his election. Yes, indeed, the demand had been made but Obiano
declined to pay any such money because Anambra was not indebted to anybody on
campaign funding. These underscore his clarity of thought on the night.
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| *Gov Willie Obiano |
The issue of probity was raised. Mr. Oseloka Obaze
accused Governor Obiano of selling off dollars “they” had saved for “future
generations.” This was the Governor’s masterful response: “First, that’s
Anambra’s money. In banking, we call it ‘liquidity management’. You don’t leave
an idle fund when you desire to put funds into activities. This guy (Peter Obi)
left a debt of N127 billion. Contractors have to be paid. While you are
balancing your act, you won’t have money sitting in the bank and you are
looking for money to pay contractors. That’s a legitimate transaction. It is
not a personal fund. So, in liquidating only $10 million (out of over $100
million) in four years to be able to pay contractors in a recession is good.
That’s money management.”
