For the umpteenth time, Anambra State is embroiled in a man-made crisis, staged to arrest the peace and progress of the state. Predictably, the provocateurs of the present crisis are the same as the ones that have spent a great chunk of their active time sowing dread, confusion and disorder in Anambra for the greater parts of the present dysfunctional democratic dispensation. This time around, and having been mauled on the crooked and dastardly fronts from which they wanted to access power, the purveyors and midwifers of frictions in Anambra have decided to waylay the state governor and ensure that he does not have a budget to work with. By slashing the proposed budget of Anambra State by close to half, the message from the characters behind the present impasse is that since Anambra people have rejected them, they would ensure they pull the entire house down on all. They are pulling all stops, including blackmail and sabotage to ensure they go home with their sordid victory in tow and they care less what happens to the interest and well being of Anambra people in the process.

It does not take a stargazer to know that after he was disinvested with his phantom gubernatorial mandate after only fourteen days in power, Andy Uba, a ranking member of the desperate political colony hewn out by former president Obasanjo in his desperate effort to destroy and lay waste Anambra State for his pleasure and for the benefit of his minions, would not go home and hug his ill-fated fate. It does not take a clairvoyant to predict that after indulging in several legal pranks and judicial intrigues that came to irreparable grief, a fellow that received the assurance from the devilish order that reigned, 1999 to 2007, and who had been generously mobilized with looted state treasury would go home and warm himself waiting for a clearly unpredictable and uncertain March 2010, when he would not be availed of such sham parody as happened on April 14 2007 to try his hand on lording over Anambra State. With a hand-picked 30-members state assembly, joint colleagates in the bizarre fraud of April 2007, it would be wishful thinking believing that Andy Uba, with so much false under-lays on his private and academic lives and with loads of plundered cash in tow, will let Peter Obi who pierced through his fool’s haven with landmark court judgments, to reign in peace. I don’t know what the impression of the Obi camp was on this but I believe that any regime that does not indulge in vanity would have prepared for this day. Any regime that is worth its name would have factored that Uba would not have been the happiest fellow when the Supreme Court has thrashed thoroughly the fool’s paradise which Obasanjo, Maurice Iwu and the repertoire of thieving do-gooders with whom Obasanjo wrecked and subdued this country constructed for him. So, Obi and his government must have been adequately prepared for this day when the state assembly, under the thumbs of Uba hirelings has decided to crumble Anambra for their principal, without whom and without whose corruptive touch in power they would not have been where they are today.

For those who are unaware of the cause of the present impasse in Anambra State, Governor Peter Obi presented a budget of N84.2 billion to the house for the 2008 fiscal year. Without looking at it twice, the house downed the budget to N57.6 billion and thereafter started tinkering with it in a move that smacks of working to the question from the answer. One of the highlights of the butchering exercise was the downsizing of the budget for Awka Capital Territory from N1 Billion to N200 million and the budget for the development of Onitsha from N1 billion to N300 million. Also the Andy Uba house raised its own from N284 million to N1.3 billion. That amounts to its sense of budgetary discipline and states in unequivocal manner the reason why these vampires are fighting the Peter Obi government. It seems that having more than secured for themselves; the house targeted the social and infrastructural projects being handled by Governor Obi otherwise one would have believed that an altruistic approach would have involved cutting the proposed house expenditure by the commensurate degree of the budget cut. One of the fellows in the present rofo rofo fight is one Ikenna Mbazulike Amechi, son of Chief Mbazulike Amechi, one of the Andy Uba campaigners as his ill-fated gubernatorial campaign lasted. The fellow is alleged to have shamelessly appropriated over ten projects to himself in the present budget proposal. One would have thought that a house that is driven by the love of Ndi Anambra would have given Obi the challenge of meeting his ambitious projection instead of sawing through his proposals in a manner meant to cripple governance and make Obi look ineffectual. In this way, the brain behind this needless crisis hopes to make a case for the governorship in 2010 and possibly achieve his life ambition to govern Anambra State.

Funny enough, one of the hirelings that are fanning the embers of this orchestrated crisis has come out with a specious and tendentious allegation that each of them in the state house of assembly was offered a princely bribe of N50million and choice plots of land by the state government to pass the budget but curiously, they rejected such offer. It must be that they are receiving a heftier inducement from the trillions Uba was alleged to have lifted from licking the arse of Obasanjo. But in their desperate attempt to employ blackmail to stave off the public indictment that trail their selfish action, they forgot that Obi has acquired a political ‘notoriety’ for not spreading state largesse to appease the cash-and-carry whims of the type of fellows that fire the pins of the present impasse on Anambra. Even as the state government has dismissed such bland allegation as frivolous and unfounded, not many people are ready to invest that lie with any modicum of credibility because Obi, through his crusade, has made it easier for Nigerians to know the truth in what is happening in Anambra State, which is no more than the war between a prudent apostle of sane politics and rapacious buccaneers who would not mind if state treasury is thrown open to finance their gluttony. What is happening with the state budget presently is not different from this continuing crusade. It is just that given the desperate nature with which Uba pursues his goal of governing Anambra, it comes in different forms and manners. We have seen the childish manner the election process in Anambra was rubbished to throw up the ill-fated mandate of Uba. We have seen the crash at the Supreme Court where his purported election was ruled as non-existent. We have seen the puerile antics of Ifeanyi Okonkwo that earned him a public internment at the hands of the Supreme Court judges. We have seen the crash of a desperate suit asking the Supreme Court to reverse itself. We have also seen the laughable parody of the court of appeal trying to rule on a matter that has long been settled by the Supreme Court so as to hand Andy Uba a fashionable lollipop to make him happy and now we are seeing the budget drama being enacted by Andy Uba’s fawners that flatter themselves as members of the Anambra State House of Assembly. It is still unfolding and who knows what the next scene looks like.

It is heartening that so many prominent Anambra people, tired and fed up with the turn of the political game Obasanjo and his cronies subjected their state to and buoyed by the fact that the Obasanjo years of infamy are gone for good, are standing up to resist this plot. It is encouraging that some members of the state assembly have risen up to protest being used by the desperate power mongers in Anambra to continue holding the people of the state down and have issued disclaimer to the unseen events in the Anambra State House of Assembly. They are now known as group of eleven and they have vowed they would never allow Uba and his domestic servants masquerading as state assembly members to continue holding the state hostage for their personal ambitions. It is even noteworthy that the PDP has risen in revolt against Uba and his state assembly cronies and a bigger faction of the PDP, peeved at the dangerous use Uba has employed the state assembly, has risen strongly to disavow the eminence of Uba in the PDP and the role he is employing some members of the state assembly for. Among this faction if the most prominent member of the PDP in Anambra and former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, Senator Annie Okonkwor, former godfather of Anambra PDP, Emeka Offor and Tony Nwoye, the Uba-installed PDP chairman of Anambra State. It is much more refreshing that genuine stakeholders like apolitical leaders, religious organization, traders unions, student bodies, professional bodies have risen with one voice to denounce this dirty politics that targets Ndi Anambra and stands to benefit the last vestige of the cabal that Obasanjo left behind to oversee the complete ruination of Anambra.

Anambra has reached a stage where it has to rise with one voice to demand the permanent rustication of the Uba brothers and the severing of the umbilical of crisis with which he had sworn to ensure the state is completely grounded. Now that the man that fangled and sustained him has gone, Ndi Anambra and indeed all Igbo must subject the character, Andy Uba to a public audit involving his person, his finances, education, history and scruples. Again, let Ndi Anambra explore the possibility of mass recall for the impostors who neither represent the face of good governance nor the general good of Ndi Anambra. For as long as they live and draw their lifeline from the vessel of vice, who I armed with limitless stolen funds, Anambra will continue to be in one distractive and needless crisis or the other.

Peter Claver Oparah.

Ikeja, Lagos.

E-mail: peterclaver2000@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 For the umpteenth time, Anambra ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 18.04.2008 10:40

aringaranso  Villager

# 2 Many Thanks for contributing this piece Peter. I hope that the one that calls himself Odenigbo Anyaeche will read it! Posted by aringaranso| 18.04.2008 10:55

Anambra Movement  Villager

# 3 I Can't Thanks You Enough For Your Artice. Our Prayer For You And All Other Peace Loving, Honest Nigerian Citizens Are: that God Will Give Us The Courage To Stand Up To This Cabals With Selfish Interest That God Will Bless Our Hands So That We Ll Never Be Compromised I.e. Bought Or Bribed That God Will Give Us Selfless Leaders (like Peter Obi) That Will Have The Interest Of The Masses At Heart And Before Theirs That This Evil Men Will Have A Change Of Heart And Know That Every Citizen Deserves Good Education, Portable Water, Good Road May God Bless You And All Nigerian Citizens In Their Endevours. Amen... You Have An Open Invitation To Join Our Movement.......our Mission Is To Stand By The Truth And Protest (legally) Against These Cabals. Thanks Posted by Anambra Movement| 18.04.2008 12:26

aguabata  Villager

# 4 Though i'm a full admirer of peter obi, though i know that the reps are purely pulling the strings to frustrate obi, I would like the rep members to compare the budget of Anambra state with similar non oil producing states, it may only serve as a guide and then curiosly will members of the house in other states allocate over a billion naira for their affairs. That said Obi has been doing a magnificient job testified by some that previously doubted him, he deserves every money he requests for. Posted by aguabata| 18.04.2008 12:58

Chidi Anyaeche  Villager

# 5 Dear Villager The great Odenigbo has read the article. Peter is writing crap and he knows it. Let's wait for the Elders report. Posterity will vindicate the just. Remain blessed Odenigbo Posted by Chidi Anyaeche| 18.04.2008 13:19

ozion ozumba  Villager

# 6 Odenigbo, I appreciate your persistence with this line of thought that paints a different picture from what those of us on ground in Anambra see. I have ex-rayed your argument, I have read Ikenna Amaechi's defence of his Committee's 'marvelous work' aimed at moving 'Anambra forward'; I have also read the comments of the arrow-heads of the Group of Eleven, the Speaker's and varous groups from the state. There are obvous inconsistencies, are the group of 19 more Anambra than the majority? A House that hold a record of passing the most Bills in a day without any Public Hearing or request for memoranda from thier Constituents can't be trusted with sustaining the momentum of development witnessed in the state in the last 1year by cutting a Budget. It is a shame that the Speaker (though we know his antecedent) is presciding over an attempt aimed at under developing Awka, his consistuency after a group sponsored by his paymaster had demonstrated against the government some months back. Odenigbo, why are you bent on our waiting for the outcome of the Elders intervention? The respected Elders are first ndi Anambra, but they are also politicians. History tell us that they would try to please all the parties with a promise for opportunity to make ammend in the future. Would that be the best for ndi Anambra? I dare say, we know what we want as a State. We need to develop our state and it can only be done with funds period. No legislative sumersault can confuse ndi Anambra any more. Posted by ozion ozumba| 18.04.2008 15:12

Anambra Movement  Villager

# 7 =Chidi Anyaeche;4295007071>Dear Villager The great Odenigbo has read the article. Peter is writing crap and he knows it. Let's wait for the Elders report. Posterity will vindicate the just. Remain blessed Odenigbo Let me first of all note that in Anambra today, we have many wars going on, it is not only budget war. Those who were stopped from milking the treasury of Anambra State are fighting the Government of Governor Obi at all fronts. This at once reminds us of what Nicolo Machiavelli said about change, the problems any person desirous of introducing a new order will certainly face. According to him, introducing a new order is one of the most difficult things to do, because you will have as enemies the powerful clique that benefited from the old order and lukewarm defenders in those that are not sure of your success. As Obi is trying to introduce a new order, he has as enemies all sort of organizations and persons some of his policies have commendably crippled. Even among some that work with him, it is sad to note that they grumble too on how the man does not willingly allow them to enjoy themselves, that is to play chess with the money belonging to the State, you and I. Often, when you hear some people, just as one of the members of Anambra House, Hon. Ikenna Mbazulike, complain that Obi’s public relations is not good, they are simply mourning the contracts refused them or money belonging to the State Obi refused to give to them, without justification. The same lawmaker was said to have insisted that one of the reasons he was fighting Obi was that he did not nominate his father for a national award. You see what we are saying, he wanted Obi to nominate his father, but Obi will rather consider merit. As far as people like him are concerned, governance must be personalized and once the Governor fails to do their bidding, war ensues. The way he even talked, delusion has set in for he suddenly see himself as operating on the same level with the Governor. This is why, in spite of the massive development of the state, which Hon Ben-Chuks Nwosu was trying to show to showcase the world during a television programme, Hon. Ikenna Mbazulike, out of residual and sadistic grief announced that those developments were the work Of Dame Virgy Etiaba. He immediately reminded us how the Mike Balonwu-led House attributed all the development attracted to the State by Obi to Mr. Andy Uba. To the discerning, Ikenna has also revealed those that conspire with them to undermine Peter Obi, one of the persons they are working for. The consolation we have in Anambra today is that sanity is returning. With the likes of Ikenna on their way out of the House via the courts, things are certainly looking up. The other members of the Anambra House supporting the passage of the budget made it clear that it is sadistic to deny Obi the budget he presented, in the light of the massive development of the State under him. In other words, they are saying that irrespective of belonging to different political parties, the man who is consumed with the development of the State must be supported at all times. They are not alone, for the likes of Senator Annie Okonkwor and Dr. Alex Ekwueme say the same thing. What Nebe and his group are doing is utterly condemnable. This is why Hon. Ozo Ughammadu declared openly that the Nebe group was externally manipulated by an Uga-born Abuja Politician. This is why some of us are saying that we need revolution in the State. Clearly, whoever is doing this, and those doing so with him, are misguided, groping in the dark and, as some Christians will say, need deliverance. It defies understanding that somebody served the Presidency for almost eight years with nothing to show for it. Under Prof. Dora Akunyili, as the Director General of NAFDAC, an ultra modern NAFDAC laboratory was built in Anambra State. Under Prof. Charles Soludo, Anambra State now has a Central Bank. Under Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu as the Minister of Information, for two years plus, we can now boast of a Federal Information Centre. Even through the former Aso Rock Chaplain, Pastor (Dr.) Okoye, some towns in Anambra have Primary Health Centres. But under the Abuja politician, the most hated Anambra man alive, we only had and continued to have chaos. The sooner his prosecution and that of Obasanjo are started, the better for everybody. By have you asked yourself while Obi has continued to maintain his sanity in spite of the relentless efforts to make him lose focus? I had the privilege of listening to him on several occasions. Quite recently, on analyzing the candidature of those jostling to rule America, he said America would be in trouble, because none of the candidates had managed crisis before. As a business man, Obi said that one of the secrets of his success as a Governor is having managed crisis in the past, which has strengthened him to withstand the assault from renegades. While the renegades do not yet want to accept defeat, Obi has continued to develop the State simultaneously. When I saw his two years achievements, I marvelled. Though the man does not like propaganda, but singing his praises on achievements that are truly on ground is not bad at all. I have to say it because some governors claim to have done a lot, but only on paper. Permit me to sample some of the things contained in the documents, some of the projects I have personally visited. On coming into office, the man quickly reconstructed all the structures burnt down in the State during the mayhem of 2007, including Government House. Within two years in office, he handed over to the State a completed ultra modern Secretariat, fully furnished. Obi says that education is the greatest weapon for tomorrow’s competition. He has revolutionalised that area by the provision of lab equipments and computers to our schools. He plans, and is following it, the equipping of 40 schools per year. Some of our technical Schools have also regained their accreditations. With his attention to the sector, enrolment into schools has once again been on the increase. As a result of Governor Obi’s focus, many international organizations are coming to the state, seeking ways and means to collaborate with the State. All that the state need now is support for Obi and a re-think on the part of those fighting him for nothing sake. We therefore call on the Nebe-led faction of the State House of Assembly to come back to their senses. If they continue to fight a man who is trying more than ever before to better the lots of the State for the future of the children of the State, including theirs, them something must be terribly wrong with them. I choose not to believe that they were taken to Aguleri to swear oaths of perpetual obedience to their godfather until their blind allegiance to him proves it right. This senseless budget war must therefore stop. http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=49203 NB: A member of Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr. Ozo Ughammadu, has traced the genesis of the budget crisis in the state to external manipulation. He said that the same people manipulating the Appropriation Committee were responsible for burning down government property in the state, including Government House in 2004, which the current governor, Peter Obi, had rebuilt. the Finance and Appropriation Committee chairman, Mbazulike Amaechi, who allocated 10 boreholes to his town while removing those of other towns. He also frowned at the cutting of the N1 billion allocated for the development of Awka Capital Territory to N200 million and submitted that all in all, some members of the House in collaboration with the Abuja politician, were bent on just frustrating Obi. "If the House is sincere, why do they have to cut all sub-heads meant for infrastructural development, such as roads, education, health, environment, only to increase theirs from N284 million to N1.3 billion, about 600 per cent increase?" he asked. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU SPEAK OUT ABOUT THIS GREAT INJUSTICE DUE TO ONE MANS DESPERATION FOR POWER. Posted by Anambra Movement| 18.04.2008 17:35

Chidi Anyaeche  Villager

# 8 Government propaganda in action at the expense of tax payers money. An article by the not so clever Peter Claver followed by a detailed and misleading response by the so called Anambra Movement. All of a sudden, the quality of AM's written english has improved but the content (lies) remains the same. Revisit the opening lines of thread 3 - "I Can't Thanks You Enough For Your Artice". Peter Obi invited the Elders and now is 'afraid' of their report. But most importantly, his style of stooping very low to score points are all over this AM's report aka Ikenna Mbazulike and his father. Let matured and academic debate be the order of the day, we are not at Apapa Wharf clearing orange juice containers here, Mr. know-it all. Villagers are invited to visit: http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2007/sep/260.html Remain blessed Odenigbo Posted by Chidi Anyaeche| 18.04.2008 19:05

Zanderlex  Villager

# 9 What is the constitutional process of recalling these renegade assembly men ? Posted by Zanderlex| 18.04.2008 23:11

Luchi  Villager

# 10 =Chidi Anyaeche;4295007191>Government propaganda in action at the expense of tax payers money. An article by the not so clever Peter Claver followed by a detailed and misleading response by the so called Anambra Movement. All of a sudden, the quality of AM's written english has improved but the content (lies) remains the same. Revisit the opening lines of thread 3 - "I Can't Thanks You Enough For Your Artice". Peter Obi invited the Elders and now is 'afraid' of their report. But most importantly, his style of stooping very low to score points are all over this AM's report aka Ikenna Mbazulike and his father. Let matured and academic debate be the order of the day, we are not at Apapa Wharf clearing orange juice containers here, Mr. know-it all. Villagers are invited to visit: http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2007/sep/260.html Remain blessed Odenigbo Great Odenigbo! Great people respect themselves. They mind their choice of words. Last week you told us about some 'Illiterate traders'. Today,Peter Claver is now not so clever because he chose to see things differently. My brother take am easy o,"Agwo ofu onye furu na aghokwa eke". Posted by Luchi| 19.04.2008 10:27

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