Nwoye: Obiano Should Account for Misused Anambra Funds

By Anayo Okolie

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Tony Nwoye has challenged Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano  to account  for the Local Government funds accrued to the state from the Federation account.

Nwoye, who stated this at a dinner in Lagos criticised Obiano for failing to conduct LG elections for over three years, and questioned what the governor had done with the  funds meant  for LGs which accrued to the state throughout his first tenure.  

He also challenged the governor to give account of how he expended the funds left behind by the former governor Mr Peter Obi.

 According to him, “Obiano receives Local Government funds of more than N20 billion  from the Federal Government; he has also received the Paris Club funds of more than N13 billion, yet he gave communities only N20 million each.  

“If the Local Governments are supposed to receive over 100 million a month, multiply it by 12 calendar months and you will know how much each Local Government is supposed to get. For the past three years, he has not conducted Local Government elections, and he does not give the Local Governments up to 20 percent of their monthly allocations. 

For instance, Nwoye said in a Local Government like Njikoka where you have Enugu-Ukwu, Nimo, Agulu, Abagana and Nawfia, and the governor gives a big town like Enugu-Ukwu N20 million, where then is the money that Enugu-Ukwu is supposed to get from Local Government funds, and I’m not even talking about the state funds. 

” Every month, Enugu-Ukwu should receive not less than N30 million from Local Government funds, but they are not receiving it because the governor has siphoned the money meant for Local Governments for more than 36 months. So Enugu-Ukwu alone is supposed to get about N300 million yearly from the federation account for Local Governments. I’m not even talking about the state funds that the governor uses however he wants or even the security votes of about N1.2billion a month. Yet the governor says he is giving them N20 million.

 “That amount is less than three per cent of what each community is supposed to be getting on a monthly basis, so he is not doing anyone any favour. “ 

It is a big time fraud and one day, he would account for it. 

This same man received a loan of N15.5 billion and if he has expended it, that means every community should get not less than N60 million each. What of the money Peter Obi left for him both in foreign and local currency? 

 

“Obi swore to an affidavit at the Supreme Court detailing the amount that he left for Obiano and I have the documents to prove. Could Obi have sworn to a false affidavit which can land him in jail? Obiano has squandered the money and now he is claiming that he is giving N20 million to each community which is not up to three percent of the amount that they should ordinarily be getting.

I have documents to prove that Obiano siphoned money meant for Local Governments. They say that APC is an Hausa party, but has Buhari who is an Hausa man ever withheld money meant for the Local Governments? 

 

‘He keeps signing Memorandum of Understanding and says he wants to build an airport am airport in Umuleri while the hospital close to his hometown is in disrepair. My vision is to liberate my people from the bondage in which this administration has put them,” Nwoye said.

 

The APC govership candidate, who also disclosed that one of the reasons he is contesting the Anambra November 18 election is to challenge the marginalisation of the South East and ensure that the state gets what is rightfully theirs.

 

“It is a fact that the South East has been marginalised but I am here to change all that because I dont believe that because the Igbo did not vote for APC in 2015 therefore they should be punished. If I become governor, I will ensure that what belongs to us will come to us. I will ensure that some of the Federal Government policies that affects the Igbo negatively will be changed,” Nwoye said.

 

“Obiano has tried within his capacity, but I will do better; those things he didn’t do properly will be corrected by me. I have prayed that if Obiano has judiciously utilised 60 percent of the state resources at his disposal, let God allow him to win, but if he has siphoned up to 40 percent, may God not allow him to win.”