Those investments done by Mr Peter Obi were not in secret. In fact, he made them open for Ndi Anambra to see, know and how much each was worth as at that time. If Soludo doesn’t know about those Anambra investments or their worth, he should hold Obiano accountable and responsible.
By Paschal Candle
I have really taken out my time to watch and listen to Prof. Soludo’s interview on Channels Television. All I can say is that Prof. Soludo’s utterances about the investments by ex-Governor Peter Obi, who left office 9 years ago is clearly a function of his emotions of envy, jealousy and anger.
This did not start today. Many of us know the story of Prof. Soludo and the late Dora Akunyili and her family. In this piece, I will not dwell on the messenger, Prof. Soludo but on the message, “Peter Obi’s Investment is worthless.”
Many commentators have been writing and commenting on this very trending issue because it is election time. With this statement, Prof. Soludo has dealt a serious blow to Mr Peter Obi’s ambition. To me, this is not about election or no election, it is about the truth and future of ANAMBRA State and her unborn generation. Those investments done by Mr Peter Obi were not in secret. In fact, he made them open for Ndi Anambra to see, know and how much each was worth as at that time. If Soludo doesn’t know about those Anambra investments or their worth, he should hold Obiano accountable and responsible. This is because it was Obiano that handed over to him and not Mr Peter Obi.
From Prof. Soludo’s statement, Obiano did not hand over all or disclose all to him. It calls for the arrest of Chief Willie Obiano. This is because when Peter Obi handed over to Obiano, almost 9 years ago, all those investments of Ndi Anambra were contained in his handover note. And where the money were domiciled were stated in the hand over note. It was made public. Please, Prof. Soludo should make Obiano handover note public to Ndi Anambra. This is not about Presidential election. It is about “Ego Ndi Anambra” and the future generations.
*Mr Peter Obi handover notes to Obiano and where those investments were located.
Now, let me take one of those investments which is Agulu Hotels, today known as Golden Tulip Hotels, Agulu. It is one of those investments by Mr Peter Obi for Anambra People. Golden Tulip is making a huge profit for Anambra State and paying a hefty tax to the state government. The hotel also employed Ndi Anambra.
This worthless investment from Mr Peter Obi has Prof. Soludo as the Chairman of Golden Tulip Hotels, Agulu. There is a rumour going on that Chief Willie Obiano sold the hotel to a group of friends. This question can only be answered by Prof. Soludo; is Anambra’s unvestment still part of Golden Tulip Hotels, Agulu, as of today?
Another Investment by Mr Peter Obi are the three shoppings malls in Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi. Mr Peter Obi finished Onitsha Shopping Mall, which houses Shoprite today and pays millions of naira as tax and also employed hundreds of Ndi Anambra as workers, thereby reducing unemployment in the, state, so to Prof. Soludo, how is this a worthless Investment?
The other shoppings malls at Awka and Nnewi were abandoned by Governor Obiano. All the investments made so far remain the way Mr Peter Obi left it. Does this abandonment by Chief Obiano make these investments worthless?
Another part of worthless investments by Mr Peter Obi, according to Prof. Soludo, is Anambra State investments in Sabmiller Breweries (Interfact Brewery). Mr Peter Obi attracted to the state and invested Anambra State’s money in SABmiller Breweries. Today, Prof. Soludo collects huge tax to boost his Internally Generated Revenue, IGR. It is on record that SABmiller pays the highest amount of tax to Anambra State, still it is a close to worthless investment, according to Prof. Soludo.
There are over 100, 000 Ndi Anambra who work in that company. The company created chains of distributing and retailing of all the products, supplying and contractors in various services. Is this a worthless investment or value for money? Maybe, only a most intelligent man in Anambra State, Prof. Soludo, will tell Ndi Anambra.
Towards 2017 governorship elections, I questioned Governor Obiano’s financial recklessness in Anambra State. How Obiano liquidated Local Governments funds in Anambra State. How the same Obiano invaded the investment agreement and sold the first instalment of 50 million dollars his predecessor invested in banks. It was the same Prof. Soludo that came up to tell Ndi Anambra that, “It is not broken, why amend it.”
With such support from Soludo, Obiano continued selling the dollars to build three flyovers that lead to nowhere in Awka, and used part of it to build the airport.
Today, Prof. Soludo tells whoever cares to listen that he inherited over 100 billion naira in debt, which does not include debts to contractors, gratuities, and so on. He started his tenure with borrowing 100 billion naira. In his self-acclaimed economic wizardry, he evidently believes inheriting debts and then borrowing to construct roads is a perfect path to bringing Anambra State back to glory. Prof. Soludo, I greet you.
If the investments done by Mr Peter Obi both in private sectors and in dollars, were sustained, Anambra State would not have been where it is today. Those investments that Prof. Soludo considered worthless were what saved Anambra State during recessions.
To further prove the importance of savings/investment, while the recession was going on, Chief Willie Obiano as the then governor of Anambra State was busy paying salaries and throwing parties here and there because his predecessor saved enough money both in cash and in investment. He was also able to see money for exotic and expensive champagnes.
Early this year, Governor of Taraba State affirmed that Soludo’s predecessor, Governor Obiano, confidently told him that Anambra cargo airport was made possible because of Mr. Peter Obi’s investment and savings. Is Prof. Soludo telling Ndi Anambra that the money used in building the airport is worthless? Also, when the Federal Government was giving states bailout funds to pay salaries, Anambra State was not part of it. This was made possible as a result of Mr Peter Obi’s investment.
Let me tell Prof. Soludo that if Obiano had imbibed the attitude of saving or prudence in managing the robust economy he inherited from Peter Obi, Prof. Soludo would not have had any reason to borrow N100 billion within 2 months of his administration.
While Prof. Soludo and the likes of Ifeanyi Okowa, in their poor knowledge of the economy, though Prof. Soludo claims to know all in economics, write off government savings and investment, the likes of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the one that suggested the creation of Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, in 2011. The construction of 2nd Niger Bridge was made possible today from money coming from Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Prof, is the saving in SWF a worthless investment? SWF has three main aims: saving money for future generations, providing financing for badly-needed infrastructure, and providing a stabilisation fund to defend the economy against commodity price shocks.
On a final note to Prof. Soludo, Ndi Anambra and Nigerians will like you to make public Governor Obiano’s handover note to you. This has become necessary so that Ndi Anambra will know what happened to those investments Mr Peter Obi stated in his handover notes to Governor Obiano. What is at stake now is ego Ndi Anambra which will have a bigger impact on the future generations.
As at 2013, Anambra State was the least indebted state, if not debt free state. Today, the state is owing contractors, gratuities, pensions and the state’s civil servants are the least paid. What went wrong? How did we get here? Only Prof. Soludo can provide the answers if he can make available Obiano’s handover note for Ndi Anambra to see.
My name is Paschal Candle. I write as a social critic and Public affairs analyst, not as a member of a political party.