The stage is almost set for Nigerians to vote in their next set of leaders across all the levels of government. The county’s 2023 general elections would be the seventh democratic election since 1999. To ensure the successful conduct of elections, the federal government is putting in place all the parameters.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in February, signed the Electoral Act 2022 into law, after which the various political parties conducted primaries for electable positions. Next on the electoral schedule released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the publishing of the final list of nominated candidates. The list comprises all the candidates that can be voted for across all the levels of governments.
One of the nominated candidates who is contesting for the presidential elections is Mr Peter Obi. The presidential candidate for the Labour Party and the pioneer of the “third force party” is a two-term governor of Anambra State. Brief list some notable achievements of Mr Peter Obi as the former governor of Anambra State.
Summarized Achievements of Peter Obi
Finance
Peter Obi governed Anambra State from March to November 2006, February to May 2007, and from June 2007 to March 2014. During his tenure, Anambra State became the first state in Nigeria to incorporate Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is a remarkable accomplishment, as at the time, Nigerian governors were accumulating debts.
Reports say that Anambra State had $500 million in investment as well as local and foreign currency and an extra $156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds when Mr Peter Obi left office.
In his administration as governor, the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) listed Anambra State as the least indebted state. Also, the Nigerian Senate rated Anambra State as the “most financially stable state in the country.” Anambra State became an oil producing state under the presidential candidate.
Politics
Another highlight of the presidential candidates stay in office is the hosting of ambassadors and High Commissioners of developed countries including the United States, Britain, Russia, Israel, the Netherlands, etc. in the state. This is worthy of mention because before his tenure, the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners had blacklisted Anambra State.
Again, Anambra State before Peter Obi lacked the presence of development partners, including UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID, the European Union etc. but his administration fixed that. In fact, Anambra State earned the award for “best states in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance.”
Education
In the education sector, Anambra State, through several school projects, moved from 24th position to 1st position in National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations for three years straight. Peter Obi also State was the first to buy and distribute over 30,000 computers to secondary schools, including 22,500 from HP.
Peter Obi’s government also provided Microsoft Academies to over 500 secondary schools whilst building schools in different parts of the state.
Health
By the time the presidential candidate was completing his tenure in 2014, over 12 health institutions, including two new hospitals, had secured accreditation from health organizations. In 2006, when Peter Obi came into power, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited. Peter Obi also funded the rehabilitation of hospitals in several parts of the state.
For his efforts in immunizing children in Anambra State, Peter Obi won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (1 Million dollars) as the best-performing state in immunization in the South-East region of Nigeria.
This list does not enlist all the achievements of Mr Peter Obi