7 Transformative Projects of Peter Obi in Anambra State

Peter Obi, of the  Labour Party, has often proposed his plans to shift the Nigerian economy from consumption to production.

Obi formerly served as the governor of Anambra State before his current run for the presidency.

He was the first in Anambra State to be re-elected for a second term, the first to gain the constitutional interpretation of a governor’s term and the first to reclaim his mandate through the court following an illegitimate impeachment.

Beyond all of them, he excelled in almost every area of the state’s economy during his time as governor.

Will Peter Obi become president and deliver on his promise? Only time will tell, but for now, let’s look at 7 transformative projects of the presidential aspirant during his time as the governor of Anambra State.

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1. Management of funds

Under Peter Obi, Anambra State launched Sub-Sovereign Wealth Savings, the first of its type in Sub-Saharan Africa, making it the first state in Nigeria to do so.

Peter Obi claimed that he left Anambra State with investments worth $500 million in both local and foreign cash. This includes $156 million in bonds denominated in dollars at a period when many other governors were leaving enormous debts.

Anambra was regarded as the least indebted and most financially stable state in Nigeria by the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO). Peter Obi won praise for avoiding taking out loans to finance his ventures.

2. Foreign investments

When Peter Obi was governor of Anambra State, numerous ambassadors and high commissioners from illustrious nations, including the United States, Britain, Russia, the European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, and Canada, among others, paid the state their maiden visits.

Organisations that were not initially present in Anambra State, such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, the European Union, etc., began cooperating with the state. 

Anambra has continuously been rated as one of the states with the best commitment to good governance reforms and development partnerships.

3. Education

The government of Obi purchased and delivered nearly 30,000 computers to the state’s secondary schools, including 22,500 HP models. 

Over 500 secondary schools received Microsoft Academies under Peter Obi’s administration, the largest deployment of its kind in Africa, according to Mr. Ken Span, the head of Microsoft in Nigeria.

More than 500 secondary schools in his country now have access to the internet.

4. Health 

Peter Obi’s administration established strategic alliances with churches in the health field. The symbiotic partnership gave Anambra State’s healthcare system a major boost.

As the best-performing state in the South-East for immunisation, Obi’s government received a $1 million award from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The first state-owned teaching hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, was designed and constructed during the Obi administration from the ground up.

5. Economy

The Obi administration welcomed various businesses to construct facilities in Anambra State. The second-largest brewery in the world, SABMiller, is a prime example, having constructed its first Green Fields operation in the state.

The administration of Obi backed and encouraged a number of such businesses that followed the SABMiller model, including Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company, from which Obi’s government purchased over 1,000 automobiles for official usage.

Anambra became an oil producing state during Obi’s tenure.

6. Security

Under Obi, Anambra State began working closely with all government security agencies for the first time, including the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security, and Civil Defence, among others.

Anambra State provided these agencies with a range of support, including the provision of more than 500 security vehicles.

Abubakar Mohammed, the former IG of Police, praised Anambra State for not having experienced a bank heist in the final three years of Obi’s government due to the state’s amazing security development.

Obi changed the local vigilante system such that neighbourhood watch organisations now collaborate with the police and are closely supervised.

7. Youth and Employment

Obi revived the Anambra State Youth Re-Orientation & Empowerment Programme (ANSYREP), which gave grants and provided training to young and ambitious business owners.

His Youth Employment Fund concept increased job growth and supported a number of burgeoning firms.

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