The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Oseloka Obaze, has said Governor Willie Obiano’s continued expenditure of the state’s resources on media hype and propaganda will not save him from the imminent loss on November 18.
Obaze said Obiano will be left out in the cold as the people will cast massive protest votes against him.
He insisted that the only thing capable of securing the incumbent another mandate in a state like Anambra is visible dividends of democracy, not hype.
Speaking to Oraezue non-natives, a group of non-indigenes resident in Nkpor, Idemmili North Local Government Area of the state, Obaze said Obiano’s reelection bid has continued to suffer immense deficits, despite the enormous resources expended on media and publicity, because his government performed poorly.
He expressed dismay that there are no projects on ground to justify the amount of money that accrued to the state both in savings, internally generated revenue, federal allocations, Local Government allocations, ecological funds, budget support, Paris Club refund and other accruals.
Giving a hint as to how he plans to govern the state, Obaze said his government, if elected, will dedicate 26% of the state’s budget to education as against the 3% it currently recieves. According to him, the increased funding of the education sector will allow the state offer free and qualitative education to students from kindergarten to JSS 3.
He also said the increased education funds will provide for qualified and properly remunerated teachers, teacher training and retraining, access to computer and Internet facilities, teaching and learning aids, appropriately sized classrooms, as well as well furnished laboratories.
Obaze said his government will prioritise development at the grassroots and pledged to conduct transparent Local Government elections within the first six months of his administration. This he said he will do, in addition to granting Local Government administrations full autonomy, because he believes that governance is best felt at the grassroots.
He chided the practice were hospitals require initial deposits, and sometimes police documents, before responding to emergencies.
Obaze assured that he will, as a governor, send an executive bill to the State House of Assembly to enact a law that will mandate hospitals to “respond to emergency situations first and ask questions later.” if elected. He promised to back up the law by floating a charity care fund that will ensure hospitals do not incur losses in the process.
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