Give S’East ministerial, ambassadorial appointments, Obiano tells Buhari

By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

Anambra state Governor, Willy Obiano on Monday met with President Muhammadu Buahri behind closed doors and appealed to the President to give special consideration to the South East zone in the appointment of key cabinet and other political offices in his second term.

The governor who lobbied for key ministerial, ambassadorial and parastatals appointments as the president’s second term begins on May 29, told State House correspondents after the meeting, said that the South East wants to be part of the President’s Next Level agenda.

According to him, the federal government has been magnanimous enough to begin the construction of the second Niger Bridge, including rehabilitation of some roads networks critical to Anambra state.

He also revealed that an estimated N2.3 billion has so far been spent on implementing the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme which feeds at least 126, 000 pupils every day in Anambra state.

“So far, about N2.3 billion has been spent by the federal government in school feeding in Anambra state. Also, on the N-Power programme, we have over 8, 000 youth already employed.

“Youth that ordinarily would have been doing some other things are gainfully employed by the federal government and of course, I did ask for support in appointments; ministerial, ambassadorial, parastatals and so on so that all of us can move to the next level,” he stated.

Obiano also hinged his visit to the State House on the need to congratulate the President on his re-election, saying his relationship with the President goes beyond political affiliations.

He said that “I called the President when he won the election and this is the first time I am coming to see him physically since after the election. I actually came to congratulate him on his well-deserved victory at the polls.

“I also gave him update on the federal government projects that are going on in Anambra state, such as the second Niger Bridge, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and myself were at the sites recently and I came to brief him fully how that work is going as planned.”

The governor said that initially, when President Buhari started the construction of the second Niger Bridge and the road, people said it was a campaign fluke, but he assured them that the Preisdent keeps his promise.