Chief Willie Obiano, the Governor of Anambra state has topped a recent ranking of Nigerian governors covering the year 2016 done by YNaija, an online news website which targets young professionals of voting age in Nigeria. The website is part of the Red Media Group owned by Adebola Williams and his partner Chude Jideonwo who jointly organise the popular Future Africa Awards.
According to a statement from the organisers which ranked Governors from Best to Worst; “it is hard to compare state governors considering their peculiar circumstances – income disparity, insecurity, and varying stages of development but this should be no deterrent as every state governor is expected to utilise scarce resources to the benefit of citizens and the development of their respective states”.
The citation for Governor Obiano said that “Willie is working” is one of the inscriptions that greet visitors in Anambra and that Indeed, the governor is working. Continuing, the citation said that Governor Willie Obiano’s achievements cover important areas such as security, investment drive, massive improvement in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), construction of roads and bridges, education, healthcare, provision of social amenities, agriculture, social investment and job creation among others. The Governor was also praised for securing over Two Billion Naira investment to boost rice and maize production in the state.
The citation also made references to the Governor’s various recognitions via achievement awards most notably the 2015 Zik Prize for Leadership Award given to him by Lagos-based Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre, The Sun Newspaper Governor of the Year 2015 and most recently The Silverbird Man of the Year Award 2016.