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By Madu Obi
AS the former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju is laid to rest in his home town, Uli in Ihiala local government area of Anambra State, the Senator that represented Anambra Central Senatorial District, Uche Ekwunife has extolled the virtues of the former governor, noting that he left good legacies despite meagre resources during his tenure.
Describing the late Mbadinuju as a pragmatic leader, Ekwunife who spoke during the lying in state of the late Mbadinuju at the Government House, Awka, observed that most of Mbadinuju's projects are still standing tall in Anambra State.
According to Ekwunife, history would be kind to Mbadinuju on account of his giant infrastructural strides at a time Internally Generated Revenue and Federal Allocation put together could not efficiently bankroll government obligations.
Giving a brief account of Mbadinuju's performance, Ekwunife stated that the former governor was receiving a paltry monthly allocation of ₦750 - ₦800 million, while monthly salary was gulping between ₦450 and ₦470 million each month, leaving him with less than ₦200 million to tackle other sectoral challenges.
She said that despite the setbacks occasioned by lack of funds, Mbadinuju was able to put in place numerous legacy projects, which include the Government House, Alex Ekwueme Square, Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, State House of Assembly Complex, Judiciary Complex, State Secretariat for civil servants, Anambra Broadcasting Service, (ABS), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, among others.
She added that Mbadinuju also began the process for Anambra to become an oil producing state when others were annexing oil wells to themselves.
She said: "He brought in two oil wells, registered Orient Petroleum for operations in Anambra State and ensured they got the certificate, and that is why Anambra State is today an oil producing state."
"For me, Mbadinuju left outstanding and profound legacy for generations to come and history will be kind to him. His opponents took advantage of his kindness, humility and sincerity of purpose to unleash political violence on him."
"Interestingly, he was the first governor to conduct local government elections and gave them financial autonomy, which no other governor has done."
"Sincerely, leaders like Odera ( as Mbadinuju was fondly called), who demonstrated total commitment and good intentions for the people, should be celebrated and not disparaged for posterity sake, because no matter how long it takes, the truth must prevail as witnessed by everyone gathered here today.
"He was just a victim of high powered political conspiracy and a clear case of giving a dog bad name in order to hang the dog. Odera was a victim of single story, whereby his good works were tainted with cheap lies and blackmail."
"Gone are the days when lies overshadow the truth. The truth has been unravelled today and will always be there for future reference".
Ekwunife further described Mbadinuju as a great man with a large heart, adding that he was someone who had the best intentions for Anambra State.
She frowned against rewarding good works with bad remarks as was meted to Mbadinuju, who was slandered so badly during his tenure, simply because some people wanted to take power from him at all cost.
"Mbadinuju was a victim of political rascality and wicked permutation", Ekwunife said.
She commended the governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo for setting the records straight about the administration of Mbadinuju, noting that the records are there for all to see and figures don't lie
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