Indications are rife that a cold war is on between Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, and Governor-elect, Willy Obiano, both of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Obi is expected to hand over to Obiano, his protégé, on March 16.
Before contesting the November 16 Anambra governorship election, Obiano retired from Fidelity Bank Plc, a bank in which Obi is believed to be a major stakeholder.
However, Sunday Independent gathered that that a gap now exists in the relationship between the two.
Obiano is at present in the United States of America, but, some sources within APGA, told this newspaper that he is not happy with the way Obi has been sharing local government funds, saved over the years, for churches, schools and town unions.
The local government funds were estimated at over N300 billion.
The governor-elect, according to our sources, is also not happy with the way new projects are springing up in Anambra State few days to the end of Obi’s administration.
One of such projects is the Ikenga Shopping Mall at Awka, being constructed at the site of Old Ikenga Hotel, Awka. The shopping mall was awarded at the cost of N2.2 billion.
“The governor-elect is afraid that the way things are going, nothing will be left for him to work with when he takes over from Obi in March”, one of our sources stated.
The worries of Obiano were said to have been compounded by the fact that less than two months to the end of the Obi administration, a transition committee has not been set up to ensure a smooth transition of power from the outgoing to the in-coming administration.
Rather, rumours are making the rounds that all political offices in the incoming administration, including the governor’s principal aides, have all been allocated to various individuals.
For instance, Dubem Obazee, a former Commissioner for Local Government under Obi, has reportedly been assigned the portfolio of Chief of Staff to the Governor.
Sunday Independent further gathered that the cold war between Obi and Obiano might have prompted the judgment of the Abuja High Court, which removed Victor Umeh as the National Chairman of APGA.
With Umeh’s removal, Obiano would definitely have no cover in event of a full-blown political war between him and Obi, our sources said.
However, when Sunday Independent contacted Obi’s Chief Press Secretary, Mike Udah, on telephone to shed light on the matter, he (Udah), in a reply to a text message sent to him said, “ It is not true.’’
Also, Obiano could not be reached as he is in the United States of America.
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