Chief Willie Obiano is the fourth democratic governor of Anambra State who came into power in 2013 through the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
Like his predecessor, Peter Obi, Obiano joined politics from the banking sector. He hails from Aguleri area of the the state.
Obiano holds a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Lagos which he obtained in 1979 and a Master of business administration from the same university.
He left the banking profession to join politics and in 2013 contested for the November 16, 2017 governorship election on the platform of APGA. He won the election and was sworn in on March 17, 2014 to succeed Peter Obi. On November 14 2017, he was reelected over other contestants in all local government areas in the state to emerge as the winner, beating even the candidate presented by his former political godfather; Mr Peter Obi and even the ruling party, a record feat in the history of Nigerian democracy.
He is the initiator of the Willie is Willingly Working (WWW) campaign and National leader of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
As the 2021 Anambra governorship election draws nearer, all eye are on the governor to know how he will end his tenure. Whether he is going to complete his stewardship to the people of Anambra State with his head held high and integrity intact or is it going to be the other way round.
It is on record that most governors after their tenure had left the seat of power with the integrity they had before coming into power shattered, though it seems our politicians no longer consider that, so long as they have sycophants singing their praises and telling them that all is well and that people are seeing them as messiah. Most of them end up using their powers of incumbency to force their way into the senate which has come to be known as a place of retirement for former governors.
Nigerians are watching to know if he (Obiano) will be able to maintain APGA’ s strong grip on Anambra governorship or is it going to slip off his sleeves.
It is a well known fact that since its creation, APGA, seen as an Igbo party has remained the ruling party in Anambra State which is widely regarded as the heart-beat of Igbo nation.
The story of Peter Obi and Chris Ngige is still fresh in our memories. We are all aware of how it took over three years for APGA’s Peter Obi to reclaim his mandate from PDPs Chris Ngige. After fighting many political battles, including his impeachment by the House of Assembly, which was later quashed by the Supreme Court, Obi was able to complete his eight years tenure and still produced a successor from APGA, in the person of Willie Obiano.
Now all eyes are on Obiano to know if he can produce a successor and maintain the tradition of the state which prides itself as a pan Igbo state, for remaining the only state that has maintained faith with the Igbo party which is seen as an honour to the Igbo patriarch, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.
This is even as some section of Igbos predict that the governor may either dump the party before the governorship election or remain and work against its interest and join the ruling All Progressives Congress immediately after the election. This school of thought accuse him of hobnobbing with the leadership of APC, a clear indication that his spirit is no longer with APGA.
On the issue of producing a successor, Obiano is widely seen as the least performing and least popular among the governors who governed state in recent past, talk about; Chris Ngige and Peter Obi.
He is also known to have involved himself in many controversies which included his feud with people like; his predecessor, Peter Obi, Anambra billionaire and business mogul, Arthur Eze, some high profile traditional rulers in the state, among others.
So with all these, pundits predict that it will be a herculean task for Chief Willie Obiano to produce a successor in the state, Moreso with the passion with which the ruling All Progressives Congress is fighting for the governorship of the state which they are in dire need of adding to the list of their conquest in Igbo land.
Moreover, the Peoples Democratic Party which was hitherto the ruling party in the state before APGA is not resting on its oars. They are equally passionate to reclaim the state, as the South-east and South-south has become the main base of the party.
