The former Minister of Health and an elder statesman, Prof ABC Nwosu, has described the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 elections, Mr Peter Obi, as one who is not only annoyingly stingy but has a legendary level of frugality which, he said, helped him to manage state resources prudently as the Governor of Anambra State.
Prof Nwosu, who bared his mind on Obi while speaking to the media said Obi’s stingy nature significantly helped him in, not only prudently managing the little resources available in the State then, but aided him in saving enough resources for the state.
“Peter Obi excelled in prudent management of the lean resources. Peter Obi, being a businessman, made sure the resources were there and made sure that he didn’t borrow. He also saved a lot of money especially foreign exchange and got us to invest in new things like the brewery at Onitsha,” Nwosu said.
Recalling the build-up of events preceding Peter Obi’s election into Anambra’s governorship position, Nwosu said he decided not to contest against Peter Obi in that elections, because he saw in Obi, a young man ‘who could dance better’ and deliver good governance to the people. He agreed that the then PDP-led government of Chris Ngige did a good job in terms of infrastructural development, but as expected, Obi laid the foundation for educational and industrial revolution in the State.
“PDP brought Ngige and Ngige sprang a surprise in infrastructure. With all the problems he had, he was not bad. He came a long way. But the person who pushed the dream to where we were going was Peter Obi. He came and did the one thing that we would have done before, handing over schools to the Missions with money to run them. And Anambra State, within a space of one or two years, came from the bottom to the top. For me that is how governance should be measured.
“I am especially proud of Peter Obi for this humility in high places, frugal management and building up of resources especially opening up of education to the highest level and for laying the foundations for industrial development and investment of Anambra’s resources,” Prof Nwosu said.
Speaking further, Nwosu praised Obi for what he described as his moderate lifestyle which impacted positively on his governance of the State and helped him leave enough savings behind.
“Peter Obi will stand out. You will notice his disarming humility, his simple dressing, his watch not gold. Before he became Governor, he was one of the richest young Igbo men. If you look at the carriage of all the governors in the state, there is a way a Governor carries on in public. I am not sure how much money we still have from his (Obi’s) savings. When Peter Obi was Governor, you scarcely knew his wife. Those are personal things but they infringe on governance,” he said.
