Nnewi North Council Chairman, Engr Chris Obiorah, determines to rout the rot in the Council’s system

Ezeakukwu Emmanuel Nsoedo

Recently, my eyes gazed at a familiar truck from a distant memory on Nnewi road. The truck in question belongs to Nnewi North LGA, and it had been immobilized and parked at the Council premises for over 15 years, by my estimation. You could have guessed my amazement when I saw it rolling down the road.

We at Vision Newspapers decided to find out how it was possible; whether Nnewi North LGA had gained the much-sought-after financial autonomy by all the council areas in Nigeria but had become a source of political acrimony between the first and the second tier of government.

Our anonymous investigation confirmed to the contrary that Nnewi North LGA had gained any financial autonomy. Rather it was a tenacious effort by the council chairman, Engr Chris Obiorah, to plug as many leakages in the system as he could so that he could raise some funds to do some remedial work in the council.

How would the Council Chairman achieve his aspiration going by the fact that he had never been in partisan politics?

Engr Chris Obiorah had never been a partisan politician. All his life, he has always shunned publicity and avoided acrimonious situations by all means. He is a professional builder specializing in the construction of high-end edifices. He is, by all consideration, a very successful man who channeled resources and energy in the service of God and the community.

Engr Chris Obiorah is a very reserved person who modeled his charitable activities after his demised uncle, Long Joe Obiorah, died while in active church service. That is as far as the similarity you could see in him when juxtaposed with his demised uncle. Their public personae are far apart in the sense that the demised uncle is very outgoing and charismatic and will readily dive into a sea of people to extract more oxygen. At the same time, his nephew will quickly shy away from a large crowd. He prefers to act incognito.

Our investigation also indicated that he was not expecting any public appointment, so it is easy to infer that the interregnum from the day of his appointment, which was with immediate effect, lasted weeks before he presented himself for the swearing-in to commence duty. The inference here is that Engr Obiorah must have been persuaded to accept the position. That notwithstanding, Engr Chris Obiorah is focused and disciplined, and he is an accounting freak.

Well, his predecessors may have gotten enough dose of political activities; perhaps, they may have overlooked the imperative of asking questions. They may have inadvertently helped to perpetuate the lack of oversight in the activities of the council staff in sensitive areas.

His zeal to get some activities going is hampered by the reality of a lack of money to execute them. Subsequently, he looked closely and realized that there was an apparent anomaly that may have reinforced the continued paucity of funds in the system. Engr Obiorah moved quickly to restructure the flow of the meagre resources flowing into the council.

Our source has informed us that Engr Obiorah is bent on completing the rehabilitation of the abandoned truck, which he intends to deploy for the maintenance of the roads through direct labor.

One thing those familiar with Engr Obiorah will attest to is that he detests cheating, especially when it comes to communal patrimony or resources. The urge to engage in meaningful activities for the local government will undoubtedly cause him to move for practical restoration to accountability in the council.