Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has responded to criticism over the absence of a new government house during his administration, explaining that existing facilities had been destroyed before he took office and defending his decision to prioritize education over luxury infrastructure.
Governor Charles Soludo’s administration has received praise for constructing a new government house in Awka, a project critics argue Obi should have undertaken during his tenure.
In an interview with Arise TV from 25:27, Obi detailed the challenging conditions he inherited upon taking office. “When I came, there was no government house at all. There was no governor’s lodge; they were all burnt. There was no governor’s lodge when I came; not even a house of assembly. All those things were burnt because my predecessor had issues, and some touts and hooligans came and burned everything. So, I didn’t even have anything,” Obi recounted.
He described the makeshift arrangements he made immediately after his inauguration and how he initially operated from his village before securing temporary office space. “The day I was sworn in as a governor in Anambra State, I did not see anywhere called Governor’s Lodge to sleep. I did not see anywhere called Government House. I went to my village, and it was from my village I went to live in, and then renovated and rebuilt whatever is being used now,” he explained. “It was after one week of coming from my village that I asked the Secretary of Government to vacate his office. So, I started working there, and then went to live in Onitsha, and then started renovating the house in Awka.”
The former governor also clarified that he did undertake some reconstruction work on existing facilities. “So, where they are now, that is removed from what was built by me over 10 years ago. So, I built that one and built the Government House,” he noted.
However, Obi defended his decision to focus resources on critical public services rather than luxury accommodations. He emphasized that education infrastructure took priority over government facilities. “When I came, the secondary schools and primary schools were in very bad shape. My priority should not be to start building where I’m going to live. My priority should be to invest in critical areas of development. That’s what I told the people I was going to do. And I turned the education around,” he declared.
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