Akpokuedike: Phenom in four chapters

CHIEF Willie Obiano is a banker, technocrat, politician and the fourth democratic Governor of Anambra State.

  In the spring

  Willie Obiano was born to Phillip Obiano and Christy Obiano of Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area, Anambra State. His earliest education was at the Holy Trinity Primary School, Onitsha. For his secondary education, he attended Christ the King College (CKC), Onitsha. At CKC, he won the John F. Kennedy Award for Essay in 1974.

In 1977, he obtained his West African School Certificate. After this, he proceeded to the University of Lagos where he obtained a B.Sc. Second Class Upper in Accounting in 1979 and an MBA in Marketing in 1993. He holds a national merit certificate for outstanding service during his NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) in Benue State in the 1979/80 service year.

  Corporate climb

  Governor Obiano, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), began his banking career in 1981 at the First Bank of Nigeria before he left to join the services of Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc as an accountant and rose to the position of Chief Internal Auditor. He was promoted four times in his eight-and-half-year-service at Texaco to become Chief Internal Auditor.

As a specialist in Bunkering, Lube-blending and Refinery Audits, , he was one of the auditors that audited Texaco Refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1989. In 1991, he joined the Fidelity Bank as Deputy Manager and Head of Audit Unit and rose to Manager in 1991, Assistant General Manager in 1993, Deputy General Manager in 2000, General Manager in 2002 and Executive Director in October, 2003. Obiano was part of the great team that saw Fidelity Bank through the Bank’s Consolidation process. Gov. Obiano is a 2006 BNV (Building New Ventures) CLASS member of Harvard Business School, Boston USA.

  The call to serve           

  The love to serve humanity on a larger scale made him leave the banking sector to join the Nigerian politics in 2013. Chief Obiano pitched his tent with the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA. He contested the November 16, Anambra State gubernatorial election, won and was sworn in on March 17, 2014. Riding on the wave of an impressive performance, he initiated the Willie is Willingly Working campaign (WWW) for the November 18, 2017 and was re-elected.

  Footprints in the sand of time

  Fully aware of Anambra State’s role as the most populous, industrialised, besides gateway to the Southeast, Gov. Obiano anchored his four points of development, known as the four pillars of development on mechanised agriculture, oil and gas, trade and commerce and industrialisation to accelerate its economic and political relevance.

  In rebranding Anambra State to live to its expectations, Gov. Obiano created what he tagged the Anambra brand collaterals comprising the state anthem, emblem, crest, flag and shared values. The corporate identity amplified Anambra’s uniqueness.