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Calvary greetings! Peace and Grace be unto you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
We bring you greetings from His Lordship Rt. Revd. Prof. G. I. N. Okpala (JP, OON) and wife Mrs. Eugenia Okpala (JP, Nnebuife), the Clergy and the entire congregation of Cathedral Church of St Mary, Uruagu Nnewi.
We the leadership and the congregation of Cathedral Community want to use this medium and opportunity to appreciate and thank God for His unquantifiable goodness and mercies over you and your family in these eight years of successful and outstanding Governance in Anambra State. The merciful hand of Almighty God has indeed prevailed and enabled you to make so much impact and record many achievements both within and outside the state.
Your ascendance to the position of the Governor of the State was indeed a miracle and God's favour, considering that it was your first time to run for the position and you emerged a winner unlike many others who had aspired many times and are still aspiring. Upon this, you wrestled for this God given mandate for leadership over the state twice in the court, yet God gave you victory in all and restored you to your due position. This is God's doing and it is marvelous in our sight.
Upon your assumption of leadership many critics thought you would not perform and posed a lot of challenges and obstacles to your leadership, however this eventually became stepping stones as God was with you and you proved all your critics wrong by your outstanding performance and you overcame most of these challenges and obstacles, and consequently achieved giant strides in almost all the sectors of Governance – Education, Health, Security, Administration, Infra structural developments, finance, Poverty alleviation etc. Your vision of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) by 2015 being pursued through the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS) was "the straw that broke the camel's back".
At this point it is necessary to recall and highlight these monumental achievements and outstanding events that have characterized your administration.
EDUCATION:
> Renovation of dilapidated school structures/classroom blocks and building of new ones.
> Practically, equipment of science laboratories in all the schools, provision of functional library in the schools, and procurement of computer sets in most schools.
> Provision of over 150 buses to schools (both mission and state owned school) for easy mobility and administration and had promised to give other schools before the end of your administration.
> Handover of some schools back to missions/churches, Example of these Schools (in our Diocese) are Oraifite Grammar School Oraifite and Anglican Girls Secondary School Nnewi, these schools have joint management with Government and this development has improved the moral as well as academic standard of our schools.
HEALTH: Renovation of state owned hospitals and upgrading a lot of Government hospitals, equipping the hospitals and encouraging community health services. The small rickety Amaku Hospital at Awka, is now a magnificent tertiary referral center and Teaching Hospital.
Intensive partnership with the church in the area of healthcare has made possible the execution of over 30 buildings in different missionary hospitals some of them are Borromeo hospital Onitsha, lyi-Enu hospital Ogidi, Amichi Diocesan hospital, Amichi, Our Ladies of Lourdes hospital Ihiala just to mention but a few.
SECURITY: Your administration had recorded meaningful achievements in the maintenance of peaceful atmosphere and security, societal menace were checked to the barest minimum, cases of kidnapping and armed robbery were treated with every seriousness. You supported all the security agencies by direct funding and necessary equipment for their operation. You provided the various security agencies – both the state Police and vigilante services with over 450 Patrol Vehicles all these were to make sure that criminality is tackled and security maintained.
POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Your aggressive vision to provide access to wealth creation as a means of fighting poverty by opening up our rural, hard-to-reach communities with good roads. Areas like Anam, Inoma, Odekpe, Nzam, Aguleri, Umueri, in Anambra East and West Local Government Areas in which you were the first Governor to have visited the area where you built roads, bridges, social amenities like boreholes and sola energy electricity to mention but a few. Your administration had built over 700 kms of roads with many more ongoing. Anambra now has a very good road network, especially in the rural areas. There is hardly any community in the state today that is not connected with good road. You have also constructed numerous bridges in different communities. Fortunately enough some industries had been sited and taken off because now there is a good road network and these had also contributed to poverty alleviation through mass employment of Ndi Anambra.
ADMINISTRATION: your pursuance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG'S) by 2015 through the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS) had shown your high and intelligent administrative acumen and this had brought a lot of development in our state. The building of the Jerome Udoji Secretariat that had brought all the scattered ministries together for easy administrative work. Your noble effort to maintain good relationship in the three tiers of government is highly commendable and should be sustained.
OTHER SECTORS: Your administration has indeed recorded great exploits in many sectors of governance like Agriculture, Housing, Sports, and Urban Development among others. Your achievement in payment of backlog of arrears of pensions and prompt payment of gratuity are most commendable.
Your doggedness in administration and political sagacity had brought about huge financial reserve in the state unlike in many past administrations; these had indeed been noted by the Federal Government and International bodies as you have received many awards to that effect and even serve as the financial adviser to the President.
Worthy of mention also is your unwavering faith in God which resulted to your invaluable supports to various church denominations to aid their structural development and evangelism programmes, and also your personal presence and attendance to such Christian/church organized programmes and gatherings.
Indeed you are a great achiever, an epitome of leadership and a goal getter. We are really proud of you and wish to identify with you, more grace to you as you pursue your future career. Owning to your proficiency, agility and exposure in governance we believe and pray that you will occupy even higher position in the next administration both at national and international levels.
To this end, having discovered that these achievements are acts of God's mercies and favour we the leadership and the congregation of the Cathedral Church of St Mary, Uruagu Nnewi wish to invite you and members of your executive to a specially organized thanksgiving service for all these God given achievements.
Howbeit, the said thanksgiving service is not intended to take the place of any other as may be deemed necessary by your Excellency. Hence, we request you to choose any of the Sundays and Saturdays in the months of November and December for this epoch making thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of St Mary Uruagu Nnewi with the people and congregation of the church as we recognize these achievements and want to celebrate with you and all the good people of Ndi Anambra.
We are most thankful to God as we look forward for your positive response. We will continue to pray for you and your family for divine protection, provisions and for the fulfillment of your desired dreams and aspirations.
Long live our Governor Mr. Peter Obi
Long live the people of Anambra state
Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria
Yours in the Vine yard of the Lord,
VEN. OK. C. EMERIBE (JP) RT. REVD PROF. G.I.N. OKPALA (JP, OON)
CATHEDRAL VICAR DEAN OF THE CATHEDRAL
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