As part of his on­going efforts to deepen the dem­ocratic process and engender an inclusive administration, the Gov­ernor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, has embarked on extensive consultations with royal fathers and community leaders in and outside the state, holding fruitful meetings with traditional rulers at the weekend to carve out a faster foot­path for accelerated de­velopment of the state.
Speaking during a recent tour of Anambra South and Anambra Central po­litical zones of the state, Obiano explained that as paramount rulers of their respective domains, the royal fathers constituted a formidable block in the democratic process as they connected more directly with the people.
The governor explained that his tour was to sensitise the royal fathers on current efforts of his administra­tion to reposition Anambra State as a regional socio-economic powerhouse and to seek their support for his development initiatives.
“I am familiar with the tradition of our people and I acknowledge and respect the critical importance of the role of traditional rul­ers to the wellbeing of our people. We need your cooperation to rebuild the fabric of our society,” the governor said.
According to him, the royal fathers were not only expected to preserve the cultural mores of the people but also play a vital role in ensuring the main­tenance of law and order which were very important for the evolution of a pro­gressive society.
“We need your coop­eration in our efforts to rid Anambra State of crime and criminals. There is very little that we can achieve in the fight against criminals without the all-important intelligence gathering that aids crime detection and prevention. A criminal is somebody’s son, brother or friend. We need your assistance to put criminals in a place where they cannot threaten our peace of mind from,” the governor declared.
Speaking further on ag­riculture, one of the four pillars of his administra­tion, Obiano assured that his administration had crafted a policy initiative that would enable it maxi­mise the use of land across the state.
“Anambra State has the second smallest land mass in the country after Lagos State. But we have adopted a highly efficient approach that will ensure a struc­tural and strategic use of land in the state to avoid wastage,” Obiano stated, while urging the royal fa­thers to encourage farmers in their domain to register with cooperative societies to gain access to various government intervention programmes.
He said modern agricul­tural practices did not fa­vour farmers who wished to go all-alone but em­phasised the effectiveness and knowledge-sharing that cooperatives helped to foster.
The governor also ex­plained that his govern­ment would continue to maintain the policy of continuity as he was work­ing on projects initiated by his predecessor, in addi­tion to embarking on new road projects to open up access to food producing areas, oil and gas facili­ties, industrial and housing layouts.
Governor Obiano fur­ther revealed that efforts were in top gear to im­prove the state’s internally generated revenue, and called for collective efforts to check the usual practice of diverting funds into pri­vate pockets.
In his remarks, Com­missioner for Local Gov­ernment, Chief Mrs Azuka Enemuo, thanked the tradi­tional rulers and their com­munities for their support to the state government.

Obiano strives to deepen democracy, meets royal fathers