Anambra State upon creation in August 1991 inherited literally nothing and had to start building from the scratch, It got a building at the present day state secretariat complex which could not house all the ministries that make up the state civil service.
The Story of the Government House is a saddening one that after 31 years of creation the seat of power in Awka is only but a makeshift one which used to be the camp of the construction company that constructed the Enugu Onitsha Expressway, The Government House is supposed to serve as both the residence and the office of the Governor but up until today the Governor still resides in the judges quarters of the old Anambra State which is on one end of the capital Territory and his office on another end of the Town which will take a drive of more than 10 minutes to get to.
Part of today’s Government House used to be the Administrative and Classroom blocks of the Old Anambra State College of Education which is now Nwafor Orizu College of Education relocated to Nsugbe upon creation of the new Anambra State in 1991, with the college staff quarters situated at the present Commissioners’ quarters.
Rumors have it that the new government house sited close to the Alex Ekwueme Square Awka has been delayed due to certain discrepancies with the private developer, making the structure the property of the private developer due to the Government’s inability to meet with the financial obligations which they termed exorbitant and abandoned the project.
The Government of Prof. Charles Soludo has made it known that it will go into the project of developing a befitting Government House, and has gone ahead to input it into the Revised 2022 Budget which was recently signed into law by the State Government. This has raised some questions from concerned citizens with regards to appropriateness of the project. They argue that the state needed more important at this particular point in time due to its huge infrastructural deficit. Likewise, certain quarters say that it is a shame that after 31 years we don’t have a befitting Government House that whereas other states created at the same time have wonderful edifices that is their seat of power.
Ndi Anambra, The Big Question here is, At 31 is it not time for us to have a Befitting Place we can call a Government House???
1 comment
A new and bifiting Government House is good. But it’s not the need of our people now. How will this affect the life of the masses; one will posite that a bifiting Government House will boost the image of the state amongst the community of States. Be that as it may , it’s not our priority… Consider the following:[1] Upgrade + Develop a Master Plan for the sustainable development of the Awka Capital Territory. The said Master Plan will include everything about Drainage,Roads, Markets that are on CBDs , slums, energy, waste management,etc [2] Public Water Supply should be resurciteted . Why the death of the Anambra State Water Cooperation? Bring it to life. [3] What has happened to the Scholarship Board of the state? There are more that will be done that will impact positively on the masses before going into a new Government House project.