By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Nnewi North State Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr. Paul Ebuka Ileka, has shared his legislative blueprint, showing a seamless focus on key deliverables that align with his expertise in building and construction. As a key stakeholder in the building industry in Anambra State, Dr. Ileka’s legislative blueprint aligns with Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s broad vision of a livable and prosperous homeland. Mr. Ileka’s blueprint specifically aligns with the governor’s agenda on sustainable public infrastructure, as well as compliance with extant regulations for developers and individuals, for collective prosperity in Anambra’s best interest.
With over two decades of experience in building, Dr. Ileka noted that what is missing is a professional chain. “We already build everywhere. What is missing is a complete professional chain – from land permit to materials, to tradesmen, to inspection, that makes a building safe, legal, and still affordable,” Dr. Ileka explained. Regretfully, he observed that in Anambra State, non-professionals still “win jobs because they undercut price.” Furthermore, he observed that there is a systemic issue associated with delays in obtaining full approvals. Yet, there is another challenge associated with the quality of building materials, as well as the quality of artisans, as against cheap labour. To address this, Ileka proposed a “mandatory batch testing on public and multi-storey private jobs, plus patronage of verified local block and steel suppliers so that made in Anambra is a standard, not a slogan.”
However, Dr. Paul Ileka also identified a troubling pattern where, despite the porosity of Anambra’s soil, builders block natural drains, thereby escalating the erosion menace in Anambra State. “In many sites, builders still block natural drains, fill setbacks, and build on waterways. A structure that looks finished but dumps runoff into the next compound is not complete. What is missing is that drainage, setback, and soakaway are treated as part of the building costs and not as an option the owner deletes to save costs,” Dr. Ileka reiterates, bringing to the fore an underlying issue with buildings in Anambra State. This reflects Governor Soludo’s focus on the environment as part of the government’s effort to protect it and control the damage caused by gully erosion.
Commenting on Governor Soludo’s agenda, particularly on law and order, Dr. Ileka noted that “Anambra cannot become a place people stay without physical order,” describing the end to the Monday sit-at-home as “a bold governance choice.” On planning our cities, an idea that has taken full life under Soludo’s administration with ongoing urban regeneration in Nnewi, Onitsha, both earlier in the administration and ongoing, as well as different parts of the state, Dr. Ileka averred that “a government that will not enforce a master plan is not pro-business; it is pro-chaos that will later cost more in floods, collapses and demolitions.”
Speaking on his legislative agenda for Nnewi North at the Anambra State House of Assembly, Dr. Paul Ileka said that when elected, he will work with the governor under the vision of a livable and prosperous homeland. “I would treat the seat as a working partnership with Governor Soludo’s Solution Agenda and as a standing contract with the four quarters of Nnewi…to make Nnewi a proof point, not an afterthought.”
Ahead of the February 2027 House of Assembly Election, Dr. Paul Ebuka Ileka, the APGA candidate for Nnewi North State Constituency, is poised to emerge victorious at the polls in what is shaping up to be the most predictable election victory in Nnewi’s recent House of Assembly history.
About Author
