The Highs and Lows of Charles Soludo's One Year in Office as Anambra State Governor

The Governor of Anambra state, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, 62 years old, also known as Cee Cee Soludo is an award-winning Professor of economics, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, husband, and father to 6 children. He was sworn in on Thursday 17th of March 2022 and we look at his achievements in the state so far. 

Anambra state also known as the "Light of the nation" have had its share of political instability, security challenges, and economic degradation, all these and many more the Chukwuma Soludo's administration promised to fix if elected for the number one position in the state.

Cee Cee Soludo during his campaign under the flagship of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) promised to implement policies that would transform  Anambra state into an economic powerhouse within four years of his administration.

Some of his key proposals are:

• Investment in security apparatus. Soludo who lost his Mother and Brother to the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 believes the state has had enough violence and insecurity to last a lifetime and it is time to prioritize the safety of residents and investors
• Improving the quality of the roads and restructuring critical infrastructural deficits currently affecting the state
• He also promised to revolutionize the currently fumbling education system, invest in schools and construct a world-class university.
• An additional promise of his, was to facilitate access to quality healthcare by investing in the dying healthcare system of the state

Though his economic development vision for Anambra state looks good on paper, it has been met with mixed reactions, and one year on, what has the administration achieved?

When Professor Soludo was given the reins in Anambra state, a lot of optimism arose about the success of his administration, and many Anambra residents believed he could achieve all his promises if he remained focused on the issues at hand. 

To the dismay of everyone, he started his administration stepping on toes most especially with his outright political attack on his fellow Anambra indigene, two-time governor of the state, and presidential aspirant Peter Obi by faulting his presidential ambition and casting doubts on his political resume.

This was a very low period during his one-year-old tenure as his article "History beckons and I will not be silent" (Part 1) was a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people both in and out of the state, casting a shadow of doubt and trust on his administration.

His first in-office anniversary was more of a celebration than a performance review and most of the challenges he met on the ground are still a dream away from permanent solutions.

His attempt to reduce insecurity in the state, the Soludo's administration is still miles behind in containing attacks by "unknown gunmen" in his state. 

He has also on several occasions pleaded with the federal government to release Nnamdi Kanu the political activist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to him, to enable peace in the state due to continuous pressure from the group, his attempts so far have been futile.

At the anniversary, was graced by the presence of public figures including Peter Obi himself to celebrate Soludo and hopefully to put aside their differences and work together to see Anambra state recover from its economic ruins

There is still time for the dream of a happy Anambra proposed by the Governor to be achieved and secure a second tenure in office, until then, his achievements so far are still below par for the former chairman of the board of directors of the apex bank of Nigeria.