As the November 8th gubernatorial election in Anambra State draws near, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, who is well known for his incredible leadership and transformational drive, recounts his numerous achievements and the support from the people for a second term on a Channels TV One-on-One programme held on Sunday.
The governor highlighted his administration’s achievements in infrastructural advancement, education, health, economic development, agriculture, security, and youth empowerment through innovative training schemes, among others, all aimed at turning the state into a destination and not a departure lounge.
Towns and cities in the state have been regenerated, starting with the Okpoko slum in Onitsha suburb, which he visited on the second day of resumption, and between then and now, has been turned into a haven, complete with asphalted roads, a general hospital, streetlights, pipe-borne and other amenities.
The governor’s Homeland Security Law which birthed the state security system, ‘Agunechemba,’ to complement the existing security agencies, and the ‘Operation Udo Ga-Achi’ force (Meaning Peace Shall Reign) has curtailed criminality in Anambra, with the liberation of communities, as in Ihiala which used to be a den of criminals, with electoral process hampered through violent actions.
“On Wednesday, we had a celebration, a massive rally in Ihiala, and the Reverend Fathers who were there testified that the communities that were on the run are back, the churches are back, and that is a case study of what has happened in security, and Anambra is adjudged as one of the safest states in Nigeria,” Governor Soludo explained.
“We deployed kinetic and non-kinetic approaches and have declared amnesty programs and thousands of the criminals have surrendered,” the governor added.
Among other interventions, the eight Local Government Areas, namely Aguata, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, Orumba North, Orumba South, and Ogbaru, which were under siege before the advent of Governor Soludo’s government, have also been freed by the security network.
“We cannot be transforming Anambra and be inhabiting criminals, and we are chasing them out,” Governor Soludo affirmed.
Given that, Soludo remarked that his government promised empowerment of the youths and this has been attained through digital training schemes, such as the One-Youth-Two-Skills Plus where over 8,300 beneficiaries have received grants. “Over 5,000 people now see themselves as young millionaires and even employing others. Indeed, we are creating future millionaires out of our youths,” Governor Soludo stated.
According to Soludo, over 30,000 youths in Anambra have gone through digital training, with empowerment, through the Igbo apprenticeship culture.
On infrastructure and economic transformation, the governor, said “When you talk about 1,000 kilometres of road, that is one being constructed with 700 of them being completed, with a quality that the state has not seen before, with dualisation of major highways, federal roads, flyovers and bridges that has not been seen before in the state, and that is about a thousand of new constructions. But if you include the rehabilitation of zero pothole programme of over 700 kilometers, then you will be getting close to 2,000 of them being made motorable.”
The governor stated that a new industrial city is in the making, with more than 30 kilometers of powerline to the place, and thousands of jobs in the state, with the improvement in security in the state.
Governor Soludo is building fundamental foundations for the future in the area of human capital development, with free education from kindergarten to primary and secondary public schools. “Our public education was abandoned for over three decades, and they were just the wretched of the earth, if you like. Now, our public education is not only back, but with 8,115 new teachers being employed, and schools transformed into smart schools, and winning awards nationally, such as the overall public school in Nigeria. And what is good for the Anambra child is to be taught by the best teacher in the world.”
On his re-election campaigns, Governor Soludo asserted that the people have taken over the rallies and are donating money for them. “They are funding it, organizing it with their own money, and donating funds to us, in millions of naira, and most of them, as a thank you, solidarity support for the infrastructure in their areas.
