By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building a prosperous and livable homeland.
Governor Soludo gave the assurance during a statewide broadcast to mark the 34th anniversary of Anambra’s creation, which, for the first time in history, held at the newly-commissioned Anambra Government House (popularly known as the Light House), bringing an end to the 34-year-old jinx of Anambra without a Government House. The statewide broadcast marked the first state anniversary being delivered at the new Government House by Governor Soludo, as well as the last of it to be delivered in his first tenure as a Governor of the state.
The Governor began by acknowledging the historical significance of the day, with a tribute to founding fathers like Navy Captain Joseph Abulu, as well as successive leaders whose contributions laid the foundation for Anambra’s growth. He described the state as a “divine project” and “a bright promise etched into the map of Nigeria,” emphasizing that, despite its modest landmass, Anambra keeps ascending through multi-sectoral transformation.
He said the state, carved out of the old Anambra on August 27, 1991, has every reason to celebrate the resilience of its people and the steady progress recorded despite daunting challenges.
Governor Soludo further emphasized the significance of the newly inaugurated Government House, describing it as a symbol of Anambra’s march into modern governance and a befitting home for the people’s government. He noted that for decades, successive administrations operated from temporary structures, but his government has now given Anambra a permanent seat of power that reflects the dignity and aspirations of its citizens.
The Governor used the occasion to reel out some other milestone achievements of his administration, which, according to him, are already setting the tone for the Anambra of the future envisaged in the Vision 2070 Development Plan. He recalled that upon assuming office in March 2022, his government declared a state of emergency on critical infrastructure and has since embarked on massive road construction, urban renewal, and rural development projects across the 21 local government areas of the state.
Among the projects highlighted were the state-of-the-art Government House, Solution Fun City, numerous kilometers of roads already flagged off, ongoing flyover constructions in key cities including Awka and Ekwulobia, and the accelerated completion of strategic bypasses aimed at decongesting traffic within the capital.
With reference to the ongoing dualization of the Amawbia–Nise–Agulu–Ekwulobia–Uga and other road transformation and dualization across the state, Soludo hinted that the Federal Government may not reimburse the state for money already spent on reconstructing the federal roads in Anambra, but that does not perturb him because the road exists now for Anambra people to use. He further mentioned over 754 kilometres of roads so far contracted, with 462 kilometres already asphalted and completed; bridges, culverts, erosion control projects, and a new rail master plan, drawn in partnership with global consultants CPCS Canada.
Similarly, he noted that Okpoko in Ogbaru Local Government Area (where though he did not sweep votes during election that brought him to power), which used to be Southeast Nigeria’s largest urban slum, is now a ‘New Heaven,’ with roads, water, streetlights, hospitals fully functioning and showing a full urban renaissance performed in barely 3 years. He added Anambra West’s Olumbanasa (previously accessible only by boat) now has roads, a hospital, and a school, even as Awka North received over 40 km of roads; while Awka 2.0 and Onitsha 2.0 new planned city districts (though with new names) are currently in the pipeline.
The Governor stated that Education sits at the top of his social agenda. He disclosed that his administration has sustained free primary and secondary education across public schools, saying that the policy is already driving enrollment higher and lowering out-of-school rates to the last rung in the country, with Anambra students and pupils also winning trophies and laurels all over the world.
On health, he recounted the free antenatal and delivery policy launched and maintained since 2023 across the state, noting that the policy has benefited thousands of people, including people coming from neighbouring states to leverage that. Towards his vision of getting healthcare closer to the people, the Governor highlighted the construction and equipping of general hospitals and primary health centers in different parts of the state, including the Enugwu-Otu Aguleri General Hospital, among others.
He also highlighted the competitive recruitment of over 8,000 teachers, and over 1,000 health workers, bolstered primary care and general hospitals; setting of the minimum wage floor at the same level with the national minimum wage, as well as clearing of backlogs of pension and gratuity owed retired workers in the state.
Governor Soludo said youth empowerment has been pursued as a structured industrial-style programme rather than ad hoc giveaways. He said his administration’s One Youth Two Skills and the latest version of One Youth Two Skills Plus, aims to create “youth millionaires” by training, clustering, supervising and providing seed capital and market access, rather than a single cash handout. He noted that about 5,000 youths have already been empowered under various schemes, with a cohort of roughly 8,000 more nearing graduation and readiness for scale support. While testifying that some beneficiaries of the scheme have returned as young millionaires and also offered to train one thousand new beneficiaries by themselves, the Governor described these initiatives as part of a deliberate strategy to turn youths into job creators, not merely job seekers.
The Governor also testified of the statewide resuscitation of pipe-borne water, as well as rural and urban water schemes across the state, giving citizens unbridled access to clean and potable water, and ending decades of reliance on unsafe sources. He said many of such water schemes and thousands of streetlights have also been solarized across the state, blending modernity with green energy.
On governance reform, Soludo underlined a technology-led agenda and transformation ongoing in the state, including digitization of operations. According to him, the Ministry of Lands, for example, has rolled out ANAMGIS, a geographic information and land-registry platform, to index tens of thousands of land files, deliver secure computer-generated Certificates of Occupancy with QR verification, and reduce the fraud and disputes that have historically fuelled instability and litigation.
Earlier speaking on security, Soludo reported that insecurity was among the gravest challenges his administration inherited, but has been obviously curtailed by his administration.
“When I assumed office, eight local government areas were completely under the control of criminal elements; they were no-go zones,” he said, recalling that even governorship candidates could not campaign freely, as one was abducted and remains missing to this day, while he himself was also attacked. Soludo recalled how he immediately established a brand new security initiative, combining federal security agencies with new state structures to address the insecurity.
“We decided to take the security issue at the foundation level. It’s not just about chasing the criminals; we’re intentional about tackling the problem from the roots,” he said, indicating targets at the criminal native doctors who misled youths.
According to him, over 60 criminal camps have so far been dismantled across the state, as part of the testimonies trailing the passage of the 2025 Homeland Security Law, which led to the formal creation of Agụnechemba and Operation Udo Ga-Achị. While emphasizing that these efforts have restored enduring peace, to the extent that elections could be held safely and seamlessly across previously volatile wards; Governor Soludo also dismissed as irrelevant, unwarranted, and empty political noise, the recent call for the shutting down of the newly-created state local security outfit over the recent encounter between a serving Corps member in the state and some officers of the outfit. He emphasized that the numerous good works of the operatives far outweigh their few errors.
Summarizing the key points in his achievements and how they have benefited the masses, Governor Soludo, who also recently distributed over 2.6 million palm and coconut seedlings to over 180,000 households under his agriculture, further drew distinction between the idiomatic “giving fish and teaching people how to fish.”
“Stomach infrastructure is about ensuring Anambra residents have access to essentials for a dignified life and a path out of poverty,” he asserted.
According to him, deploying public resources for sustained societal value that is grounded in integrity and hard work, delivers more enduring outcomes than distributing short-lived cash disbursements; even as he urged citizens to measure government by these deliverables rather than ephemeral consumption. Judging by Anambra’s fiscal discipline, he explained that what his administration has spent in three years is less than what the state spent in 2013 alone, but yet delivered more benefits to the people. He further hinted that the transformation ongoing in the state has pulled many investors into the state, with many still trooping in.
Ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Governor Soludo, relied on the massive victory and support earned by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to express his confidence that the party and its ideology have sunk deep down well with the people. He also expressed optimism that the party will emerge victorious in the November 8 governorship election in the state, even as he reassured his administration’s commitment to continue delivering dividends of democracy to the people, in the spirit of Leaving No One Behind.
According to him, amidst all these milestones, his administration’s best is yet to come.
