One-Year Anniversary: Allow Soludo to Run His Tenure
The incumbent governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has just clocked one year in office. He was overwhelmingly elected governor to succeed his predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano, who ran his two tenures and handed over to Soludo.
Without any iota of doubt, Soludo is not a stranger in Nigeria, having attained one of the most sensitive positions as the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank and come out without any blemishes.
As a professor in his chosen field of study, he worked with international organisations like the World Bank and its affiliates and gave a good account of himself.
The recent attacks on the governor over issues of administrative error or political comments need not cause needless tension in the state.
Governor Soludo is only one year in office and going by the contracts already approved for infrastructural development over the past one year, we think he means business.
It is true that Anambra is in a haste to develop infrastructure owing to rapid economic growth, but the governor deserves the benefit of the doubt and time to get into gear.
We note Governor Soludo’s recruitment of 5,000 school teachers, health workers and many others who joined the service owing to his determination for human capital development and to get the youth employed in government service as well as to improve the standard of education.
Soludo has reduced substantially the menace of louts and criminals in the state. Much of the tax money generated and frittered away by louts and hoodlums now gets to government coffers and is used for meaningful government engagements.
There is no need piling pressure on the governor to over-speed his limit with all kinds of allegations, which are mostly unfounded. The governor takes credit for the provision of a peaceful atmosphere during the presidential, National Assembly and state houses of assembly elections compared to what happened in other parts of the country.
In recent times, Governor Soludo has initiated the Solution Innovative District (SID) for the training of over 20,000 youth in ICT skills and the like.
We frown at the unprovoked hate speeches against people in authority in order to create tension and confusion in the polity. Many of these come from unverified stories posted on social media.
On this one-year anniversary, Governor Chukwuma Soludo should reflect on his journey so far and take necessary steps to remedy what needs to be remedied and face the challenges of developing the state to make a name for himself, the state and posterity in general.
Anambrarians should therefore allow Governor Soludo to perform and serve out his tenure. We congratulate him on his first anniversary as the executive governor of Anambra State.