SIR: As an indigene of Anambra State, I watched our Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo deliver his two years’ scorecard at the International Conference Centre Awka, before an audience, comprising South East governors, the crème de la crème of the state’s elite and other dignitaries. I must admit that his speech was well couched and masterfully presented.

But, beyond the razzmatazz of Soludo’s scorecard, there are some explanations he owes Anambra people about his stewardship in the past two years, which were conspicuously missing in the speech. In the course of the delivery of his scorecard, Soludo told Anambra people that he has not received any salary since he assumed office as governor on March 17, 2022. He also said his wife has no official car but uses cars he bought as an ordinary individual before becoming governor.
 
If our dear governor has not been receiving salary for the past two years, his “austere” life notwithstanding, I wonder how he has been surviving all this while, especially this time of economic hardship. Soludo owes the people of Anambra State an explanation on his means of livelihood to forestall any form of speculation. I am aware that he has not publicly declared his assets since he became governor of the state. Even as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Professor of Economics refused to declare his assets publicly.

I am happy that Soludo admitted in his speech that Anambra State has the potential to become a smart mega city. Please, let me add that Anambra is one of the states that has the potential to operate without allocation from the federation account. Its immense commercial and industrial capabilities can yield billions of naira in internally generated revenue.

In the past, revenue from Onitsha alone, paid the salaries of civil servants working under the East Central States, comprising the five South East states as we have them today. Onitsha is the biggest commercial city in the South East and South South regions today. The market is patronised by people from neighbouring West African countries. Nnewi is a commercial and industrial hub. I thank Soludo for patronising the Motor Manufacturing Company in Nnewi. There are big markets scattered across towns in Anambra, such as Awka, Ekwulobia, Nkpor, Obosi and Ogbunike.

The point being made therefore is that paying the salary of the governor should not be a problem for a state like Anambra. If Soludo chose not to receive his salary, it is purely his headache which he shouldn’t have bothered us about during his two years anniversary. We expect to hear from him if Anambra has become the Dubai-Taiwan, which he promised to make it while campaigning for the office of governor.

If it is true that he has completed 240kms of roads (10 kms per month) like he said, we expect him to take local journalists in Anambra on a tour of the roads completed and not just announcing it to the elite, most of whom do not reside in the state. If the local journalists are too common for him, he should invite his friends from Channels and Arise Television, including Seun Okinbaloye, Chamberlain Usoh, Rueben Abati and Rufai Useni and show them the 240 kms of roads he constructed in Anambra State. Soludo should show the people what he has done.

He should know that the governorship election coming up in Anambra State next year is a referendum on his government. I expect our governor, as a professor, to think beyond superficial programmes like his Anambra Silicon Valley, Solution Innovation District, Code Anambra, Solution Wifi, fiber optic network and so on and so forth. If there is the enabling environment, the private sector can take up some of these things.

Before I conclude, I must give credit to our governor for employing 5000 teachers. However, as ambitious as the recruitment may seem, public schools in Anambra are still understaffed and facing inadequate subject teachers. I have heard about principals who are forced to teach some subjects in addition to their administrative work, owing to shortage of teachers. Hence, a lot more needs to be done.
Chekwube Nzomiwu wrote from Awka, Anambra State.