Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has commemorated two years of his administration in an anniversary held at the International Convention Center in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.
The governor revealed he has refrained from drawing a salary from the state since assuming office as governor.
To further demonstrate frugality in administering the state finances, Soludo also disclosed that his wife, as the First Lady, does not have an official vehicle, opting instead to drive her cars. He said his administration’s dedication to fiscal prudence meant he had to curtail expenses and cut wastages and even avoided borrowing over the past two years.
“We have chosen deliberately not to borrow,” Soludo asserted, stressing his administration’s resolve to achieve more with fewer resources. “As I speak to you, I am not taking any salary,” he reiterated..
“Any governor that comes floods you with offers for borrowing and so on and so forth, but we decided for the first two years to demonstrate something, the capacity to do more with less.
“And so far as has been said, for two years, despite receiving about 25% in real terms or in dollar terms of what was in the past, we have chosen deliberately not to borrow.
“I have been asked severally; ‘how do you do without borrowing and with the difficult circumstances?’ And my answer is that we are doing so because we are executing the most austere measure of government ever.
“As I speak to you, I am not taking any salary, I am not paid any salary by Anambra State government. Even the First Lady of Anambra doesn’t have any official car, she still drives my vehicles,” Soludo said.
Furthermore, Soludo outlined his administration’s focus on redirecting resources towards essential priorities such as addressing long-standing neglect in vital sectors like healthcare, infrastructure, and education. He reassured Anambraians of his unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability, vowing to account for every kobo (Nigeria’s unit of coin currency) entrusted to his care.
The celebration of Soludo’s two-year in office was marked by a Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving, officiated by Most Rev. Jonas-Benson Okoye, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, and Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Awka.
The event served as a moment of reflection and assessment of the achievements and plans of Soludo and his government.
Dignitaries flocked the event, including his Abia State counterpart, Alex Otti, former Commonwealth Secretary General, Emeka Anyaoku, the Obi of Onitsha Igwe Alfred Achebe, former governors, and captains of industries including the Chief Executive of Innoson Motors – Nigeria’s first indigenous full car manufacturing company, Chief Innocent Chukwuma.
Soludo came to office in 2022, after a tumultuous election in November 2021 and is constitutionally due for a 2nd term bid in 2026.
He came promising to turn Anambra State into a “livable megacity”, but his critics say most of his achievements so far lay in preparing feasibility studies and plans.
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