By Henry Oduah
Chairman of Anambra Civil Society Network (ACSONet), Chris Azor, has said that Governor Chukwuma Soludo, who led the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2004 to 2009, showed he was prepared for governance, starting with his manifesto.
“Prof Soludo came in with a manifesto called the People’s Manifesto. For us, from that document, which is very comprehensive, he came prepared,” Mr Azor, a development expert, said on Vanguard’s Politics Hub on Thursday ahead of the Anambra governorship election on November 8.
“During his inauguration on the 17th of March 2022, he said he would be assessed through three documents: one is the Vision 2070, which he was the chair of, even before he became governor, under his predecessor. Second is the People’s Manifesto. That is the manifesto he drew up before becoming governor in attempt to show people how he’s going to govern. The third document was the transition committee report. Before he came in as governor they set up a committee for the incoming and outgoing government. That committee was made up of over 150 people, chaired by Madam Oby Ezekwesili, the former minister.”
Azor continued, “Before he came in, he declared a state of emergency on road infrastructure. For him, there are a lot of gaps in that area. In fact, on his first day in office, he went to Ogbogu, one of the popular slums in Anambra, to take off from there in terms of reconstructing Ogbogu and making it a livable environment. He said his mission was to make Anambra State an arrival lounge, not a departure lounge. For him, that was what the situation was before he came.
“In infrastructure, I think he has done quite a lot living up to that dream. He has done a lot in the health sector. He has employed nearly 2,000 health personnel, brought in free antenatal services. You can go to any hospital in Anambra now as a pregnant woman and receive services free of charge. He has employed over 8,000 teachers. Before he came, there was a dearth of teachers especially in the rural areas. He was deliberate about this.
“In youth empowerment, at the final count, he has done over 20,000 empowerments. We call it ‘One youth two skills’. He’s doing a lot with what is called Digital Hub of Anambra State so that young people can key into ICT.”
Azor praised Soludo for his decision not to add to the state’s debt, noting that he is doing much with little.
“There is need for us to invest in agriculture and we have told him that he needs to do more in the area of agriculture,” he said.
The development expert noted that Anambra’s struggle with erosion requires collaboration from various partners.
“Anambra State’s problem with erosion, even from our survey, may be beyond the state government. If you look at the resources that come into the state government’s coffers, it cannot make a dent in erosion. Anambra is actually the erosion capital of Nigeria, if not in Africa. The little land mass we have is eaten up daily by erosion. Whatever the government is doing there, we’re advocating support from development partners, the federal government, to tackle erosion,” he said.
According to Azor, insecurity in Anambra is reflective of insecurity across the country.
“It is a national issue. We must do everything to tackle insecurity,” he said.
Among the causes of insecurity in Anambra, Azor listed poverty, unemployment, bad governance, underemployment, lack of opportunities, deprivation, marginalisation, absence of social protection and agitations.
“The continuous incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu is a major issue too,” he said, urging the Nigerian authorities to “give the South-East a sense of belonging”.
Speaking further, he said: “The reason for voter apathy is that people are disenchanted with the system. They believe the system has no hope and no plans for them, so going to vote is just to put their oppressors there. The idea is to bring the South-East to the table of governance, to make them feel they are Nigerians.”
Azor urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work on restoring its integrity as another way of combating voter apathy.
The ACSONet chairman faulted the ruling of courts that political party matters should be treated as internal affairs outside of jurisdiction, stating that party delegates are among the electorate. According to him, the internal crisis in various political parties will affect the governorship election negatively.
Azor urged the Anambra electorate to exercise their rights by casting their ballots despite the circumstances confronting them.
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