As Anambra State marks the 34th anniversary of its creation on August 27, 1991, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has called on Ndi Anambra to celebrate not just the state’s journey but also the new chapter of progress and transformation being written today.
In just three years of stewardship, Governor Soludo has ignited unprecedented growth across the state, earning national recognition for his vision and results-driven leadership. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu commissioned landmark projects in Awka earlier this year, he described Governor Soludo as “The Solution, “a fitting tribute to a leader steadily turning Anambra into Nigeria’s “Dubai-Silicon Valley” where enterprise, technology, and human talent converge.
Governor Soludo is fondly called “The Jinx Breaker” for delivering on a 34-year-old dream of the construction of the new Government House mini-city, now known as the Light House, Awka.
Over the years, the state has witnessed how governors write their chapters of history, but Governor Soludo has redefined the story through bold reforms, urban renewal, infrastructure upgrades, and people-first policies that have positively impacted everyday lives.
At the heart of his governance are five pillars: security, infrastructure and economic transformation, human capital and social agenda, governance and values, and environmental sustainability, with laudable impact across the state.
In urban renewal, slums like Okpoko have been transformed into livable towns, roads now connect once-isolated communities, and new flyovers and drainage systems are easing life in the cities. There are road construction projects across the state, connecting various communities that have not seen tarred roads before, like the headquarters of Anambra West Local Government Area, and communities that have been without any since the state’s creation.
The governor’s administration’s urban regeneration projects have transmuted slums into towns and towns into cities, as seen in Anambra West and Ogbaru LGAs, with promises made and kept.
Governor Soludo has also constructed a ‘Solution Fun City,’ considered the largest in Africa, with facilities such as a Family Fun Centre, an Amusement Park, a Water Park, and an International Country Club, which serves the leisure needs of all demographics.
The governor has recruited 8,115 teachers with free education for students, and 22 smart schools have been established with modern learning facilities, while tertiary institutions receive long-overdue revitalisation.
Governor Soludo has also equipped over 60 secondary schools with the required Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) equipment and has provided tablets to teachers to enhance their work.
In healthcare, five new general hospitals have been built, others modernised, and free healthcare now benefits pregnant women, complemented by the introduction of telemedicine.
His administration has enhanced agriculture with farmers empowered with modern tools and opportunities, driving food security and wealth creation for people in agribusiness.
The governor has strengthened the security architecture with the Anambra Homeland Security Law, which birthed the state’s security system, ‘Agunechemba,’ and the Operation Udo Ga-Achi force, backed by modern technology, to complement existing security agencies in combating crime.
As a result of this, many kidnappers have been arrested and their hideouts demolished, after successful raids at Ozubulu, Isiagu, Oba, and Nnewi, among other places.
Impressively, the eight Local Government Areas, namely Aguata, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, Orumba North, Orumba South, and Ogbaru, which were under siege before the advent of Soludo’s government, have been freed.
Youths have been empowered through digital training of the Solution Innovation District (SID), with over 30,000 beneficiaries in the ‘One-Youth-Two-Skill programme, Code Anambra, and the ‘One Million Digital Tribe’, where graduates were rewarded with laptops and employment opportunities.
In Cohort One of the ‘One-Youth-Two-Skill’ programme, 7,163 out of 11,000 trainees excelled in 65 skill areas. Additionally, 235 apprentices from the Local Enterprise Development of 21 Local Government Areas were successful, with over 1,000 millionaires emerging from the graduates, and with Cohort Two already in place.
These strides have earned Governor Soludo multiple awards, including the Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year, 2025, The Sun Governor of the Year, 2024, the Independent Newspaper Governor of the Year 2024 for urban renewal, and the Best-Performing Governor in Primary Healthcare Delivery, 2024, awarded by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dangote Foundation, UNICEF, and the Federal Ministry of Health. As the state marks another milestone, I can not but be proud as Onye Anambra that our state is in the hands of a visionary, Audacious, and transformational leader by the name Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
Ukachukwu Obinna is a policy and development analyst based in Abuja
