Over fifty days after the inauguration of his government, Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has not backed down in momentum. According to him, there is no minute to waste, for time is measured if you truly want to succeed.
Governor Soludo’s victory at the polls enjoyed general acceptance as gates of congratulatory messages continue to flood in.
Whilst, since he won the election and later assumed office, notable personalities from within and outside the State continued to send in congratulatory messages and pay courtesy visits through different mediums, it is equally worthy of mention that the number and quality of felicitations to the governor is a pointer to one thing only — that Professor Soludo’s emergence enjoys general acceptance across party lines, religious inclinations and social stratifications.
It is a common saying that if one does not plan, then one has planned to fail. Unlike many bogus manifestos we have seen in Nigeria’s political circle – Professor Soludo painstakingly presented a cost for his plans and a realistic argument on how he intends to achieve them.
It is important for us to be reminded that according to the Soludo plan, he estimates government’s direct investment to be within the neighbourhood of two hundred to two hundred and fifty billion naira per annum. Comparing the estimate with Anambra’s N141.9 billion budget for 2022, it becomes evident that his government needs innovative means to shore up revenue.
Because it has been proven that globally, governments cannot fund infrastructural projects alone, apart from making revenue collection more efficient and being ICT-driven, Soludo proposes other sources of fund for projects – i.e. from Private Pubic Partnership (PPP) models and from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
During his campaign tour last year, Governor Soludo consistently drummed it into the ears of willing listeners, that he was the only candidate that knew where to source for revenue, to effectively develop and actualize his plans for the State.
To secure his ticket, APGA achieved the required spread and won eighteen local government areas of the State. Even when a supplementary election was organized for Ihiala Local Government Area, APGA won, adding one more local government in the kitty to make it nineteen. It lays credence to the truth that Ndi Anambra needed a technocrat without excess luggage; someone whose proven integrity and antecedents are needed to reposition the State.
Furthermore, Governor Soludo’s victory is a demonstration of the absolute confidence of Ndi Anambra in APGA as a party, for enthroning good governance in the State for years now. It also portrays that Ndigbo are people with high intelligence who know what they want and are not ready to compromise their conscience.
After the swearing in ceremony on March 17th, 2022, the onus fell on Governor Soludo and his Deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim to put their plans to work. They have since taken off.
Signs are all over the place that with the general acceptance that Governor Soludo’s emergence enjoys, he will do better than his predecessors as was alluded to by the former governor, Chief Willie Obiano. Clearly, failure is not in his dictionary.
Ndi Anambra, Governor Soludo is making haste, gradually. Which is best; spending your time to sharpen your cutting tools to make the job easier, or using blunt tools, thereby, making the job more strenuous?
Be patient, ndi Anambra, after all, the patient dog eats the fattest bone, they say.
Written by EJIKE ABANA
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