Soludo: His Politics and Strides in Anambra

David-Chyddy Eleke, in this piece, looks at Governor Chukwuma of Anambra State, his style of politics and how his people see him as he clocked 66 recently.

On February 25, 2021 while still contesting to be governor of Anambra State for his first term, Professor Chukwuma Soludo assembled journalists at his campaign headquarters along Enugu-Onitsha Expressway in Awka, almost opposite the former Anambra State Government House, where he spoke about his vision for the state. What particularly stuck for this reporter was when the former Central Bank Governor after espousing on his agenda for Anambra people stated that: “For me, I have seen it all. I have been a university lecturer and rose to be a professor, I have been a presidential adviser, I have consulted for so many financial institutions, and become governor of the nation’s apex bank, and now I want to come back home and work for my people. At 61, I’m still strong and do not have any health issues. I don’t take this for granted and I know that it is not by mistake that God created me an Anambra man. I want to work for my people, that is why I’m contesting to be governor of my state.”

In his over four years as governor of Anambra State, Soludo has constantly demonstrated that he is healthy both in body and mind, and has remained fit for the work entrusted onto him by the people of Anambra.

On Tuesday, 28 July, 2026, Soludo marked his 66th birthday. Even though he was in far away United Kingdom, the governor chose to celebrate in a special way. Not by throwing a party or going for any church thanksgiving service, but retreating into a gym house, where he spent all day keeping fit with several aerobic moves. He posted photos and videos of himself while working out with the tag: “This was how I chose to celebrate my day—with exercise, reflection, and gratitude, giving thanks to God for the gift of life, family, friends, and the beauty of the world around me.”

Tending Anambra for four and half years, the Isuofia-born professor of Economics has been building brick by brick every sector of the state’s economy from fiscal management, infrastructure development, security, education, healthcare, investment promotion, transparency, accountability, environmental management, innovation, and the overall impact of government policies on the lives of citizens. He has  also maintained an admirable fiscal discipline, also deconstructing seemingly established myths about politics, governance and the state.

While Soludo prides himself as having built the most roads in Anambra State, he insists it is not just about the number but the quality of roads. He has also taken urban regeneration to a new level and opened up most communities into semi-urban centres. His road projects crisscrossing communities in the state have made some previously inaccessible locations easy to access.

For a governor that came into power when insecurity was at its peak in the state, one cannot but count Soludo’s achievements begining with his strides in security, which has not only recovered about eight local government areas that were previously under the control of criminal elements who masqueraded as separatist agitators, but has kept the state stable. Today, through a newly promulgated laws; the Anambra Homeland Security Law, the state has charted its own path about how to secure the state, while also spelling out stiff sanctions for wrongdoings.

To ensure that the malaise of insecurity was tackled from the root, the law was followed by the creation of Agunechemba Security Outfit, followed by the launch of a military operation codenamed; Operation Udogachi, which consists of both orthodox and unorthodox security operatives, and not just after criminals but it’s enablers. Today, the code name; Oso Soludo, which means the Soludo race is used to refer to the fight against native doctors, fake pastors, juju priests, drug traffickers whose trade enable criminals. Today, while many native doctors and pastors are undergoing trial, many have been sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment.

One unique thing about Soludo and his journey in Anambra is his firmness. This may not attract him many friends and admirers but rather chase them away from him, but remaining his very uncompromising self. Soludo has never seen any reason to acquiesce in certain matters, rather he stands by it and refuses to backdown.

To him, governing Anambra the populist way can garner him all the admirers he may ever think of, but what is most important is leaving behind an Anambra that would have already been set on the path of progress, long after the man who charted the part has long gone. No wonder his idea of development is futuristic.

Being the chairman of the Anambra Vision 2070, a 50-year strategic development plan designed to transform Anambra State into a socially secure, prosperous, and globally competitive destination, Soludo is not looking at how Anambra is today, but how it will be in the future. Quoting from the Anambra Vision 2070 plan document which had marshalled out the state’s development plan for the next 50 years, Soludo believes that at the rate Anambra is growing, the state may be a one city state in decades to come, and that certain infrastructure that are needed to complement the rising growth in population in the next 50 years may be in short supply if areas are not marked and designated for them now.

He insists that if Anambra’s major roads are not dualized today, it may be hard to do so when most communities would have all been built up. In the same vein, Soludo is today building a new airport, the second in the state, a project that has received harsh criticisms. But Soludo is not one to backdown on what he believes in, and not even the snide remarks about his government lacking emotional intelligence has cajoled him into rescinding his decisions.

In the same vein, in politics, he believes that there is need for Anambra and the entire Igboland to build a synergy with other parts of the country, without making the mistake of putting their eggs in one basket. He has himself demonstrated this well enough by steering his party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) where he is the national leader to form an alliance with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the federal level, a move that has secured his party some of the juicy appointments at the federal level.

As Soludo continues his journey in Anambra State, it is not in doubt that he has a clear cut vision of where he is leading the state, and with over three years remaining for him to hand over the affairs of the state to someone else, the task ahead of him may not just be to grow the state and set her on the right path, but to ensure he grooms a successor who will not turn back the hand of time when he leaves, but share his vision in continuing in the trajectory of development that is already on ground.

Anambra operates rotational governorshsip and many believe Soludo can start early in searching for someone from the favoured zone who shares his beliefs, who he can groom for power.