Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, citing the President’s economic initiatives and structural reforms as the reason for his unwavering loyalty.
Speaking with journalists after a closed-door meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, Soludo described the interaction as “pleasant” and praised the President’s energetic disposition.
“The President is in such high spirits, hale and hearty, and it was such a pleasure to meet with him; it was quite a pleasant meeting,” Soludo said.
Despite belonging to a different political party, the former Central Bank Governor made it clear that personal relationships and national interest take precedence over partisan lines.
“President Tinubu is my friend; he has been my friend for 22 years now and counting, so you don’t deny your friend. I support him, and I’m impressed by the bold steps he has taken, particularly in the areas of the economy, the structural reforms, and I have said so severally times, we’re taking the right steps and we need to stay the course,” he explained.
Soludo further urged all progressive-minded political entities to unite, not only to strengthen democracy but also to fast-track Nigeria’s socio-economic transformation.
On the security situation in Anambra, he revealed that his administration had rolled out a multi-pronged plan anchored on the recently passed Homeland Security Law.
“It involves a holistic approach to the issue of security. If you realise, in January this year, we passed our Homeland Security Law, which is trying to deal with insecurity from the foundations. All the deadly native doctors are on the run from the state, because these are the guys giving false hopes, deceiving our young ones and luring them into criminality,” Soludo said.
According to the governor, the state is employing both kinetic and non-kinetic methods — from intelligence gathering to youth empowerment schemes — to dismantle insecurity.
“Very fundamentally, we’re approaching it very comprehensively, what they call the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches. The kinetic is gone and the usual, but the non-kinetic, especially with what we are dealing with, the youths, the empowerment, the job creation. We have a unique one-year programme where we trained and empowered about 5,000 of them, and another 8,700 will be receiving some billions this month or next month, and we’re creating several 1000s of youth millionaires right away within the first three years,” he revealed.
The governor stressed that these measures extend beyond infrastructure to tackle hardship and create economic opportunities.
“We’re also very intentional about the economic and social empowerment of the youth… those who run foul of the law will be decisively dealt with,” he stated.
okay.ng reports that Soludo’s latest endorsement of Tinubu underscores a growing trend among political leaders to rally behind the President’s reform agenda despite political party differences.
