Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo has praised President Bola Tinubu for his decisive leadership in driving Nigeria’s economic and structural reforms, emphasising the need for the country to maintain its current trajectory.
Soludo made the remarks on Tuesday after a meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, describing the encounter as “a pleasant meeting.”
“The President is in such a high spirit, hale and hearty, and it was such a pleasure to meet with him. It was quite a pleasant meeting,” Soludo told State House correspondents.
The governor also addressed questions about his public endorsement of President Tinubu despite belonging to a different political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
On why he openly supports a President from another party, Soludo cited a long-standing personal relationship with Tinubu dating back 22 years.
“These caps were produced even from the time the President visited Anambra State and you saw all the billboards and all the stuff proclaiming that progressives are working together. Subsequently, it’s a fundamental idea that I believe very strongly — that all the political parties who profess progressivism should actually come out together in a massive coalition to deepen the process, not only of our democracy, but also of economic and social development of our country.”
He reiterated his unwavering support for Tinubu.
“When I say progressives working together, it’s a call for all those who talk about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu — I mean, I don’t have any apologies about it. President Tinubu is my friend, has been my friend 22 years now and counting, so you don’t deny your friend or begin to be quivering about who is he. He is my 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 — we’re taking the right steps and we need to stay the course.”
On Anambra’s security challenges, Soludo outlined a holistic approach his administration adopted following the passage of the state’s Homeland Security Law earlier this year.
“It’s 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 hope, deceiving our young ones and luring them into criminality,” he said.
The governor highlighted a combination of kinetic (armed operations) and non-kinetic (youth empowerment) strategies to combat insecurity.
“We have a unique programme — one year through skills — that is like no other, 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 thousands of youth millionaires right away within the first three years.”
He added that the initiative is rapidly expanding across the state with strong youth participation, alongside ongoing infrastructural improvements in schools and healthcare.
“We’re very intentional about economic and social empowerment of the youth. So we’re doing quite a whole lot the kinetic, the intelligence gathering and those who run foul of the law definitely will be decisively dealt with.”
PIAK