The Traditional Ruler of Nawfia community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, His Royal Highness Igwe Dr. Ogochukwu Daniel Obelle, mni, has described the appointment of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, as a member of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s, GCFR, Economic Advisory Team as a welcome development.
The monarch stated this while briefing journalists in Awka on Tuesday on the state of the nation. He said Soludo, being an economist and a technocrat, will help the present administration address the current socio-economic challenges confronting the country.
Igwe Obelle noted that Governor Soludo has the knowledge, expertise, experience, and skills as a seasoned technocrat to help resolve the problems facing the country. He recalled that Soludo has over the years made remarkable contributions to building the country’s economy.
According to him, in 2003, Prof. Soludo joined the Federal Government with his appointment as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR. In the months that followed, he got an additional responsibility as the Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of the National Planning Commission, initiating the process that birthed the National Bureau of Statistics.
In May 2004, Chief Obasanjo elevated Prof. Soludo to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It was as the CBN governor that Soludo made his most consequential public policy effort – the financial sector reforms, which included a regime of consolidating 89 banks to 25 with a stronger capital base. The Anambra State Governor has been praised for helping to strengthen and institutionalize banking in Nigeria.
“I personally commend the President for constituting the economy advisory team with seasoned technocrats, including our able governor who has been treading that path for years as an economist. I am assuring Nigerians that Soludo, as a strict technocrat who is always objective in his thinking, will proffer solutions to the lingering economic crisis confronting the country at the moment.
Governor Soludo’s story is an eloquent example of resilience, passion, vision, and persistence. The experience Governor Soludo has cannot be bought off the shelf. He is a practical professor and not an academic one. President Tinubu has made the right choice. Kudos to him.
Since Soludo assumed office as the executive governor of Anambra State on March 17th, 2022, the state, in less than two years, has witnessed tremendous changes in all sectors of the state economy, especially in health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and youth empowerment with the ongoing “one youth, two skills” program that has taken thousands of indigenes and non-indigenes residing in the state out of the streets. He is currently embarking on massive road projects across the 21 local government areas of the State.
“The appointment is a testimony that he has remained consistent in his approach to handling economic policies and proactive in implementing them. Governor Soludo over the years has made significant and visible contributions to shaping the global economy through his engagements with international organizations and is presently using his wealth of experience to transform Anambra into a livable and prosperous state in Nigeria.
The Traditional ruler expressed confidence that the team would chart a new course for economic recovery to reduce the high cost of goods and services and save Nigerians from hunger, starvation, and poverty.
The monarch used the interview to appeal to the governor to rehabilitate the only state government road in Nawfia community, the Nawfia bypass that stretches from the old Enugu-Onitsha Road to the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.
