Former President Olusegun Obasanjo considers his appointments of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela as Finance Minister and Professor Chukwuma Soludo as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor were among the best he made during his presidency.
Obasanjo, who was Nigeria’s two-time democratically elected civilian President from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007, had earlier been at the country’s helms as military Head of State from 1976 to October 1, 1979.
Reminiscing on his administration as civilian President, Obasanjo claimed that individuals with “Igbophobia” allegedly accused him of possibly destroying the country because of his selection of two technocrats of Igbo extraction.
His faith in the duo was, however, not a misplaced one, because, as he pointed out, they oversaw what he described as the country’s best economic era.
Speaking on Saturday at Soludo’s first year anniversary town hall gathering as Governor of Anambra in Awka, the state capital, South-East Nigeria, Obasanjo praised Soludo’s performance as CBN Governor.
He blamed Nigeria’s current dire economic situation on the apex bank’s incapacity to act as a development bank.
Commending Soludo’s one-year stewardship account at the helms in Anambra, Obasanjo added that he had no doubts about the Anambra Governor’s ability to deliver great performance in the position.
Soludo, according to the elder statesman, is a man with a deep love for Anambra who chose to run for governor over national and international positions.
He urged Soludo to maintain his agricultural efforts and aim towards making Anambra the centre of palm and cassava production in Nigeria.
Equally, Obasanjo urged the people of Anambra to continue to support Soludo in order for him to carry out the state’s noble policies.
Soludo stated in his presentation that he was considering the concerns of certain teachers who were laid off during the early days of his administration in 2022.
He stated that this was in addition to the 5,000 instructors previously employed by his government to put an end to the era of teacherless schools.
The Governor stated that human resources remained Anambra’s best resource and that nothing would be left undone to reform the state’s education system for the requisite yield of high human capital.
He explained that Anambra’s infrastructure transition was on track, with about 260 kilometres of roads graded across the state and in various phases of construction.
Soludo revealed that huge tracts land had been procured in various locations across Anambra for the establishment of industrial hubs to cater for, among others, the pharmaceutical products sector and an export emporium.
Also speaking at the event, which attracted huge attendance of personalities from far and near, the Chairman of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Elders Forum, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, in his introductory remarks, decried “unwarranted attacks on Igbo,” particularly in Lagos, South-West Nigeria.
Iwuanyanwu declared that being genuine Nigerians with full citizenship rights, the Igbo would not take a quit notice from anyone.
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