Soludo’s mission to transform Anambra into a first-class state is on course

With the award and the commencement of the dualization of the Agulu-Nnobi-Nnewi-Okija Road and the ongoing construction of the dual carriageway linking Anambra’s capital, Awka, to Imo State, Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s vision to link major cities in Anambra to the capital through dual carriage superhighways is on course.

These ongoing and recently awarded superhighways and the ongoing railway masterplan design by the Canadian infrastructure firm, CPCS, for rail network systems linking Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi are part of Anambra’s comprehensive masterplan for better mobility and freight transport within Anambra State.

In the transportation space, these projects are well-planned investments to: increase the capacity of roadways in the state; improve safety on highways; allow for increased travel speeds; allow for better traffic flow; reduce travel time in the state; enhance comfort while travelling within the state; speed up economic activities; encourage long distance travels and tourism within Anambra State.

The evidence for all these is clear.

Today, property prices have significantly increased in the corridors of the over 350km of brand-new high-quality roadway and over 8,000 km of roadways made motorable in the last 30 months. This does not come as a surprise. In Nigeria, there is a well-established nexus between land prices and the connection of lands to good roads.

Apart from road infrastructure projects in Anambra, the Governor Soludo-led administration is transforming the general infrastructure landscape of Anambra. The following projects are slated to come on board in the coming months: a world class Fun City and amusement park – which can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Disney Parks of this world; an ultra-long span prestressed concrete flyover at Ekwulobia; a flyover linking the two parts of Awka City; a brand-new government house and Lodge Building on a 23 hectares of reclaimed land (with over 30 state-of-the art buildings which will facilitate government operations); a state-of-the-art stadium in Ekwulobia; a massive ICT innovation center and a world class nursing school and diagnostic center. The above-listed projects are exclusive of the urban regeneration works in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and in all other parts of the state. (Fibre optics cables now crisscross major cities in Anambra).

There are other game changing projects about to commence. These are: the brand-new eco-friendly city and business district at the bank of the River Niger (Onitsha 2.0); the new Awka City (Awka 2.0) and the Anambra Mixed Used Industrial City (AMIC), which is about to receive its free trade zone license from NEPZA.

From past records, especially in Nigeria, most infrastructure-focused governments tend not to achieve much in the education and healthcare space because of the concentration of resources in infrastructure. But this is not the case in Anambra. Anambra is investing heavily in healthcare and education. The state is not only aggressively building new schools and hospitals, it has invested heavily in free healthcare and education in public institutions in the state. The Governor Soludo-led administration has also aggressively recruited personnel into Anambra’s education and healthcare institutions. The impact of these public investments can be seen in the recent healthcare and education indices published by the ministries of health and education.

Ideally, states and governments executing these kinds of mega projects borrow a lot of money. So far, Governor Chukwuma Soludo has not borrowed a dime to execute any of these projects. And in the current ranking of states in Nigeria in terms of fiscal responsibility and fiscal performance by the technology focused civic organization, Budgit, Anambra ranks number one and three, respectively.

This ranking by BudgIt explains many things. Scholars from the Fluminense Federal University in Brazil have long established that fiscal transparency has a statistically significant influence on government effectiveness. In a 2020 paper published in Economic Modelling (a high impact journal), fiscal transparency has been shown to impact government’s spending efficiency. Little wonder that in Anambra so much is being achieved with little as Anambra cannot be said to be in the league of states like Lagos in terms of internally generated revenue.

Economic activities are booming in major cities in Anambra because of these investments. Many academics have argued that the relative economic success of Anambra attracts criminals from neighboring states into Anambra but this is being addressed. In terms of security, the Governor Soludo-led administration is working round the clock to make Anambra the safest in the country. The ongoing technology and intelligence focused approach to security in Anambra is yielding results.

Anambra State is indeed lucky to have Governor Soludo at the helm of affairs. Its future is bright with Governor Soludo. There is no doubt that in the next few years, the projects being executed and the planned ones by the Governor Soludo-led administration will significantly increase the GDP of Anambra State.

Nwankwo is the Special Adviser on Special Projects to Soludo.