Professor Chukwuma Soludo and his deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, have been sworn in as the sixth governor and deputy governor of Anambra State respectively, in a ceremony held at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, on Tuesday morning.
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The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Onochie Anyachebelu, administered the oaths of office and allegiance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to both men at about 11:15 am. Both were accompanied by their wives and family members.
The inauguration was attended by a parade of Nigeria’s most prominent political figures, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, the Ooni of Ife Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and the deputy governors of Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, and Imo states.
In a sweeping inaugural address that touched on Igbo identity, national politics, security, and his vision for the next four years, Soludo declared that Igboland needs healing, with a new language, a new narrative, and a different approach.
The governor, a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, made a passionate case for the South-East to abandon armed struggle and confrontational politics in favour of strategic engagement with the rest of Nigeria through coalition building and the power of the ballot box.
“Armed struggle in our context is self-annihilating. We must, without apologies, state that never again will we turn the gun on ourselves in the name of agitation,” Soludo declared, drawing from the painful lessons of the civil war and recent events in the region.
He called for what he described as a day of justice and healing for Igboland — justice for all victims of acts of commission and omission, and healing of the land, with eternal lessons to teach future generations.
Soludo urged the Igbo nation to stop lamenting marginalization and instead maximize the benefits available within Nigeria’s democratic system through organized political action and strategic voting.
“In a democracy, no one gets what they deserve. You get what you bargain for — with your votes. One obvious way for us to matter and be taken seriously is the strength of our organisation and votes. I pray that Ndigbo will never waste their votes again,” the governor stated.
He reminded the gathering that with an estimated 11.6 million Igbos living in the North and over seven million in Lagos State, and over 70 per cent of Igbo non-land assets scattered across Nigeria and the world, the South-East needs Nigeria just as Nigeria needs the region.
Soludo called on the Igbo nation to reinvent the past glories of leaders like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. M.I. Okpara, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, and Dr. Ukpabi Asika, urging an end to what he described as endless lamentations.
The governor called on the South-East to organize and lobby the rest of Nigeria to fulfil the nation’s promise to the region for massive reconstruction after the civil war. He proposed a deliberate agenda akin to the United States Marshall Plan for Europe after the Second World War, or at least a principle of equality of zones in federal infrastructure distribution covering national highways, gas pipelines, rail lines, and river and seaports.
He said this, combined with good governance by South-East governors and the resilience and enterprise of the people, would enable the region to soar once again as an axis of opportunity and prosperity, describing it as the sustainable response to cries of marginalization.
Soludo hailed President Bola Tinubu as a cerebral, courageous, and patriotic Nigerian, describing him as a leader the South-East should trust to make a major difference for both Nigeria and the region.
He thanked the President for ongoing federal projects in the South-East, particularly the Enugu-Onitsha expressway and the adjunct to the Second Niger Bridge. He disclosed that during President Tinubu’s state visit to Anambra on May 8, 2025, he had requested the inclusion of Anambra and the South-East in the national gas and rail master plans as well as the dredging of the River Niger to make the Onitsha River port operational, and that the President approved.
On security, Soludo declared that the debilitating Monday sit-at-home, which had paralysed economic and social life across the South-East for years as a protest against the detention of pro-Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu, is now a thing of the past in Anambra State.
“I’m sure many of you flew into Anambra yesterday, being Monday. Previously, it was not possible,” the governor told the gathering, pointing to the attendance of dignitaries who arrived on a Monday as proof of the transformation.
He cited several security milestones, including the destruction of 62 criminal camps, the liberation of eight local government areas that had previously been under total siege, and what he described as the best Christmas season in decades in December, with mass return of indigenes and over 10,000 visitors per day to the Solution City through January 10.
Soludo addressed what he described as a dangerous new phenomenon — a fast-growing philosophy among youths that promised and celebrated wealth without work, with serious implications for criminality.
He said enforcement of the Homeland Security Law 2025 had driven hundreds of dangerous native doctors out of the state, noting that the poster boy of the phenomenon, a native doctor known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a jail term, with his massive shrine destroyed.
“We are on a very serious crusade for ethical and cultural rebirth, going back to the roots of what made us great and unstoppable — values of enterprise and integrity, Akuluouno. That way, we can rescue our youth and secure the future away from drugs, cultism, magic, and criminality,” the governor declared.
Soludo pledged that he and his deputy would dedicate themselves to making the people of Anambra proud over the next four years. He described the mission as personal, saying he was driven to build a state where he would proudly retire, where his children and grandchildren would thrive, and where every Anambra indigene could proudly call home.
“Anambra is back and rising — stronger and bolder! And at the end of the next four years, there will be no doubt: the foundations to a Livable and Prosperous Smart Mega City will be solid,” the governor declared.
He called on the Anambra diaspora, including those in Lagos and Abuja, to contribute to the development of the state, and commended Anambra billionaires who are already transforming their communities through the state’s public-private-community partnership framework.
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