No Apology For Backing Tinubu — Soludo
The Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, on Tuesday, declared he has no regrets endorsing President Bola Tinubu and affirmed that their friendship spans over two decades.
Speaking to State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Soludo described the president as being in “such high spirits, hale and hearty” and said it was “such a pleasure to meet with him”.
When asked why he’s openly backing President Tinubu’s second term despite belonging to different political parties, Soludo replied, “Well, you know, 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, and 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 the economic and social development of our country.
“So for me, I see progressives working together… I mean, I don’t have any apologies about it. President Tinubu is my friend. Has been my friend for 22 years now and counting, so you don’t deny your friend. I began to be quivering about who he is. 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 and the structural reforms, and I have said so several times; we’re taking the right steps, and we need to stay the course.”
On efforts to tackle insecurity in Anambra, the governor said his administration is implementing a holistic strategy by combining both kinetic and non-kinetic measures.
“Well, that’s a short question with a long answer if I have to tell you all the details about what we have done, but it involves a holistic approach to the issue of security. If you realise, in January this year, we passed our Homeland Security Law, which is 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 and so on and deceiving our young ones and luring them into criminality and all of that.
“But very fundamentally, we’re approaching it very comprehensively, what they call the kinetic. And non-kinetic approaches. The Kinetic is gone and the usual, but the non-kinetic, especially with what we are dealing with, the youths, the empowerment, the job creation – we have a unique programme one year through skills that is like no other, where we trained and empowered about 5000 of them, and another 8700 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.
“This is cascading all over the state. The youths are very much involved, and we’re also dealing with the issue of hardship, beyond the massive infrastructural transformation, beyond fixing our schools, fixing our health and so on and so forth, we’re also very intentional about economic and social empowerment of the youth. So we’re doing quite a lot; the kinetic intelligence gathering and those who run afoul of the law, definitely, will be decisively dealt with.”
Although details of their discussions were not disclosed, it is believed to be connected with the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State scheduled for November 8, 2025, where Soludo is seeking re-election.
During the visit, the governor was spotted wearing a cap emblazoned with President Tinubu’s signature infinity logo in a show of support for the president, who is most likely to seek another term in office.
No Apology For Backing Tinubu — Soludo is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
