By Elizabeth Chukwuma
Chukwuma Charles Soludo, a Professor of Economics and former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, during the Administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, and now governor of the south east state of Anambra on the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, appears to have declared war, on Peter Obi, a former governor of the state and Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, for the February 25, 2023, Presidential election.
Prof. Soludo, whom Peter Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate,had described as his senior brother, may have initiated the war, when he lamented that contrary to Obi, the former Anabra’s claims, that left behind multi –billion investment in the state which had continued to employ thousands of indigines of the state, Soludo, wo could not hide his feelings may have told the LP, Flag bearer to stop boasting. The Prof. of Economics may have taken Obi, the former governor of Anambra state to the cleaners when he disclosed that the alleged Investments ‘’were worth next to nothing’’. The former CBN, governor may have drawn Obi, out to speak out when he said that he was not ‘’aware of any investments by his Predecessors’’. He may not have alluded to Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate alone but to Chris Nigige, minister of Labour and Employment, as well.
He may have played into the hands of Obi and Senator Datti Ahmed, the LP, Vice Presidential Candidate, for the 2023, general elections when he hit at the later’s Presidential ambition. Prof. Soludo, had said that the former Anambra state governor ‘’cannot win the country’s 2023 , Presidential election’’, noting that he is only ‘’playing a game’’.
Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate, ho will not take it from , Soludo, the former CBN, governor, to rubbish his Administration, may have hit back at him asking him ‘’to do his best in the state as an economics professor’’.The LP, Presidential CCandidate, may have taken advantage of the 2022 Lagos Bussiness School, LBS, Alumni Conference in Lagos, the nation’s C ommercial nerve centre to speak out.
Obi, who was careful with his choice of words to use on prof. Soludo, the incumbent nambra governor state governor to avoid giving his political enemies room to turn Anamra into a political war zone, had told those that cares to listen that he emains ‘’prayerful for him, to do those things which he could not do while in office like roofing the schools that we left undone . Hear him: God has given the opportunity to do it and succeed’’ as a professor of Economics.
He may have mockery of Prof. Soludo, when he said that as a trader, he was able to do that much in Anambra, like establishing the N3.5 billion International Breweries that is still employing directly and indirectly thousands of Anambrarians, which shares at the stock market sold for N50.00 while he was still in office but has dropped to N5.00 per share, bear eloquent testimony that the Professor of economics , who is ‘’more intelligent than him a trader, still have a lot of work to do to equate his records in the state.
He may have sent a message to Prof. Soludo that ‘’When you spread ‘spread your investment some will go up while some will go down’’. He may have alluded to the fact that International breweries, established by his government is still there, stressing that ‘’the Company is still well, it is still a global chain and everything to the state’’.
Obi, who could beat his chest that he left office in 2014, without owing any contractor or supplier, who had executed their job, citing the examples of Innonson Motors and Zinos Computers.
Notwithstanding the former Anambra state governor claims of making multi-billion investments in the state, he had said that he also left office with the savings of N75 billion and additional savings of $50 million each in Access, Diamond, which had merged with Access Bank, at the instance of the CN, in 2019, and Fidelity, alleged linked to him, with an interest rate of 6.5%.Obi, who described himself as a trader, who had ruled Anambra , to thrown a challenge to a pro. Soludo, to apply his knowledge of Economics to turn the state around instead of trying to rubbish what his Administration had done while in office to frustrate his Presidential ambition.
Pro. Soudo, had described as laughable that he is envious of The LP, Presidential Candidate, when he had made an offer to him in 2022, during the Emeka Ayaoku Lecture at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, to return to APGA , and contest as its Presidential Candidate for the 2023, general elections.
Many believe that Prof.Soludo. the incumbent Anambra state governor has Presidential ambition in 2027, general elections and that is why he is doing everything within his powers to sabotage Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate to support Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, or Aswaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and Flag bearer of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, to pave the way for his 7-27, Presidentia ambition. He may have reechoed what Obi had said that they are brothers. ‘’Let me state that Peter Obi and I are not just friends, we call ourselves brothers but we have our political differences’’.
In apparent response to Obi’s recent emotional outburst against him, prof. Soludo, may have said the worst about OObi, when he said that ‘’government exists to save lives not to save money’’. He that cited his superlative performance at the CBN, stressing that built the nation’s reserves from $10 billion to $63 billion and even after paying $12 billion to pay-off Nigerian’s external debt and going through unpredicated global financial crisis, he still left $45 billion and Obi is making noise of saving $50 million each in Access, Diamond and Fidelity Banks for the state , when he left office in 2014.
He may have hit Obi harder as a none performer when he alluded to the reported of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, poverty level in Anambra that it actually grew from less than 25% in 2020 and about 53% under Obi in between 2010 and 2011 but fell under Willie Obiano, the immediate pat governor of the state to 14.8% in 2020. He was emphatic that ‘’poverty in the state more than doubled under Obi, as governor of the state’’.
