Soludo under fire for claiming Obiano’s projects

Concerned stakeholders in Anambra State and supporters of former Governor Willie Obiano have come hard on the incumbent Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, for attributing legacy projects of the former governor to himself.

A statement by Nkemjika Ezioku, on behalf the stakeholders, knocked Soludo and his supporters for claiming Obiano’s projects, noting that some peripheral maintenance work done by Soludo on already completed projects is not enough to take credit.

According to the statement, the recent commissioning of some projects in the state by Soludo has got a lot of tongues wagging. “Concerned stakeholders are wondering how already commissioned projects by a previous administration could be re-commissioned by a successor. It is, therefore, important to set the record straight for posterity,” it added.

The stakeholders insist that the Anambra Cargo and Passengers Airport Road, which Soludo claimed to have done, was indeed fully completed and commissioned on February 24, 2022.

“On completion, the dual carriageway measured 11.4 kilometres with two bridges across Oyi River and four box culverts. The road’s median was 100 per cent completed and adorned with flowers. Street lights on stainless steel poles were fully installed along with three functional generators.

“The Federal Road Safety Corps ensured that every stretch of the road was marked according to prescribed standards. Three huts were constructed along the road to cater for the security personnel at the checkpoints,” they noted.

To underscore that Soludo carrying out peripheral maintenance work on the already completed project does not give him credit as the executor, they referenced the Niger Bridge, completed and commissioned in 1965 under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, which has been maintained by successive federal governments without confusion as to who delivered it.

A nother case in point they made is the Third Mainland Bridge, a landmark structure built during the regime of Military President Ibrahim Babangida. It bridge has undergone multi-billion-naira repairs under successive administrations, yet the legacy remains rightly attributed to him.

The statement reads, “The claim that the Airport Road was only 99 per cent completed is just a ploy to deny Obiano the credit he deserves for building the road. As far as we are concerned, the road was 100 per cent completed. We are disturbed that this same ploy could be used in denying Obiano credit for initiating and building the Anambra Airport.

“The claim that the road was substandard, which necessitated their intervention, is laughable, because a top-class construction company undertook the job under the close supervision of COREN-certified professionals.”

Another project reportedly misattributed to the present administration is the Otuocha, Umueri and Umuoba Anam water scheme, a critical infrastructure project that was not only completed but also commissioned during Obiano’s administration, which further attracted international support for the Otuocha Regional Water Scheme and the Obizi-Uga Regional Water Scheme.

The Akpokuedike’s supporters maintain that the water facilities were operational and fully functional on the day they were commissioned and remained so until he left office. However, after the handover of power, the facilities were allegedly locked up.

Despite their observations, they commended Soludo for his statesmanlike gesture in naming the airport road ‘Willie Obiano Boulevard’ and hope he extends similar recognition to the International Convention Centre, Awka.

The projects in question were commissioned at the sunset of Akpokuedike’s administration in 2022, putting a lie to their recent purported commissioning.