Anambra State under Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has emerged the best among the Southern States in fiscal performance according to the 2024 State of States Report in Fiscal Performance Ranking of Budget.
The feat was attained due to the sterling performance of Governor Soludo, who has attained numerous achievements in his short time in office, with avalanche of projects that clinched him accolades and popularity among the citizens, who sees the governor as “The Solution,” and “the “Jinx Breaker.”
In the states’ ranking, Cross River and Kwara broke into the top 5, joining Rivers, Lagos and Anambra, while Ebonyi and Kaduna, which featured in the Top 5 in 2023, dropped off the list. At the bottom, Jigawa replaced Zamfara.
This recognition stems from Governor Soludo’s incredible leadership and governance which has led to infrastructure and transformation in vital sectors of the state’s economy including security, by reducing crime through strategic interventions through the state’s security system called Agunechemba and technology-driven policing, as well as the Operation Udo Ga-Achi operatives; in infrastructure with massive road construction and urban renewal projects across the state; and education, by overhauling the public school system, implementing free education policy and recruiting 8,115 teachers.
Governor Soludo’s transformation drive is also evident in the health sector, by building five new general hospitals, upgrading others, hiring new doctors and nurses, and granting free antenatal services to women; and in the area of economic growth by attracting investments, industrialisation, agriculture, and empowering youths through digital training for human capital development, among others.
These achievements earned the governor the Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year Award for good governance, on Friday, 11th April 2025, The Sun Newspaper ‘Governor of the Year 2024’ for his laudable achievements, and the Independent Newspaper ‘Governor of the Year 2024’ Award for his urban renewal initiatives.
Governor Soludo has also emerged as the best-performing governor in primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria in 2024, the best in the Southeast region, and the best overall nationally. The award was presented to him by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the United Nations Children and Education Fund (UNICEF), among other laurels.
