Anambra State Governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo said the state won the award of National Champion in the area of Primary Healthcare because of the deliberate and strategic steps his government took to improve health service delivery in the state, especially at the grassroots.
Soludo disclosed this during a media chat on Monday evening to mark his third year in office as the governor of Anambra state. The chat was anchored in Awka by Dr. Reuben Abati of Arise TV, Mr. Kolade Otitoju of TVC, Mrs. Mauope Ogun-Yusuf of Channels TV, and Mr. Chris Molokwu of Anambra Broadcasting Service, ABS.
The governor noted that Anambra is also the champion in Southeast in primary healthcare, earning the state a prize of N1.2 million.
The governor said that among these deliberate and strategic efforts were the refurbishment of 326 primary healthcare centres, the construction of 5 new general hospitals, and the refurbishment of existing ones.
He also listed the introduction of a free antenatal and free delivery policy in the state and the recruitment of over 1,000 health personnel, thereby ending the era of hospitals without doctors, among other major strides taken by his government in the health sector.
These efforts, he said, have crashed maternal and infant mortality rates in the state to near zero because of access to quality healthcare.
The Governor said his administration was repositioning the state to become the safest place in Nigeria to live, work, relax, and enjoy life.
He said his government’s approach to security, through the inauguration of the Agunechemba security outfit, operation Udo-ga-achi, the construction of over 750 kilometres of roads crisscrossing 21 local government areas with two flyovers and seven massive bridges, and interventions in the environment, education, health, and others, was aimed at achieving the vision of a liveable, prosperous smart megacity where everyone can live, work, and enjoy.
The governor said, “We are repositioning Anambra to be the safest place to live and work in Nigeria. Over 750km of roads are under construction crisscrossing the entire 21 LGAs.
“About 450km have been completed. We are building two iconic flyovers and seen massive bridges. Eleven new housing estates are springing up through PPP arrangement.
“Truly, free education from primary to secondary school is on.
“We recruited 8115 teachers.
“We trained and empowered over 5000 youths with seed capital. We are rated no 1 in transparency by budgit and others”.
Soludo noted that although borrowing was not entirely a bad policy, he and his government had yet to borrow a kobo from any domestic or international financial institution and had continued to break the jinx and create new records.
Some he noted include building the new Anambra state governor’s lodge, the government house, the solution fun city with the largest water park in Nigeria, the country club and sundry fun areas, the turnaround story of Okpoko urban slum to New Haven, and others.
Said he, “The environment is our existential threat. We are dealing with that. Anambra is the second smallest state after Lagos in land mass. While Lagos is gaining land through reclamation, Anambra is losing land to erosion. Anambra is the second most densely populated state after Lagos in Nigeria.
“That is why we are deliberate about tree planting and other ecological measures we are taking to fight erosion.
“We have distributed hundreds of thousands of palm, coconut and other seedlings to give vent to the green revolution.”
The governor posited that his administration was intentional about the development of the state, adding that although Anambra people were commending him for surpassing his campaign promises, “They ain’t seen nothing yet.”
