Contrary to the insinuations that President Bola Tinubu’s May 8, 2025, visit to Anambra State was a mere frivolity, the visit has been described as having huge prospects for developing Anambra State and the Southeast.
The Anambra State President of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, disclosed in an exclusive chat with our correspondent in Awka, Anambra State Capital.
There has been so much criticism about the President’s visit, with many criticizing the projects that the President came to commission, which the State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, did.
According to them, the projects were not what the state’s people needed.
But in a reaction, the Anambra Ohaneze Ndigbo President, Okpalaezeukwu, noted what the state accomplished through the new Government House and Governor’s Lodge defied an over 30-year jinx.
He noted that the Awka Functionality project, with its appurtenances, can create revenue windows for the state in addition to creating a leisure and entertainment centre for residents.
Okpalaezeukwu, however, noted that the visit was an express opportunity for the President to visit Anambra and appreciate the governor’s demands on how the Federal Government could assist the state in addressing its numerous challenges.
He said the visit was an avenue for the President to prove wrong Ndigbo’s impression of Nigeria and governance, adding that it demonstrated that the president accords a sense of belonging to Ndigbo, especially the Southeast, in the scheme of national affairs.
Mazi Okpalaezeukwu maintained that the president’s visit also demeaned the stigma of every average Igbo man in Nigeria, as it is the foremost visit of a Nigerian President to Anambra State without partisan political connotation.
He further commended the President for taking the bull by the horns by visiting Anambra State, irrespective of all the negative impressions and allegations against the state and the Southeast, especially regarding insecurity and other social vices bedeviling the zone.
“Apart from the Funcity, and the new government house, it is instructive to note the massive infrastructural projects going on across the state, not limited to quality roads, health facilities, schools upgrade, free education for all pupils and students, security, law and order.
“To us, Anambra people, Soludo has earned excellence and deserves support for consolidation.
“Today, every well-meaning Anambra person must join hands, on a non-partisan basis and support the administration of Governor Soludo for a healthy, stable, secure and progressive Anambra State,” he said.
Mazi Okpalaezeukwu urged all well-meaning Anambra citizens to shun unhealthy propaganda and campaign, as the state had not yet begun electioneering activities.
Appreciating Governor Soludo for painstakingly presenting the issues that spark allegations of marginalization to the President, Mazi Okpalaezeukwu expressed gratitude to the President for directing the inclusion of Anambra in the national railway and gas pipeline master plan.
He also said the president’s promise to support Anambra in tackling the challenge of erosion in the state is commendable, noting that if the issues raised are addressed as promised, the region will be implicitly indebted to the Tinubu regime.
