Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF) has congratulated Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), on his election as Governor of Anambra State.
The Foundation also called his attention to the “enormous responsibility” that his new role would place on his shoulders.
In a statement by Abia Onyike, Chairman, ADF Media and Publicity Bureau, the group, led by Professor Uzodinma Nwala, urged Soludo “to become one of the major rallying-points in the liberation of Anambra state in particular and Igboland in general,” stressing that posterity expects him “to chart a new cause of action with the people and provide the compass for the qualitative development of your state in order to restore the hopes and aspirations of the common man in the street.”
The ADF pointed out further to Soludo that in doing these, “the legacies of our great icons both from within and outside Anambra state such as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Michael Okpara, Ezeogo Dr. Akanu Ibiam and Chief Samuel Mbakwe, amongst others should be properly sign-posted, while you continue to display your God-given talents in the development arena.”
Full text of the statement reads:
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. CHUKWUMA SOLUDO
1. We, the members of Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), extend our hands of fellowship and friendship by congratulating Your Excellency, the newly- elected Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, on your recent election.
2. This latest attainment by Your Excellency, is a significant and historic confirmation of your unique personality as a highly gifted scholar-politician, seasoned technocrat and mass leader of no mean repute. The President of ADF, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala is particularly proud of you and recalls with nostalgia your consistent leadership trajectory which manifested early during your undergraduate days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where you identified with progressive leadership cadres in the 1980s such as the Movement for Social Equality (MOSEQ) and the Uhuru Research Centre (URC).
3. Your career in Nigeria’s public service has equally been trail-blazing. As Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, you consolidated the banking industry in Nigeria and led Nigeria’s recovery plan along the path of economic prosperity. You were honoured as the best Central Bank Governor in the world from 2005 to 2007 as reported by the the Financial Times of London.
4. Your election as the Governor of Anambra State places an enormous responsibility on your shoulders. We, in ADF expect you to become one of the major rallying-points in the liberation of Anambra state in particular and Igboland in general. Posterity expects you to chart a new cause of action with the people and provide the compass for the qualitative development of your state in order to restore the hopes and aspirations of the common man in the street. In doing these, the legacies of our great icons both from within and outside Anambra state such as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Michael Okpara, Ezeogo Dr. Akanu Ibiam and Chief Samuel Mbakwe, amongst others should be properly sign-posted, while you continue to display your God-given talents in the development arena.
5. Finally, we congratulate and commend the good people of Anambra state who stood stoutly to exercise their electoral mandate inspite of all odds.
6. May Almighty God continue to guide you as you settle down for the business of governance.
Yours faithfully,
Abia Onyike,
Chairman, ADF Media and Publicity Bureau.
