The Government said in a statement released on Thursday by Christian Aburime, the Press Secretary of Anambra Governor Charles Soludo, that the report which has been making the rounds on social media is “fictitious and fallacious”.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Anambra State Government has discredited a report that gold reserve estimated to be over 20 million tonnes and worth over $900 trillion has been discovered in a location called Ehamufu.
The Government said in a statement released on Thursday by Christian Aburime, the Press Secretary of Anambra Governor Charles Soludo, that the report which has been making the rounds on social media is “fictitious and fallacious”.
The report also erroneously described Soludo as Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, adding that he briefed newsmen at the end of a meeting of the forum.
Soludo was quoted to have said in the report that “the Federal Government has accepted the forum’s request to hand over all federal institutions in the region, excluding military facilities and federal civil service for takeover and proper funding.
“The region has raised its annual budget from a paltry $1.6 billion to $120 billion and is hoping to spend $40 billion in its educational sector and $30 billion on public infrastructure, including regional rail networks to enhance movement of goods and services.”
It further alleges that “Governor Soludo who was a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, while speaking further on the budget of the region, explained that a total of $15 billion has been budgeted for the revitalisation of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, as a regional reference hospital. He added that the fund also covers the revitalisation of other teaching hospitals in the five states with 15 per cent of the funds set out to support emergency services.”
The report further quoted Soludo as saying, “We’re hoping to complete the revitalisation of UNTH and other teaching hospitals with world-class infrastructure and equipment in the next eight months. We will also open a recruitment portal for medics both home and abroad to apply in five months’ time. Whatever they’re paying them abroad, we will add something extra because we need their expertise to care for our people.
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“We have also signed an agreement to construct a rail network that will connect over 50 communities in the five states. Construction is expected to resume next month and to be completed in 18 months.
“On education, we will be overhauling the system to give more focus to STEM and skills acquisition. We have also signed agreements with General Electric and Siemens to increase our power generation from 5000 MW to 60,000MW using our abundant gas resources, coal and river dams to power industrial estates and small businesses. Modalities for the provision of soft loans for small and medium enterprises to scale up their businesses are being worked out.
“Also, greater attention is being paid to agriculture with the reactivation of agricultural estates in Adani, Ani Nri, Ehamufu, Anyamelum, Ezza and Afikpo. The cashew plantations in Abia will be revitalised together with Abia Palm and Adah Palm. $6 billion has be set out for the construction of silos and other storage facilities, processing facilities, and loans for the purchase of mechanised farms tools and equipment.”
Countering the report, Anambra State Government said, “Ehamufu is not in Anambra State. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is not the Chairman of South East Governors’ forum, neither did he brief newsmen of any meeting held by the Forum or fathom discovery of Gold reserves in Ehamufu, Anambra State, as allegedly claimed by the writer(s).
“The entire news story including every statement or quotation allegedly attributed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo are mere falsehoods without an iota of truth.
“The general public is hereby advised to discountenance and disregard these claims as a figment of the writer’s imagination. The entire news item remains a mischievously cooked-up story with the clear intention to mislead the general public.
“There are various official channels through which the activities, statements and policy directions of the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, are communicated. These channels are public knowledge.
“For emphasis, the general public is again advised to completely disregard the news story and every material therein as a fake news item.”