By Emeka Alex Duru
Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the just concluded Anambra governorship election, is set to emerge the next governor of the state. With results of the election from most councils in the state declared in his favour, he is as good as clinching the post.
But attaining the feat has not been a smooth ride for the former Central Bank Governor. It has rather been a passionate quest that had seen him moving from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APGA, encountering immense disappointments and on occasions, bloody nose.
Soludo got known to many Nigerians following his appointment as CBN governor by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, on May 29, 2004.
Prior to the appointment, he held the positions of Chief Economic Adviser to President Obasanjo and Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
ALSO READ:
Soludo continues victory march with 10 LGA in the bag
Ifeanyi Ubah stops Soludo’s unbeaten run, wins own LG
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
His signature outing as the CBN governor, was the reformist measures of restructuring the banking sector, known largely as consolidation. In a speech to the Nigerian Economic Society heralding the reform, Soludo had announced that by the end of 2008, there would be fewer banks than the situation, then. The essence of the restructuring, he said, was to increase the capacity of the banks and increase their ability to lend to customers. Soludo had in the exercise, hoped to see Nigeria become Africa’s financial hub. The consolidation was an instant success and he became a household name in the country.
The great feat at the CBN however did not translate to immediate success for the economics teacher in politics. In September 2009, Soludo announced his aspiration for the seat of the Governor of Anambra State on the ticket of the PDP.
His selection as consensus candidate for the party from 47 aspirants, after repeated attempts to hold elective primaries were stalled by court injunctions, did not go down well with chieftains and members of the PDP in the state.
With a rancorous house, the PDP went into election with Soludo as its flag bearer. He lost to Peter Obi, a seating governor, then of APGA, in an election which was largely considered free and fair by observers. On 17 July 2013, Soludo resigned from the PDP and later, joined APGA in preparation for the November 2013 governorship race in Anambra state. In mid-August 2013, he, along with five other qualified aspirants, were disqualified by the APGA Screening Committee.
Four years later, he endorsed Governor Willie Obiano, for an election under APGA, in what many saw as a deal. Obiano paid back by supporting his aspiration, this time around. In March when he would be sworn in, he would be expected to bring to bear on the state, his years of training and involvement in research, teaching, and auditing in such disciplines as multi-country macro-econometric modelling, techniques of computable general equilibrium modelling, survey methodology, and panel data econometrics, among others.
Sixty-One -year-old Soludo was born on July 28, 1960. Soludo graduated with a First Class Honours degree in 1984, an MSc Economics in 1987, and a PhD in 1989, all from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, winning prizes for the best student at all three level.
In 1998, he was appointed to the position of professor of economics at the University of Nigeria; the next year he became a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA.
