Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has thrown its support behind Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s bid for re-election in Anambra State.
The students’ national body expressed satisfaction with Soludo’s achievements in the state’s education sector and infrastructure development.
NANS factional president, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, who spoke in Awka, during a routine working visit, said Soludo deserves a second tenure to continue giving dividends of democracy to the people.
“We are on a tour to all our campuses in the South-East. I pledged during my election to visit states to check the condition of lecture rooms.
“Fortunately for us, after my emergence, I met with the Minister of Education, who told me that President Bola Tinubu approved some monies for TETFUND, but that the monies must not be used for new projects but abandoned projects in campuses and to renovate ones that are not in good shape.
“With that, I decided to go round the states to confirm the projects for appropriate comments.
“Arriving in Anambra, we saw how wonderfully well the governor has constructed the roads. I was told the governor still has many projects and fortunately we were able to visit the facilities.”
After touring some of the new facilities in the state capital, including the Solution Fun City and new Government House, Oladoja gave kudos to the governor, stating that he would have voted for Soludo if given the opportunity.
“If I have to vote during the Anambra election, I would choose Soludo to continue. He has done wonderfully well here. We heard when we came that Solution Fun City used to be a swampy area but we can see the massive structure he put in place. The Fun City is massive. Even with my exposure, I have not seen a place like this except in movies. Most of the games here are for children and students showing he has children at heart.”
Speaking further, he urged the governor to strengthen his partnership with the media, stressing that his failure to invest in media has resulted in his achievements being largely under-reported.
“When we came into the new government house, I mentioned that the governor needs to do more to improve media coverage of his projects. The governor is doing a great job, but his achievements aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Many of us who are not from this state aren’t aware of these projects. If this government house is not the best, it’s certainly among the best in Nigeria.”
He also commended the governor for the initiative to launch the students bursary scheme, noting that the scheme, when functional, will positively affect students’ welfare in the state.
Welcoming the NANS delegate, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority – ACTDA, Mr. Ossy Onuko, hinted that the governor is working to ensure that school facilities in the state are world class.
On the project tour, Onuko said: “We just visited two project sites out of many. This government has awarded over 750 kilometers of roads, and completed over 450 of them. We are also asphalting and dualizing federal roads here and there. So, I must say the people are happy with the governor.
“The governor is not even doing this because of the forthcoming election, but to render dividends of democracy to the people because he was hired by the people,” he said.
