Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state said Tuesday that he has no apologies for supporting the laudable policies and programmes of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents after a meeting with the president in Abuja, Soludo said his support for Tinubu was rooted in shared progressive ideals and personal friendship spanning over two decades.
“I don’t have any apologies about it. President Tinubu is my friend. Has been my friend 22 years now and counting. You don’t deny your friend and begin to be quivering about who he is.
“I support him, and I’m impressed by the bold steps he has taken, particularly in the areas of the economy, the structural reforms. I have said so severally — we’re taking the right steps, we only need to stay the course,” he said.
He said political parties professing progressivism should work together in a broad coalition to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and drive economic and social development.
He said the “progressives working together” message had been his consistent position since Tinubu’s visit to Anambra state when billboards and campaign materials promoting cooperation were displayed across the state.
Soludo also spoke on the security situation in Anambra state, stressing that his administration was deploying a holistic strategy that combined kinetic force with non-kinetic interventions.
He said the enactment of the Anambra State Homeland Security Law in January was a turning point in dismantling the foundations of criminality.
“All the deadly native doctors are on the run from the state because these are the guys giving false hope, deceiving our young ones and luring them into criminality,” he said.
He said job creation, youth empowerment and targeted social programmes were central to the non-kinetic approach.
He said the state government has empowered 5,000 youths in the last one year while 8,700 are set to receive financial support this month.
“We’re creating several thousands of youth millionaires right away within the first three years. This is cascading all over the state.
“The youths are very much involved, and we’re also dealing with the issue of hardship, beyond the massive infrastructural transformation, beyond fixing our schools and health facilities,” he said.
He assured that while young people were being given opportunities, law enforcement would decisively deal with those who break the law.