Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has declared that the local government system in the state is “back and working” following the commissioning of a three-kilometre road project executed by the Ekwusigo Local Government Area.
Soludo, who spoke while commissioning the road at the weekend, described the project as evidence of a new era of grassroots development in Anambra State.
The road, constructed under the leadership of the council’s Mayor, Hon. Chimezie Obi, features cement stabilisation, stone-base laying and asphalt finishing. The governor said the quality of the project demonstrated what financially strengthened local governments could achieve.
Soludo said he doubted whether any local government in Nigeria had constructed a road of comparable standard in the past 20 years.
“Today in Ekwusigo Local Government, we’ve come to commission three kilometres of road, completed with sub-cement stabilisation, stone base and asphalting by a local government administration under the able leadership of the Mayor, Chimezie. I want to congratulate you. I commend you,” he said.
The governor attributed the development to reforms undertaken by his administration to strengthen the local government system through legislative and administrative restructuring.
He said the reforms were designed to improve the fiscal capacity and long-term sustainability of local councils, adding that the era when councils struggled to meet basic obligations such as payment of primary healthcare workers, pensioners and gratuities was changing.
According to Soludo, the Ekwusigo road serves as a “proof of concept” of what empowered local administrations can achieve when resources are effectively deployed to meet grassroots needs.
He disclosed that he would commence a tour of local government areas in the coming weeks to commission projects executed by other mayors across the state.
Soludo also said the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)-led administration had continued to expand infrastructure development across Anambra, noting that more than 137 roads and other projects were awaiting commissioning.
“The people’s money is working for the benefit of the people,” the governor declared before formally commissioning the road.
Speaking at the event, the Ekwusigo Mayor, Hon. Chimezie Obi, said his administration was committed to implementing projects that would directly improve the lives of residents.
Obi listed several community-focused projects undertaken by the council, saying the initiatives were guided by the development blueprint of the Soludo administration and the aspirations contained in its manifesto.
The mayor said his administration’s development drive was inspired by the governor’s approach to governance and his emphasis on taking development to the grassroots.
Apart from the three-kilometre road, Soludo also commissioned a legislative building within the Ekwusigo Local Government Secretariat.
The governor later inspected the newly constructed road and presented cash gifts to selected students and schools involved in skills acquisition programmes under the council’s empowerment initiative.
Recent reports on the project also identified the road as the Market Junction–Ozu-Enyaba, Ozubulu–Ihembosi route, one of the major roads linking communities in the area.
