Anambra State emerges Nigeria’s fiscal champion, thanks to Soludo’s innovation policies

Stanley Ihedigbo

Anambra State, under the incredible leadership of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has been ranked No. 1 on the list in the 2025 State of States Fiscal Performance ranking in Nigeria.

According to the 2025 BudgIT report just released, Anambra is followed by Lagos, Kwara, Abia, and Edo, which make up the top five states that are at the forefront of advancing fiscal transparency and accountability.

From the ranking, Akwa Ibom moved from its former 27th to 10th position, Zamfara moved up nine places from 26th to 17th, while the five states with the lowest rankings are Plateau, Kogi, Jigawa, Benue, and Yobe, respectively.

The remarkable feat stems from Governor Soludo’s transformation drive in Anambra state’s financial management, improved revenue generation, and prudent expenditure practices that have distinguished him from his counterparts in other parts of the country. For a governor who has brought unprecedented transformation to his state through innovative and audacious policies and project implementation, it is not surprising to keen watchers of Anambra’s development.

The governor has also transformed Anambra by building a masterpiece government house known as a minicity, regenerated slums into towns, as in the case of Okpoko, and constructed roads connecting communities, drainage systems, and flyovers in cities.

Significant impact has also been made in the area of agriculture; in education, with free education to students and smart schools built, with the employment of 8,115 additional teachers, together with the regeneration of tertiary institutions in the state; and in health, where five new general hospitals have been built, others renovated, with telemedicine and free healthcare services for pregnant women.

The governor’s Anambra Homeland Security Law has birthed the state security system, Agunechemba, to complement the existing security network, and the formation of Operation Udo Ga-Achi forces has drastically reduced the crime rate in the state. In human capital development, he has trained and empowered thousands of youths in digital skills. Also, his administration has digitalised the governance systems, among others.

These landmark achievements earned the governor the ‘Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year Award’ for good governance, on Friday, 11th April 2025, the Sun Newspaper ‘Governor of the Year 2024’ Award for his laudable achievements, and the Independent Newspaper ‘Governor of the Year 2024’ Award for his urban renewal initiatives.

The governor also emerged as the best-performing governor in primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria in 2024, and the best in the Southeast region and overall nationally.