AHEAD of the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State, Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Sunday said security has improved across the South-East state.
The governor, who is seeking a second term of four years in office, said that as opposed to what he met when he came into office, people can now sleep with both eyes closed.
He said eight councils, including Ihiala, which were “no-go areas” when his administration came on board, had been recovered from non-state actors.
This, he said, resulted from his resolve to protect lives and property as part of the five-point agenda of his administration.
“You had a state where, before we came into office, nobody could even wear anything that suggests you are a politician, and so on. Dr. (Chike) Akunyili was killed simply because he had a policeman in his car.
“Most of the police stations were burnt down, and even soldiers were decimated by these criminal elements.
“Eight local governments you couldn’t travel to, you couldn’t get there. And now, everybody can sleep with their two eyes closed,” Soludo said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by News Point Nigeria.
“Come down to Anambra; everybody is moving around. Even the most dreaded local government, which is Ihiala, where we couldn’t even have an election.
“Today, INEC has done its registration smoothly in all the 326 wards in Anambra,” he added.
According to him, those observing the sit-at-home ‘order’ were doing so personally, and not because of insecurity in the state.
“Monday sit-at-home thing is largely over here [in Anambra]; anybody sitting at home now is doing so out of his own preference, not because of insecurity as it were, because everywhere is secure on Mondays,” he stated.
On the continued detention of the self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, Soludo expressed optimism that Kanu would regain his freedom.
He, however, said that he believes in a united Nigeria.
“When Nnamdi Kanu comes out, because we believe he will come out, and when he comes out, we are all going to sit down and interrogate our alternative vision for Igboland.
“My vision is that we should build a livable and prosperous homeland so that as an itinerant people, wherever you go, you will have a livable and prosperous homeland to return to. But do we need Nigeria? We need Nigeria and Nigeria needs us,” the governor stated.
Soludo, who is the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 8 election, dismissed the claim that the party was local, adding that it still had a national spread.
According to him, APGA is like a “religion” in Anambra and is loved by the people of the state.
Soludo also said that contrary to claims that he planned to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), he and President Bola Tinubu collaborate to keep Nigeria going.