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Charles Soludo, Anambra state’s governor, recently marked his second year in office. In contrast, his Abia state counterpart, Alex Otti, only recently crossed ten months in office after getting sworn in on May 29, 2023. However, the jury is out on who performs better as a state governor in the Southeast between the duo.
Mr Soludo marked his second year in office on March 17, 2024, under the aegis of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Before then, he had established himself in Nigeria as a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among other positions where he implemented diverse policies that boosted the country’s economic state.
On the other hand, Mr Otti’s path to the stool of power was not straightforward despite establishing himself as a former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, now merged with Access Bank. He got his governorship mandate on his second attempt after he lost out in a legal tussle at his first attempt.
However, both governors had embarked on projects that received positive reviews from many quarters amidst the harsh economy in the country. But the comparison took a different dimension during Soludo’s second-year celebration. A Twitter user, Uche Rochas, made some claims by comparing both governors’ performances, which majorly portrayed Mr Soludo as a more prudent manager than his counterpart affiliated with the Labour Party.
Since he posted it on March 17, 2024, it has gained more than 391,700 views, 1,200 reactions and 424 retweets. Also, more than 1,600 users have commented, while 46 accounts bookmarked it. Different Facebook pages also shared the claim here, here, here and here.
Some Facebook comments showed differing thoughts. Bunmi Ogunkolade praised Soludo and snidely remarked at his predecessor, Peter Obi.
“Our brothers in the South East will not shout his name because he is not a noise maker. Only for them to give us a man that the only project he commissioned in 8 years is Hero beer,” she said.
Emmanuel Andem, however, voiced his support for Otti. While sharing his experience as a regular traveller and trader at Aba market, he said, “I think he is doing well by channelling that money to important things in other to yield interest so he can pay back at ease, the people can see what he is using the money to do.”
He also believed that the drop in accident rates in the state would encourage taxpayers to part with toll fees willingly. “Then, transporting [goods] from Lagos to Aba, you will hear those containers were in an accident on the road because of a bad road. So if they asked them now to pay for the road, I think they will be willing to pay so he can then pay back to the people he borrowed that money [from],” he said.
The virality of the claims and differing thoughts in the comment section prompted DUBAWA to fact-check them.
Verification
Claim 1: Governor Soludo has not borrowed money in two years of his tenure.
The nation’s economic condition is harsher on the citizens who clamour for relief. In Dec. 2023, the inflation rate on a year-on-year basis in Anambra state stood at 27.49% when the nation’s rate was at 28.92%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Amidst the crisis, the state governors carried out some projects to ensure citizens’ welfare. But the astonishing claim said, “Mr Soludo [in] his two years [at] office has not borrowed one kobo to run his government.”
DUBAWA conducted keyword searches to find any news or information about his administration’s debt profile. We discovered that he had obtained approval from the state legislature to borrow N100 billion from the Global Limit Multiple Term Loan Facility in barely four months as governor to fund his projects as of July 15, 2022. Apart from promising to use it to create wealth for the people’s benefit judiciously, Mr Soludo also revealed that the money borrowed would be used for critical infrastructural development, particularly in building roads, bridges and others.
The report was published on Premium Times, Channels Television, and The Cable, among others. However, there is insufficient evidence to validate the current status of the loan approved in 2022. We emailed the governor’s special adviser on special projects, Ebuka Nwankwo, following up on his columns, but we received no response as of the time this report is filed.
Verdict: INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.
Claim 2: Governor Alex Otti, in less than one year in office, has borrowed almost N1 trillion
While answering questions from newsmen in March 2024, the Abia state governor disclosed that his administration had secured a $125 million loan facility from the Islamic Development Bank, but it was untouched as of the time the information was provided. Mr Otti also debunked claims of his administration borrowing N144 billion, claiming that the information peddlers are mischievous and ignorant.
As of March 14, 2024, the exchange rate at N1620/$ means the loan facility secured—but not yet used—will equal more than N202.5 billion naira. The result falls far below the amount mentioned in the claim.
Verdict: MISLEADING.
Claim 3: Governor Soludo commissioned projects every week between January and March.
Available records revealed that the governor, through a Public-Private Community Partnership (PPCP) model, commissioned a 2.27 km road and market in the Ozubulu community on Jan. 7, 2024, a 14.62 km road in Adazi Ani community on Feb. 10, 2024, the 2.8 km Niger Street and 2.3 km Port Harcourt road in Onitsha South local government on March 13, 2024.
DUBAWA could not verify the authenticity of other projects claimed as no credible media platform reported their existence, making it hard to confirm if the administration truly commissioned projects every week between January and March 2024 as claimed.
Verdict: INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE.
Conclusion
While both governors have received critical acclaim for their efforts, the claimant attempted to portray Mr Soludo positively and negatively reviewed his Abia state counterpart, Mr Otti, using misleading information that has gone viral.
