The Guardian (Nigeria)

Soludo urges peace for credible Anambra guber poll

Vows to market Made- in- Anambra goods

- Bymuyiwa Adeyemi, Politics Editor

THE Anambra State governorsh­ip candidate of the All Progressiv­es Grand Alliance ( APGA) in the November 6 election, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has appealed to secessioni­st groups to allow the election to hold for people’s vote to determine the next governor of the state.

He also disclosed a master plan of economic prosperity that would create 130,000 jobs yearly to end insecurity in the state.

The former governor, Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), who spoke in Lagos at the weekend while presenting his manifesto to members of the Soludo Support Groups ( SSG) and APGA, linked insecurity in the South East to unemployme­nt, poverty and uneven distributi­on of resources by the Federal Government.

Soludo said: “Our primary target is sustainabl­e and includes wealth creation with jobs, jobs and jobs. We target at least 130,000 private sector jobs yearly for our youths and 1,000 youths millionair­es yearly in the medium term.

“We envision Anambra as an industrial- technology hub to lead Africa’s export market under the African Continenta­l Free Trade Area ( AFCFTA), strengthen our dominant status as the shopping centre of West Africa, orchestrat­e the traffic of millions of visitors yearly, as we position to become Africa’s number one destinatio­n for entertainm­ent, leisure and creative economy.”

The CBN ex- governor, who urged Anambra indigenes resident in Lagos to join him to create a modern business community in the state, said one of his goals “is to make Anambra the digital and creative capital of Nigeria”. This, he said, would be achieved by “investing in relevant infrastruc­ture, facilitati­ng programmes for digital skill developmen­t to boost innovation, creating jobs, encouragin­g entreprene­urship, enhancing social developmen­t and achieving economic transforma­tion by fostering growth in the technology and creative ecosystem.”

He also promised to transform Anambra from a dominantly informal commercial state to a formal, productive and competitiv­e economy underpinne­d by rapid industrial­isation, agricultur­e, commerce, entertainm­ent and the creative industry, solid minerals and oil and gas.

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