‘I haven’t received salary as governor, my wife has no official car’ – Nigerian governor

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Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State says he has not taken any salary from the state government since assuming office as governor two years ago as part of his efforts to cut the cost of governance in the state.

Mr Soludo, a professor, spoke on Sunday during the celebration of the second anniversary of his administration at the International Convention Center, Awka, Channels TV reported.

“Any governor that comes (into power), floods you with offers for borrowing and so on and so forth, but we decided for the first two years to demonstrate something: Capacity to do more with less.

“And so far as has been said, for two years, despite receiving about 25 per cent in real terms or in dollar terms of what was in the past, we have chosen deliberately not to borrow,” Mr Soludo said.

‘My wife has no official car’

Mr Soludo, who came into power as governor on 17 March 2022, also said his wife, Nonye Soludo, does not have an official car as the first lady of Anambra State at the moment.

“I have been asked severally; ‘how do you do without borrowing and with the difficult circumstances?’ And my answer is that we are doing so because we are executing the most austere measure of government ever.

“As I speak to you, I am not taking any salary. I am not paid any salary by the Anambra State Government. Even the First Lady of Anambra does not have any official car, she still drives my personal vehicles,” he added.

However, PREMIUM TIMES reports that the Office of the First Lady of a state is unknown to law although some state governments in Nigeria appear to be allocating funds to such offices.

The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), for instance, did not make any provision for the Office of First Lady of a state.

‘Why I’m cutting cost of governance’

Mr Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said his decision to cut cost of governance in the state was to direct resources and prioritise them to things that are important to the people of the state.

The governor said his administration has prioritised areas that have been neglected in the past, and listed some projects done in such areas as building hospitals, roads and schools.

The former CBN boss assured the people of Anambra State that any money entrusted in his hand as the state governor would be accounted for.

He stressed that if he ever borrows, the people will be shown the projects the loan was used for and how those projects would be used to repay the loan.