By James Orji
Charles Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN looks good to be declared the elected governor of Anambra state after results announced by the Independent national Electoral Commission, INEC showed that he maintained a clear lead in the last Saturday governorship election.
From the results declared so far by the INEC Soludo, won in at least 18 out of the 21 LGAs with the All Progressives Congress APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Young Progressives Party, YPP candidates trailing behind.
Earlier on Sunday, the former apex bank governor had expressed gratitude to God for placing him ahead of other candidates in the very crucial election.
“It is indeed the Lord’s day and we must first thank God almighty for his mercy. Indeed, ‘many are the afflictions of the Righteous, but the Lord delivereth him from them all’,” Soludo wrote in one of his social media pages.
Apart from Ihiala Local Government Area where the electoral umpire declared exercise inconclusive due to alleged irregularities and serious security concerns, the APGA candidate has been declared winner in 18 out of the 20 LGAs announced so far by the INEC, and barring any odds he will be declared governor to succeed Governor Wily Obiano.
The Man Charles Soludo
Soludo, Commander of the Federal Republic, CFR is a Nigerian economist, a professor, and one-time Governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
He was born on July 28, 1960. He hails from Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. On completing his secondary school education, he proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he studied Economics. He graduated with a first-class degree in 1984.
Afterwards, he went on to obtain his Master’s degree (MSc) in Economics in 1987, and a doctorate (PhD) in Economics in 1989, from the same University graduating as the best student on all levels of his study.
In 1998, Charles Soludo became a professor of economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and in 1999, he became a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA.
He was a lecturer in Oxford, Cambridge, and Warwick University. He lectured on multi-country macro-econometric modelling, techniques of computable general equilibrium modelling, survey methodology, and panel data econometrics, etc. Also, Charles Soludo has authored, co-edited, and co-authored about ten books.
Soludo joined the Nigerian government in 2003 as the Chief Economic Adviser to former President Obasanjo and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria.
In May 2004, he became the Chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. In 2010, Soludo was an aspirant for the Anambra State governorship seat in the south-eastern Nigeria’s state election, in what would be his first political contest after his departure from the CBN.
He eventually lost the election to Peter Obi.
The former apex bank governor resigned from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP on July 17, 2013, after he wrote a letter to PDP’s National Chairman – Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, after which he joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
On September 16, 2019 Soludo was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, as a member of the Economic Advisory Council, EAC.
He is married to Nonye Soludo, and they are blessed with six children.
