Governor Chukwuma Soludo said Sunday that security across Anambra State has risen sharply ahead of the November 8 governorship election.
Where once eight local government areas, including Ihiala, were "no-go zones" ruled by criminal gangs, residents can now move freely and voters have completed registration smoothly in all 326 wards, he told Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
Soludo recalled that at the start of his first term in 2022, police stations lay in ruins and even soldiers had been ambushed by non-state actors.
He pointed to the killing of former Health Minister Dr Chike Akunyili, targeted simply for having a policeman escort, as evidence of how dire the situation had become.
"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.
"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 said.
Addressing the once-popular sit-at-home directive in the South-East, Soludo argued that the practice has largely faded.
"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 said.
On the detention of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, the governor revealed he was confident that Kanu would eventually regain his freedom.
According to him, he invited all stakeholders to convene a broad discussion on Igboland’s path forward once that happened.
"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," he said.
Running for a second term under the All Progressives Grand Alliance banner, Soludo dismissed claims that APGA is merely a regional party.
He said its reach remains national and described its support in Anambra as akin to a "religion."
He also rebuffed rumors of an impending defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing his ongoing collaboration with President Bola Tinubu on national development.
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