The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Bishop Hassan Matthew Kukah, has urged Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to compete with himself, saying he is not in competition with anybody.
Kuka said this at the Thanksgiving Mass in commemoration of Governor Soludo’s three years in office at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral Awka.
Kuka further mentioned that governance of the people is not for competition but for consolidation, noting that successive governors in Anambra contributed to the growth and development of the state in their own ways and styles.
“I am happy that you are consolidating on the achievements of the greatness of your people and the past leaders of the state.
“Please I wish to urge you to complete with yourself and don’t try to compete with anyone and don’t try to break other people’s record but break your own record.
“Anambra state is special because this is a state that has been growing and improving from stage to stage, and this is a state where former Governor Chris Ngige said that his opponents are campaigning on the roads that he constructed.
“Former Governor Peter Obi came and brought Anambra state from the twenty second position to the first position in terms of Education and Former Governor Wille Obiano gave Anambra state a wonderful Airport and today you Gov Charles Soludo has given Anambra state a beautiful and befitting Government House and a Fun City,” he said.
“All those achievements you have made so far in the past three years without taking loans is commendable, and you did not take the loan because you know the consequences of taking loans.
“There some governors that kept taking loans would continue to take loans and in my state Kaduna I don’t know how many years it would take us to pay back those loans” he added.
In his response, Governor Soludo noted that he is not in competition with anyone but that based on the challenges of today there must be improvement.
“My Lord Bishop, we are not in competition with anyone but what we are doing is to improve on what the past governors have done and not to compete with them.
“I remember that people asked me to build the Ngige standard of roads and I always joke with Ngige about that by telling him that my own will have more stone base and we forget one of my predecessors Late Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju who built the Alex Ekwueme square, the Anambra State University among others and it is not because schools were closed that we now say that he did nothing, ” he said.
