Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has said that he raised “around N300 to N400 million” in the state treasury, but inherited a debt of N109 billion when he took office.
Soludo revealed this on Tuesday when he appeared on The Morning Show in Get up News Television.
The governor said the state’s finances were not strong, but his administration would not be intimidated by the situation.
“Everyone knows that the state’s finances are not very solid, to put it mildly. The cash we found in various banks, if I remember correctly I think N300 or N400 million, and then from the audited account as of (from) December 2021, the debts (were) around N109 billion,” he said.
Soludo said his administration would build transparent public financial management in the state to monitor the state treasury.
“We intend to have a very transparent public financial management where we are going to be publishing everything. Everyone will know what is there and what is not, what penny goes in and what it is used for,” he said.
Diary Made in Anambra
The Governor reiterated his determination to only use products made in Anambra. He said the initiative is in line with his job creation vision.
“You will not come to Europe and find any European government using or buying Japanese Toyota for their police operations or for their president or officers. That government will fall the next day.
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“This is how jobs are created. Can you imagine 215 million people patronizing the textiles that were made here? You are going to create tens of thousands of jobs, millions of jobs in fact,” he said.
He said he would encourage local product makers in the state to proudly brand their Anambra-made products, instead of stamping foreign brand names on their products to increase patronage.
“That is the path that Nigeria, not just Anambra, must follow. We will eat our food, drink our beverage, wear our clothes, wear our shoes, and create millions of jobs.
“It’s not going to be a temporary thing. It’s something I believe in and I’m going to get over it,” Soludo said.