Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra says his administration pulled out of an existing loan arrangement with the World Bank to save the state from “debt overhang”.

Soludo said this while addressing members of the Late Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah Media team who were on inspection of the ongoing Government House and Governors Lodge project in Awka on Sunday.

He said his administration had not only refused to borrow from any bank or institution but also refused to access the Federal Government loan to states in 2024.

He said that notwithstanding the development, his administration had embarked on ambitious and people oriented projects which were at various stages of completion.

According to him, it may interest you to know that Anambra is the only state that pulled out of an existing World Bank loan arrangements which was signed before I came in.

“I looked at the terms of the loan and I said it was not sustainable; it was easy to continue with it because the next generation will pay but based on the terms, it was a bad deal for Anambra.

“Last year N438 billion was distributed to 35 states, Anambra was the only state that did not take it. I need money but I cannot borrow my state into slavery,” he said.

Soludo said he was giving Anambra a permanent Government House and Governor’s Lodge 34 years after it was created, expressing regret that the facilities had exited at a construction company office and outside Awka respectively.

He said that it was a magnificent project with about 34 buildings which were being built to last, such that in the next 200 years, they would still be standing like the White House in America.

“I said we are going to break the jinx and we are doing that with the biggest and the best that somebody said is going to be like a mini city,” he said.

Soludo said he had done over 750 kilometers of roads with about 410km completed with attention to parts of the state that had not seen tarred roads since their existence.

“We have touched education, health, youth empowerment, social reorientation and bringing back our value of dignity in labour against this new get rich quick mentality that is destroying our youths.

“I told Anambra people when I was sworn in that I will show them where every Kobo they gave me is channeled,” he said.

Mr Kamen Ogbonna, the Leader of the Ubah media team said they were impressed with what the governor was doing as it aligned with their Philosophy.

Ogbonna said it was interesting to note that Soludo had made such progress in three years without borrowing from any source.

“The magnitude of the Government House and Governors Lodge will tell you why other governors carefully avoided the project,” he said.

Nollywood stars including Steve Alajemba (Uwaezuoke) and Collins Monago who were on the trip lauded Soludo for his works and urged Anambra people to support him to continue the good job as they prepared  for Nov. 8 guber.

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has bagged the prestigious Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) degree from the Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), Ekiti State, for his inspiring leadership and contributions to the advancement of quality education in Nigeria.

This was even as the governor, who bagged the honorary award at the maiden convocation ceremony of the state-owned university in Ikere-Ekiti at the weekend, reiterated his administration's resolve to continue to transform the education sector in Enugu State and set exemplary steps through innovative and experiential learning model.

Mbah stressed that although the gains of investments in education take many years to crystalise, his administration's reforms and huge investments in education was driven not by public acclaim, but by the conviction that the highest legacy was to equip Enugu children and the youth with quality education that imbue them with the requisite knowledge and skill set to compete on the global stage.

“This award is a reminder that there is no greater honour than service. It is an inspiration to re-commit to the governance values that underpin our modest achievements in Enugu State.

“These values are shaped, particularly, by the conviction that education is the best legacy to bequeath to the emerging generation,” he added.

The governor, who has consistently dedicated over 33 per cent of the state's annual budget solely to education, maintained that the achievements recorded in the quality of output in the education sector through the deployment of huge resources had reflected in the ongoing construction of 260 Smart Green Schools for experiential learning in the state.

He explained that this education model emphasises experiential learning that imbues children with problem-solving skills over rote learning.

While stressing the university’s motto, “Learning for Self-Reliance,” Mbah said this should resonate with all levels of government nationwide in the face of shrinking international funding by some world economies, saying it was time to press the inventive button as a nation.

He noted that despite the BOUESTI being at its formative years, the university had made giant strides by nurturing an environment that was conducive to learning.

“This clearly underscores the university’s firm belief in the primacy of human capital development. Although established in 2020, it is heartwarming that this university is emerging as a formidable platform for science and technological renaissance.”

Commending the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, for his enduring reforms and sustained investment in education, Mbah charged the graduands to wear the toga of the university with pride and dignity, urging them not to severe links with the institution as alumni.

While conferring the highest degree on the governor, the university's Chancellor, Chief Wole Olanipekun, said the degree was strictly meant for lawyers of distinction, which Mbah had clinched by merit.

He described the governor as a rare breed in the entrepreneurial space, who was presently disrupting the Nigerian leadership space through his innovative style of governance.

A former Kaduna lawmaker, Sen. Shehu Sani, said he lost his senate re-election bid in 2019 because he opposed the former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s move to obtain a 340 million dollars foreign loan.

Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Eighth Senate, stated this in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

“I was insistent on speaking truth to power, and that was why I lost my re-election bid in 2019. Former Gov. Narsir El-Rufai was going for a 340 million dollar loan and we said ‘No’.

“”Some of us told him that such a venture would impact negatively on our people, but he went ahead and did that, while he perceived us as his political enemies.

“”This political battle with El-Rufai affected several other politicians, resulting in our leaving the party en masse.

“My own very case was that I stood up to the governor and I paid the price by losing my seat,” he said.

The popular pro-democracy activist, however, said that today, he had been vindicated.

“At that time, the governor was opposed to me; the state assembly members were opposed to me and many political figures there were opposed to me.

“Today, I am vindicated because even the governor of the state today has made it public how the finances and the economy of the state have been strangulated by that loan.

“Many projects were littered, uncompleted and abandoned all over the state. Kaduna today has become the second highest indebted state in the country.

“So I am vindicated, even though I lost my seat,” he said.

Sani said he was satisfied with the role he played on the controversial loan at that time.

“I’m satisfied that, at least, when I die, nobody will look to my grave and say this is the person who signed an approval for the loan that we are going to pay in 100 years.

“The vindication is more important to me than my return to the National Assembly,’’ he said.

The former lawmaker attributed the failure of most members of the national assembly to return to their refusal to be loyal to their governors.

This, he said, often resulted in high turn-out of lawmakers in each election year.

Sani, however, said that the high number of new lawmakers in national and state houses of assembly at every election year was not the best for Nigeria’s democracy.

He said that in the developed world, such as India and the United States, some lawmakers would be in the legislature for 30, 40 and 50 years.

“But in Nigeria, if you are a senator and you are fond of standing up every time to speak truth to the power, you will hardly come back to that national assembly.

“If what you are doing or saying is particularly contrary to the interests of the governor of your state, you will not come back to the national assembly,’’ he said.

The former senator also said that irrespective of a lawmaker’s qualifications, he could only emerge as senate president or speaker of the house if he happened to be the favourite of the executive.

“It’s only during Buhari’s time that a mistake was made in 2015 which made Buhari lose the election at the national assembly.

“Then his adversary Sen. Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara took over and you could see what happened for four years.

“ So, if you are elected as a governor of a state, your life is dependent on the state assembly and you cannot allow your enemy to take over.

“So, you will bring someone whose first qualification is not that he speaks good English, second qualification is not that he is competent, third qualification is not that he is good looking and fourth qualification is not that he knows how to make laws.

“The first qualification of a person who is going to be a speaker is that he is 100 per cent loyal to the governor or the president,’’ Sani said

1. In 2010, our law firm handled the case of Hon Dino Melaye & 10 other legislators who were suspended for accusing the Dimeji Bankole-led House of Representative of wallowing in corruption The Federal High Court declared the suspension of the legislators illegal and unconstitutional and ordered the payment of their withheld salaries and allowances.

2. In 2012, our law firm also handled the case of Honourable Rifkatu Danna, the only female member of the 31-member Bauchi State House of Assembly. Danna was suspended in June 2012 for allegedly making uncomplimentary remarks when she challenged the lawmakers’ decision to approve the relocation of the headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. But the Bauchi State High Court declared her suspension illegal and ordered the Bauchi State House of Assembly to reinstate her and pay her withheld salaries and allowances.

3. In 2017, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed against the judgment of the Bauchi State High Court in respect of the illegal suspension of Honourable Rifkatu Danna. The Court upheld our submission to the effect that the suspension of the legislator constituted a breach of the right of the Bogoro Constutuency to be representated by her in the state house of assembly. The Court equally held that the decision of the House to withhold the salaries and allowances of the legislator was illegal as she was not an employee but an elected member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.

4. In 2018, our law firm equally handled the case of Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, a member of the House of Representatives who was suspended for 180 days for accusing the Yakubu Dogara-led House of padding the 2016 national budget. The Federal High Court nullified the suspension and ordered the payment of the withheld salaries and allowances of the legislator.

5. Based on the case of the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly v Honourable Honourable Rifkatu Danna (2017) 49 WRN 82 which is the locus classicus on the subject matter, the 2017 suspension of Senator Ali Ndume by the Bukola Saraki-led Senate was annulled by the Federal High Court. The case filed on behalf of the Senator his lawyer, Marcel Oru Esq.

6. In the same vein, the 2020 suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Federal High Court. The case was filed on behalf of the Senator by Edward Omaga Esq.

7. Sometime in 2020, the Jigawa State House of Assembly suspended a lawmaker, Hon. Sani Iyaku, over alleged criticism of the state governor, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru who was on a visit to Hadejia town for a wedding ceremony. Honourable Iyaku challenged his suspension in the Jigawa State High Court. The trial Judge, Justice Ahmed ruled that the action of the Assembly did not comply with order 15 rule 74 (2)(c) and (3) a, b of the state House of Assembly standing orders 2017 and therefore declared the suspension illegal, inappropriate, null and void. The court also directed that the defendant be paid his three months allowances withheld to the tune of N3 million.

8. On November 18, 2020, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Akure, Ondo State dismissed the motion for stay of execution filed by the state House of Assembly against the judgment of the High court reinstating the three suspended members of the state assembly. The Presiding Judge, Justice Folayemi Omoleye, queried the appellants for bringing a frivolous appeal before the court, directing that the lawmakers should be reinstated immediately to resume their legislative duties.

9. On August 13, 2024, the same court reinstated Hon. Iroju Ogundeji as the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly. In a unanimous ruling, Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Frederick Oziakpono-Oho, and Yusuf Alhaji Bashir affirmed the decision made by Justice Akintan Osadebey, which reinstated the two-term legislator representing the Odigbo state constituency.

10. In the past five years, the High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, and the National Industrial Court nullified the illegal suspension of members of the Houses of Assembly of Kogi and Edo State respectively.

11. In March 2024, the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP; Bauchi) for three months for alleging that Nigeria's 2024 budget was padded. The Senator instructed our law firm to challenge the suspension in the Federal High Court. We wrote to the leadership of the Senate to review the suspension in view of the illegality of the action. As we were preparing to challenge the suspension in the Federal High Court, the Senate recalled Senator Ningi and paid his withheld salaries and allowances.

12. In view of the definitive pronouncements of the several High Court and the Court of Appeal on the illegality of the suspension of elected members of legislative houses in Nigeria, the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is the height of legislative recklessness. The illegal suspension should be lifted without any further delay. Since the Federal High Court had restrained the Senate Ethics Committee from hearing the complaint against the embattled Senator pending the determination of the motion on notice the Senate ought to have stayed action in accordance with the rule of law.

13. Finally, the official impunity of suspending legislators at the whims and caprices of leaders of the federal and state legislative houses must not be allowed to continue in Nigeria.

Femi Falana SAN