Charles Soludo: Biography, career, governorship stint, achievements
It is not a regular to see technocrats venture into mainstream politics in Nigeria, but Charles Soludo has been one of the few that has broken the barrier. Not only did he overcome the obstacle, but he has also gone on to elevate himself and raise the standard for the technically skilled elite.
Not only has Soludo attained the highest rank in his field of academia, but he was also appointed to the apex position of his chosen career, a highly coveted position in Nigeria. His recent feat of attaining the highest political position in his state is the icing on the cake, despite being bugged by several encumbrances over the years.
So, who is Charles Soludo, the technocrat-cum-politician once described as the “Great Reformer” and well-respected in both the domestic and international scenes?
Table of Content hide 1Biography 2Career 2.1Private practice and academia 2.2Government service 2.3CBN Governor 2.4Other career/professional appointments 3Political career 4Governorship stint 5Achievements/awards 6Controversies 7FamilyBiography
Charles Chukwuma Soludo was born on 28 July 1960 in Isuofia, a village in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. He was born to the family of Simeon Soludo and the late Mgbafor Soludo, who reportedly passed on during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970.
Soludo attended Uga Boys’ Secondary School, Aguata, for his secondary school education and was appointed the Senior Prefect. He finished school by getting a distinction in his West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in 1980. He subsequently got admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and graduated with a First Class (Honours) Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1984. He also won departmental and faculty prizes as the best graduating student.
He returned to UNN, obtaining his Master’s (Economics) and Doctorate (Econometrics/Monetary Economics) degrees in 1987 and 1989, respectively. Like during his undergraduate studies, Soludo won the prizes for the best graduating student on both occasions.
Soludo has undergone post-doctoral training in some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, such as:
- The Brookings Institution, United States of America (January 1991- July 1992)
- IMF Research Department, United States of America (January- April 1994)
- Institute of Statistics and Economics and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford (April-July 1994) and (August 1997)
- The University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (September 1996 – June 1997)
- The University of Warwick, United Kingdom (July 1997)
Career
Private practice and academia
After he worked at the Department of Economics of the University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife) for his NYSC service year of 1984-1985, Charles Soludo began his career as an Audit Trainee at Coopers and Lybrand, an international firm of auditors/chartered accountants, from August to December 1985.
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The trained economist was subsequently employed by his alma mater in February 1988. He began work at the institution’s Department of Economics a year after he obtained his Master’s degree and lectured for 15 years. While lecturing at UNN, Soludo taught at many globally renowned universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and Warwick. As a consultant to IMF, he taught a course on “Financial Programming and Policy” to senior staff of central banks and ministries of finance in Washington, DC, and Anglophone West Africa for several years. He also served as a consultant to the Africa Division of the World Bank.
The highlight of Soludo’s academic career was when he was promoted to Professor of Economics by UNN in 1998. The following year, he was a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in the US state of Pennsylvania. During his years of lecturing, Soludo wrote over 82 scholarly publications, over 220 conference papers and technical reports, and authored, co-authored, or edited many books. The majority of his publications were in his specialised field of macroeconomics.
Government service
Charles Soludo got his first stint in government when he was appointed as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 to May 2004. He simultaneously served as the Deputy Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission (NPC).
CBN Governor
Pleased with the level and quality of work done, President Obasanjo elevated the Aguata-born economist by appointing him as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in May 2004. As Nigeria’s top banker and head of the country’s apex bank, Soludo led the consolidation of Nigerian banks. This restructuring helped stabilise Nigerian banks and made them robust, earning him acclaim locally and internationally.
Alongside working as the CBN Governor, Soludo served as the Chairman of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc. It was reported that under his tenure, NSPM Plc met 100 per cent of Nigeria’s currency printing needs and stopped relying on printing its currency abroad.
Soludo served one term of five years and left the CBN and NSPM Plc after his tenure elapsed in June 2009. Asides from the aforementioned positions, the economist also served in other capacities in government, such as:
- Founder/Founding Chairman, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC): 2006 – 2009
- Alternate Governor at IMF/World Bank’s Board of Governors: 2004 – 2009
Other career/professional appointments
- Founder/Founding Executive Director: African Institute for Applied Economics, Enugu: 2001 – 2003
- Founder/Founding Chairman, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC): 2006 – 2009
- Member, UK-DFID International Advisory Group, 2005- 07
- Member, Chief Economist Advisory Council, The World Bank, 2005- 2012
- African member of the Stiglitz Commission: 2008- 2009
- Member (and Chairman of Finance committee), The South Centre, Geneva, Switzerland: 2011
- Member, IMF External Advisory Group for the Triennial Surveillance Review in 2011
- Member, Technical Advisory Group, Natural Resource Charter, Oxford University; 2009-2012
- Chairman, African Heritage Institution 2009-2021
- Chairman of Drafting Committees for National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS); and Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020)
- Chairman of Board, Anambra State Tourism and Leisure Company (ANSTAL) Ltd: 2018 – 2021
- Member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) 2019-2022
- Served in over 20 technical committees of the Federal Government
- Chairman or member of the Board of eight corporations
He also worked as a consultant for many international organisations, including The World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the European Union (EU), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), African Development Bank (AfDB), and the United Nations Development Programme.
Political career
Armed with the experience he garnered, having served in various capacities in government and the private sector, Charles Soludo ventured into politics in September 2009 when he declared his intention to contest for the office of Governor of Anambra State. He subsequently pitched his tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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The professor was chosen as the consensus candidate for the PDP, to the chagrin of other aspirants under the party’s platform who contested the decision. He eventually became the party’s standard bearer, but he and his party lost the 2010 Anambra governorship election to the incumbent, Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He left the PDP on 17 July 2013 and later joined APGA as he declared his intention to contest the 2013 Anambra governorship election. However, he was disqualified along with five other aspirants from contesting for the party’s governorship primary by the APGA Screening Committee.
Governorship stint
Charles Soludo remained undeterred and remained in APGA as he, once again, announced his intention to contest for the highest political office in his state in February 2021. He won a tightly contested APGA governorship primary and was declared the party’s standard bearer for the 2021 Anambra State gubernatorial election. He, however, went through a heated legal tussle as a court initially restrained him from presenting himself as the APGA candidate, before a superior court set aside the judgment and declared him as the lawful candidate of the party.
The election held on 6 November 2021 was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). After a supplementary election was held in the Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, Soludo was declared the winner of the governorship election on 9 November 2021 as he polled 112,229 votes, the highest number of votes.
After two unsuccessful attempts to attain the highest political office in his state, Soludo was sworn in as the fifth Governor of Anambra State on 17 March 2002.
Since he assumed office as Governor of Anambra State, Soludo has implemented a new tax regime for various items. He said this is being implemented as part of his government’s efforts to increase the state’s revenue and get resources to execute projects needed.
For instance, the government announced an increment in taxes for commercial tricycle (popularly known as keke riders) operators and bus shuttle drivers to N15,000 and N18,000 monthly, respectively. This announcement, however, sparked protests in the state.
Similarly, the state government, through the Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA), announced new rates for waste collection and disposal. The fees range from N1,200 annually for those living in residential apartments in rural areas to N18,000 annually for those living in semi-urban and urban areas. For commercial entities such as banks, hotels, gaming houses/pool agencies, restaurants, and drinking parlours, the fee range from N4,200 annually in rural areas to N240,000 in semi-urban areas to N1.2 million annually in urban areas.
Likewise, the state government slammed a new levy on burial banners, posters, and other types of posters pasted across the state. According to the Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA), 4 X 6ft banners will be levied N5,000 for two weeks, 8 X 10ft banners will be levied N20,000 for two weeks, while banners and posters above 10ft will be levied N100,000 for two weeks. In addition, all posters will be levied N5000 for two weeks.
Achievements/awards
Charles Soludo has received over 100 awards and honours around the world. Some of the prominent ones are:
- Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR): 2006
- Global and African Central Bank Governor of the Year: 2005, 2006, and 2007 (by FT- Banker, Euromoney, and Annual Meetings Daily)
- African Bank Regulator of the Year: 2007 (by African Investor)
- “Man of the Year” by six Nigerian newspapers (for the transformation of the Nigerian banking and financial system)
- D.Sc (Honoris Causa) by the University of Agriculture, Markurdi; University of Calabar; and University of Nigeria, Nsukka
- “Most Distinguished Alumnus” of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka: 2005
Controversies
Although Soludo has not been personally enmeshed in public scandals, he has had some controversies recorded in his family’s name.
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For instance, he claimed that his family had to go into exile after attempts to kidnap his children at Offa, Kwara State, because some disgruntled elements were reportedly unhappy with the banking consolidation policy, which he led as CBN Governor.
The safety of his family was threatened once again when his father was kidnapped on 27 October 2009, in the run-up to the 2010 Anambra governorship election. His aged father, who was then 78 years old, was released about a week later, although it remains unclear as to whether he (Simeon Soludo) was released following a ransom payment or not.
While holding an interactive session with youths in his village, Isuofia, as part of his governorship campaign on 31 March 2021, unknown gunmen stormed the village’s town hall, the venue of the meeting, and killed three police officers.
At his inauguration as Governor of Anambra State on 17 March 2022, a fight broke out between Ebelechukwu Obiano, the wife of the immediate past governor of Anambra State Willie Obiano, and Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the wife of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the ex-Biafra warlord and stalwart of APGA.
Family
Soludo got married to his wife, Nonyelum, on 26 December 1992. Nonyelum, a Computer Scientist and Accountant, hails from Isuofia, the same place as her husband.
The couple has six children – two boys and four girls.
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