Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has been sworn in for a second term in office.

Soludo was sworn in moments after his deputy, Onyeka Ibezim, took his oath of office.

He took the oath during his inauguration, which was held at the newly renovated Alex Ekwueme Square in Akwa, the state capital, on Tuesday.

In his address, the governor promised to do more for the people, citing progress made in the areas of security as some of the achievements of his government in the last four years.

“The debilitating one-sit-at-home is over, and our schools, markets, businesses, and public servants are back to work. Ndi Anambra says that ours is now the safest, or at least one of the safest, states in Nigeria,” Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said.

READ ALSO: Shettima, Obasanjo, Jonathan Attend Soludo’s Second Term Inauguration

‘Back to Winning Ways’

Soludo declared that with the development strides of his administration, “Anambra is now back to winning ways”.

Re-echoing the importance of security, Soludo said, “if we build the skyscrapers and flyovers to be inhabited by the ‘Okeite’ and ‘Ezenwanyi’ generations, our homeland will be desolate and our efforts in vain.”

The governor said his administration, upon assumption of office four years ago, promised a “revolution” and moral rebirth as part of the ways to address insecurity.

“With the enforcement of our Homeland Security Law 2025, Oso Soludo is real. Hundreds of these dangerous native doctors are on the run. The poster boy of the new phenomenon—Akwa Okuko tiwara aki—has pleaded guilty and sentenced to a jail term,” the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said.

“His massive shrine has been destroyed. We are on a serious crusade for ethical and cultural rebirth— going back to the roots of what made us great and unstoppable – values of enterprise and integrity (aka aja aja na-ebute onu mmanu mmanu). That way we can rescue our youths and secure the future—away from drugs, cultism, magic, and criminality.”

READ ALSO: Shettima Praises Soludo, Says Tinubu Benefits From Anambra Gov’s Counsel

Praise from Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the event, praised Soludo for his contributions to national unity and development.

According to him, President Tinubu’s government has immensely benefitted from the Anambra governor’s constructive advice despite Soludo being a member of an opposition party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

“The policies of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have benefited from the candour, specialist insights, and patriotic counsel of this distinguished economist—this restless thinker, this public intellectual of uncommon range, both in open forums and in private conversation,” he said.

“That is how it should be. That is what it means to be in the business of nation-building. It means placing the welfare of the federation above the vanity of partisan fences. It means understanding that Nigeria is too precious a vessel to be abandoned to the storm simply because the rowers wear different colours ”.

Shettima believes the support of Soludo’s deputy, Ibezim, is critical to the success of the next four years, asking him to back the Anambra governor and show “loyalty and discipline”.

“And as Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim takes this oath once again beside him, the state is also affirming that leadership is not only about the brilliance of the man at the top but also about the steadiness, loyalty, and discipline of those who help translate vision into order and order into progress,” the former Borno governor said.

The event was attended by ex-presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, among others.

A former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and other dignitaries were also in attendance.

His swearing-in came months after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Soludo the winner of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in Anambra State.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Soludo as the winner of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in Anambra State.

Soludo, who polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeated his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Sir Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

Sixteen candidates from various political parties participated in the election.

The state had 2,788,864 registered voters, out of which 598,229 were accredited. A total of 595,298 votes were cast, while 11,244 votes were rejected across the 21 local government areas.

From the results announced, Soludo of APGA won in all 21 local government areas.