Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo was sworn in as the fifth executive governor of Anambra State on March 17. His inauguration marks a joyous end of his more than a decade quest to become governor. In 2009, he had contested under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Peter Obi, the then candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

It is interesting to observe that today, the two have switched parties and the former governor is now a member of the PDP. We find this quite interesting as it gives vent to the axiom that in politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent foes, but permanent interests. It equally proves that political parties are mere vehicles in the democratic process and in the Nigerian environment, politicians tend to easily oscillate from one party to the other, given that there seems to be no remarkable ideological differences.

However, we note that Soludo has come into office with a huge experience in both local and international economic policy formulation and advisory sectors. It is not surprising therefore that the people and indeed most Nigerians have great expectations from his government. All eyes are seemingly on him to see how well he would keep to his promise to do things differently in the office.

Expectedly, we note that his first action, in alignment with his vision of taking the road less travelled, was his decision to have a very low budget inauguration that did not cost the tax payers a dime. He cancelled the very extravagant post-inauguration jamboree that set most states back by hundreds of millions. His speech was as inspiring as it touched all the critical areas that are at the top of the list — security, law and order, inward integration, calling on his fellow elites to be more proactive and join in state and nation-building, inclusivity in government, revenue generation, etc.

He started his inauguration speech by acknowledging that he is an ‘employee’ of the people and would serve them as a loyal employee. He explained the low key post-inauguration plans as a means of saving money and showing that inaugurations must not be seen as some form of jamboree. Celebrations must not precede performance; work comes first and he demonstrated that by working for hours after the inauguration. He explained his economic policy of encouraging local production and promised to be the chief marketer for any brand produced in Anambra, the South East and Nigeria at large.

He wore the hand-woven akwete from Aba women, his shoes were made in Ogbunike, the local delicacy, abacha, was from Umunze, the palmwine from one of the villages was an apt replacement for some imported exotic wines and spirits. His official car is from Innoson Motors in Nnewi. He expressed interest in moving the state up the economic ladder by taking hard but progressively productive decisions as the country moves away from an oil-dependent economy to a tech-based and more diverse 21st century economy.

We commend his attempt at pointing the torch inwards and seeking to return confidence in leadership, a value that seems to be in very short supply in the country. However, while we commend his proposed focus and leadership style, we see as seemingly too hasty his recent announcement through a media interview that the former governor, Willie Obiano, left a paltry N300m and a huge debt for the state.

While we do not in any way support profligacy in government, we would have expected the new governor to present a thorough audit of the last administration’s budgetary spending before making any statement. It is not always advisable to draw premature conclusions about preceding governments. Governments are not banks, so money made in the state is supposed to be used to work in the state. It will be interesting for the public to know the income and expenditure patterns of his predecessor to avoid ill-informed people making flawed judgments.

Beyond the above, we expect the governor to talk less and let his actions speak for him most of the time. We wish him and the state luck while we expect that he leaves worthy legacies for future generations.