As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu touched down in Anambra State on Thursday to commission three state projects, the ceremony was met not just with fanfare, but with blistering political critique. The sharpest came from Valentine Ozigbo, one of Nigeria?s most respected business leaders and a leading contender in the upcoming Anambra 2025 governorship race.

In an official statement on Thursday, May 8, 2025, Ozigbo welcomed President Tinubu with grace ? and then used the occasion to launch a searing assessment of Governor Chukwuma Soludo?s tenure.

?Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I warmly welcome you to Anambra State ? the heartbeat of the Southeast,? Ozigbo, the immediate past President and Group CEO of Transcorp Plc, began.

?It is always a moment of pride when the Commander-in-Chief visits our beloved state, and we honour your presence as a sign of national unity and shared purpose.?

But the tone quickly shifted.

Describing Soludo?s three-year record as ?a glaring theatre of missed priorities, misplaced ambitions, and media optics masquerading as progress,? Ozigbo questioned the wisdom of showcasing projects such as an amusement park ? dubbed Solution FunCity ? while essential public needs remain ignored.

?Governance is not a film trick,? Ozigbo wrote. ?Governance is not about cutting ribbons on facades while the foundation rots.?

Among the projects commissioned today were a new Government House, the aforementioned amusement park, and the Emeka Anyaoku Institute for International Studies and Diplomacy at Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

To Ozigbo, these are monuments to image management rather than substantive development.

?In over three years in office, Governor Soludo has delivered zero public housing, zero real investment inflow, and zero structural transformation of our economy,? he charged.

He reserved particular scorn for the amusement park. ?This facility should rightly have been left to private investors in a healthy economic climate. What critical social problem does this park solve? Hunger? Unemployment? Fear??

Ozigbo went further, describing the commissioning as an ?act of political cowardice? after reports surfaced that APGA members were instructed not to wear party-branded clothing to the event ? allegedly to avoid negative optics before the President.

?What a betrayal,? he wrote. ?If your policies are strong and your house is in order, why hide your colours??

A multiple-award-winning global CEO, Ozigbo has emerged as a vocal moral voice in the state?s political arena. His statement today underscored not just policy failures, but a broader crisis of leadership.

?We deserve a government that builds lives, not just lodges,? he declared.

?A leadership that puts people before propaganda. A Governor whose work speaks louder than his PR.?

Ozigbo also drew attention to Anambra?s persistent economic and social woes ? especially the housing crisis, lack of transport infrastructure, and unaddressed insecurity.

?Most civil servants in Awka ? the same people whose taxes fund this carnival ? cannot afford to live in the city,? he noted, citing annual rents of N1.3 million for two-bedroom apartments and stagnant wages.

The Soludo administration has not issued an immediate response to Ozigbo?s remarks.

Still, for many in the state, Ozigbo?s words resonate with a growing fatigue over what critics call ?performance politics.?

?As I have always said, Anambra is not short of talent or promise ? we are short of leadership that puts the people first,? Ozigbo concluded.

?I do not believe in politics as performance art. I believe in politics as service ? rooted in compassion, driven by vision, and measured by real change in people?s lives.?

Ozigbo?s full statement is republished below:

STATEMENT BY VALENTINE OZIGBO ON PRESIDENT TINUBU?S VISIT TO ANAMBRA STATE AND GOVERNOR SOLUDO?S FAILED ATTEMPT AT IMAGE LAUNDERING

Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I warmly welcome you to Anambra State ? the heartbeat of the Southeast, a land renowned for its enterprise, intellect, and indomitable spirit. Anambra is home to some of Nigeria?s finest minds and boldest achievers ? a people whose resilience and innovation have shaped our national story.

It Is always a moment of pride when the Commander-in-Chief visits our beloved state, and we honour your presence as a sign of national unity and shared purpose.

Mr. President arrives Anambra State to commission what Governor Chukwuma Soludo has styled as ?landmark? projects ? a new Government House, an amusement park dubbed Solution FunCity, and an institute in Nnamdi Azikiwe University bearing the name of the revered Chief Emeka Anyaoku.

Unfortunately, what should have been an opportunity to showcase bold, transformative governance has instead become a glaring theatre of missed priorities, misplaced ambitions, and media optics masquerading as progress.

Let us be clear: Governance is not a film trick. Governance is not about cutting ribbons on facades while the foundation rots.

In over three years in office, Governor Soludo has delivered zero public housing, zero real investment inflow, and zero structural transformation of our economy.

Instead of addressing the escalating cost of living, the housing crisis in Awka, the crumbling infrastructure across LGAs, or the deepening insecurity that has made daily life a gamble, the Governor has chosen to showcase an amusement park. This facility should rightly have been left to private investors in a healthy economic climate.

Just to be clear, most civil servants in Awka ? the same people whose taxes fund this carnival ? cannot afford to live in the city. A two-bedroom flat goes for N1.3 million a year. Transportation is unreliable. Social services are patchy. And public trust in the APGA-led government is rapidly eroding.

If Governor Soludo had taken insecurity seriously from the start of his tenure, if he had matched his rhetoric with decisive action, there would be no need for state-funded distractions like a ?funpark? to ease public frustration.

We don?t need distractions ? we need direction. What critical social problem does this park solve? Hunger? Unemployment? Fear?

And now, in an act of political cowardice, he has reportedly ordered APGA members not to wear party-branded clothing to today?s event, fearing it may stain the party?s image before the President and the public. What a betrayal. If your policies are strong and your house is in order, why hide your colours?

Dear Gov. Soludo, let me say this, directly and without apology: Bringing the President to commission a handful of overhyped projects does not mask your failure. It doesn?t put food on the table. It doesn?t create jobs. And it certainly doesn?t fool Ndi Anambra.

We deserve better. We deserve a government that builds lives, not just lodges. A leadership that puts people before propaganda. A Governor whose work speaks louder than his PR.

The time for vanity is over. The stakes are too high.

As I have always said, Anambra is not short of talent or promise ? we are short of leadership that puts the people first. I do not believe in politics as performance art. I believe in politics as service ? rooted in compassion, driven by vision, and measured by real change in people?s lives.

As Anambra 2025 draws near, our message must be loud and clear: we do not want more ribbon-cutting distractions; we want a future worth living for. And that future must begin now.

Ka Anambra Chawapu!

Valentine Ozigbo

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