“The fact on the ground is that Anambra’s security situation remains dismal.” —Ebuka Onyekwelu
Anambra State, under its current leadership, has been defined by a brutal willingness to fight. From verbal attacks on individuals and opposition politicians in the state, to attacking organizations, Soludo’s government has been significantly marked by a wild combat. Without being able to distill its own strategic terms of engagement, the government has turned itself into a public fighter at war just to be seen that it can make war.
A recent study on State Performance Index across the thirty-six states of Nigeria has once again demonstrated the government’s default combat mode. Instead of developing a meaningful organization-government engagement process, the government has released a statement signed by Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake, the Commissioner for Budget, not only questioning the report, but in fact ridiculing Philips Consulting. Unhappy that the report revealed a shocking trend of decline in Anambra’s performance in several critical development indices, the government of Anambra State has again decided to be combative rather than engage in a procedural and methodical dismantling of perceived misrepresentation. Philips Consulting is a known, credible organization, and there are standard procedures in engaging a credible organization, even when one has clear facts to show that the organization was wrong. Sadly, this was not followed by the Anambra State Government, which simply launched an attack on the organization because of its findings, which were deemed false from an obvious political spectacle.
In 2023, pcl State Performance Index reported that Anambra State was a “stellar performer.” The report then went on to elaborate that “Anambra State stands out as an exemplary state in effectively leveraging its potential, earning the recognition as a top-performing state and best in the Southeast zone.” Soludo’s government took that as a good report from a credible organization.
Only two years later, the organization based on its latest findings showed that Anambra’s basic education is weak in terms of “functional basic education facilities to population ratio,” and therefore ranked 33rd in Nigeria as a whole, and is vilified. The report further revealed that on the infrastructure investment gap, Anambra ranks 33rd in Nigeria because of “limited investment into public infrastructure”. In terms of quality of roads, the study revealed that Anambra ranked 31st in Nigeria, showing a serious challenge with the quality of roads in the State. Earlier in his tenure, Governor Soludo had assured that he was going to deliver only quality roads with a lifespan of 25 to 30 years. In a hearing at the House of Assembly around 2022, the Commissioner for Budget, Mrs. Nnake, and former Commissioner for Finance, Ifeatu Onejeme, assured that the government is determined to construct only durable roads with a long lifespan. However, many of the roads constructed so far by Soludo’s government that are less than a year or two years old already have visible cracks, while some are already caving in, or their drainage can be seen collapsing. This reality tends to align with the position of Philips Consulting. Several Spots on the Awaka-Ekwulobia road, which has been completed, are already showing obvious signs of poor-quality work that betrays its durability. This applies to many of the roads so far delivered by Soludo’s administration.
On the security of lives and properties, Anambra was ranked 36th in the federation, according to the report. In other words, Anambra was ranked as the most unsafe state in Nigeria. The fact on the ground is that Anambra’s security situation remains dismal. Since 2021, the State has continued to observe a sit-at-home order to the extent that major markets in the state are closed for business on Mondays. By 8 pm, the roads in major cities of Awka, Onitsha, and Nnewi are completely deserted. Only a few days ago, about four people were killed in Ogidi, a community in Idemili North LGA of Anambra State. A cult war has also been reported to have led to the death of at least five persons in Awka, the state capital, in the past week. The situation is dire, so much so that even the vigilante group code-named Agunachemba has only added to the mix and dynamics of insecurity in the state, with careless killings and violence against civilians. In Onitsha main market last week, innocent civilians were ambushed like game by these government agencies and killed in broad daylight. Worst still, in terms of attitude towards state-controlled law enforcement, Anambra ranked 37th, coming behind all the states and the FCT. This, again, reflects the reality on the ground. Businessman and former chairman of the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Okey Akaneme, had his spinal cord damaged by a government agency in Onitsha in a bid to collect a levy right in his home, and he eventually died from that injury.
However, in terms of the availability of effective and safe public transportation, Anambra State was ranked 28th nationally by the report. This also reflects the reality in the state. The available means of public transportation in Anambra are deplorable. Very old buses with minus-zero comfort for commuters. That, unfortunately, is the most available means of intra-transportation in Awka, Nnewi, and Onitsha. The most convenient means of transportation in different parts of Anambra is a commercial motorcycle or a commercial tricycle. The study also ranked Anambra 23rd in terms of access to clean water. There is no public water supply in Anambra State. Initial effort to revive public water scheme in Anambra State by Soludo’s government has either been abandoned or left halfway. The public water supply is virtually nonexistent in Anambra State. Meanwhile, regarding the honesty of public servants, Anambra ranked 26th in the entire federation, according to the report.
Sadly, reacting to these stark realities, the Commissioner for Budget commenced her rebuttal by questioning Philips Consulting’s Competence in research. “Philip Consulting, once renowned for its expertise in Human Resource Services, now appears to have veered into areas far beyond its traditional competence.” This is a very ridiculous and unfortunate thing for a government to say. Is it truly overreaching for an organization reputed, traditionally, for human resource services, to deliver a credible report? The Commissioner then went straight to attack the methodology used by the organization. According to Mrs. Nnake, the report has methodological flaws because of a sample size of 78 respondents for a population estimate of 6 million people in Anambra state. The study, she noted, required a minimum of 385 respondents for a 5% margin of error, in accordance with Cochran’s formula. However, a careful look at the Philips Consulting methodology reveals that they used a mixed method, relying on both secondary data from credible sources and also using a non-probability sampling method, which does not require compliance with Cochran’s formula. Data generated from probability and non-probability sampling methods are scientific and can be used to make scientific inferences.
In refuting the report on basic education by the firm, the response from the Commissioner for Budget showed major logical weakness. She cited the employment of over eight thousand teachers as a sign that basic education was not weak in Anambra State. But she failed to say how many of those teachers were posted to primary schools owned by the government in the state. By the Commissioner’s logic, the mere activity of employing teachers automatically translates to learning or quality learning at primary schools. This type of thinking is only entertained in politics, where people throw activities around as results. She also mentioned free education, as well as the state’s ranking in the number of out-of-school children, to advance her argument. Again, simple logic flaws those without much effort. First, you can have a free, but horrible basic education. They are not mutually exclusive. In fact, free education might tend to foster weak basic education due to underfunding or poor remuneration of teachers. How much does the state pay primary school teachers to ensure that they deliver quality learning to students? On the other hand, pupils can be in school, but they are learning next to nothing due to structural difficulties.
On her other points, it was clear that the Commissioner was in a haste to defend the government she serves and was not interested in anything else. This is why she repeatedly mismatched activities for results. The Philips Consulting report was clearly result-centered. For instance, she claimed that the state had awarded 842.2 km of roads in three years. But the report did not concern itself with the activity of awarding roads, which is a normal political stunt. It concerned itself with the quality of roads built, which is a core governance issue, and as of today, there are more than enough facts that challenge the durability of roads being constructed by Soludo’s government.
In the end, the Anambra State Government only embarked on political combat, having failed to show any real substance against the report. Even more, the Government, through its Commissioner for Budget, failed to demonstrate both in its facts and in its analysis that the findings and analysis of Philips Consulting in its 2025 State Performance Index are flawed.
♦ Ebuka Onyekwelu, journalist and trained political scientist, is a writer and columnist with the West African Pilot News
EDITOR’S NOTE:
■ This is an Op-ed article. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of WAP. WAP does not endorse or support views, opinions, or conclusions drawn in opinion articles, and we are not responsible or liable for any content composition, accuracy, or quality within the article or for any damage or loss caused by and in connection with it.
- November 1, the Gathering Drum —A tide of quiet preparations - November 1, 2025
- Late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah: The Agony of a Legacy in Crisis - October 31, 2025
- Holding Power to the Fire: Journalism Lessons from Rufai Oseni’s Confrontation - October 23, 2025