Product Code Database
Charles Chukwuma Soludo (; born 28 July 1960) is a Nigerian politician, banker, and economist who has served as the governor of Anambra State since March 2022. He is a former governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, from 2004 to 2009.
Soludo is a member of the British Department for International Development's International Advisory Group and was a member of Muhammadu Buhari's Presidential Economic Advisory Committee.
Soludo married Nonye Soludo in 1992, and they have six children.
Chukwuma has been trained and involved in research, teaching, and auditing in such disciplines as multi-country macro-econometric modelling, techniques of computable general equilibrium modelling, survey methodology, and panel data econometrics, among others. He studied and taught these courses at many universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and Warwick. Soludo has co-authored, co-edited, and authored a number of books on this subject matter.
In 1998, Soludo was appointed to the position of professor of economics at the University of Nigeria; the next year he became a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA.
Appointment to Economic Advisory Council
On 16 September 2019, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, appointed Soludo as a member of a newly formed 8-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) which would report directly to the President on issues related to national economic policies.
After this initial rancour, 36 out of the 47 candidates, and several top candidates of the PDP affirmed their support for Soludo on Wednesday, 14 October 2009. Soludo went on to lose to Peter Obi in an election that was largely considered free and fair according to major election observers. However, with his perceived solid performance as CBN governor, Soludo remains a respected economic policy authority in Nigeria. Political commentators, while urging an issue-based campaign in the 2011 election, had called on aspirants to work with respected economists like Soludo towards an acceptable economic plan.
On 17 July 2013, Soludo resigned from the PDP after writing a letter to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. He later joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance in preparation for the November 2013 governorship race in Anambra state. In mid-August 2013, he, along with five other qualified aspirants, were disqualified by the APGA Screening Committee.
In February 2021, Soludo officially declared his intention to run for the position of Governor of Anambra State under the banner of APGA. A month later, unidentified gunmen disrupted an interactive session between Isuofia youths and Soludo at the town's civic centre, leading to the death of three police officers.
On 9 November 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission announced Soludo as the winner of the 2021 Anambra State gubernatorial election and governor-elect of Anambra State. He was issued a certificate of return on 13 November 2021.
On 17 March 2022, Soludo was sworn in as the fifth Governor of Anambra State. During the inaugural event, a fight broke out between the wife of former Governor of Anambra State Willie Obiano, Ebele Obiano, and the wife of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
In December, he launched the "Onwa Dezemba" feast, aimed to project Igbo culture and communal bonding in the state.
Governor of Central Bank
Soludo joined the federal government in 2003 and served as chief economic adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo. Prior to his May 2004 appointment to the CBN's chairmanship, he was the Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria. In January 2008, in a speech to the Nigerian Economic Society, he predicted consolidation in the private banking industry, saying "By the end of 2008, there will be fewer banks than there are today. The restructuring of the banking industry has been attracting funds from local and foreign investors, which have increased banks' ability to lend to customers". Soludo hopes to see Nigeria become Africa's financial hub, and considers microfinance important to the federal government's economic policies.
Governor of Anambra State (2022–present)
First term
In September 2009, Soludo announced his aspiration for the seat of the Governor of Anambra State, in the southeastern Nigerian state's election of 9 February 2010. On 9 October 2009, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) chose Soludo as their consensus candidate for the position from a field of 47 candidates, after repeated attempts to hold elective primaries were stalled by court injunctions. (2026). 9782869787315, CODESRIA, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. ISBN 9782869787315 However, his nomination was contested by 23 of the 47 aspirants, citing lack of transparency in the process.
Second term
In November 2025, Soludo stood for re-election as governor of Anambra. He won by a majority of more than 300,000 votes. It was the second time for a candidate to win all 21 local government areas of the state, after Willie Obiano in 2017.
Distinctions
Publications
External links
Categories: Living People, 1960 Births, Nigerian Bankers, Central Bankers, Nigerian Economists, People From Anambra State, University Of Nigeria Alumni, Governors Of The Central Bank Of Nigeria, Governors Of Anambra State, 21st-century Nigerian Politicians, All Progressives Grand Alliance Politicians
|
|
