Unknown Gunmen on Wednesday evening attacked a former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and killed three police orderlies attached to him while Anambra State commissioner for Public Utilities, Mr Emeka Ezenwanne, was abducted by the gunmen during the attack.
The incident reportedly happened in the professor’s home town, Isiofia, in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State where he was having an interactive session with the youths.
Eyewitness told reporters;
“I can’t confirm the whereabouts of Prof. Soludo . There was a stampede, I didn’t know where Soludo is now.
“I only learnt that the state Commissioner for Public Utilities, Emeka Ezenwanne, was taken away, but I don’t know the whereabouts of Soludo.”
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6 gubernatorial elections in the state.
There are reports that this attack could have been politically motivated.
Who is Charles Chukwuma Soludo?
Charles Chukwuma Soludo, is a Nigerian economics professor and a former governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Chukwuma was named governor on 29 May 2004.
He is also a member of the British Department for International Development’s International Advisory Group.
In September 2009, Soludo announced his aspiration for the seat of the Governor of Anambra State, in the south-eastern 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.
However, his nomination was contested by 23 of the 47 aspirants, citing lack of transparency in the process.
After this initial rancour, 36 out of the 47 candidates, and several top shots[who?] of the PDP affirmed their support for Soludo on Wednesday, 14 October 2009.
Soludo went on to lose to Peter Obi in an election which 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 People’s Democratic Party 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.
On 31 March 2021, Gunmen disrupted an interactive session between Isuofia youths and a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and aspirant of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), in the November 6 governorship election, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, at the town’s civic centre.