Profile Of Soludo, Former CBN Governor, Astute Economist Seeking Reelection In Anambra

The trajectory of Charles Chukwuma Soludo to becoming Anambra governor started in 20o9 when he announced his interest in governing the southeastern state in the 9 February 2010 election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but lost to the then candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peter Obi.

On 17 July 2013, Soludo resigned from the PDP and joined APGA in preparation for the November 2013 governorship race in Anambra state.

However, in mid-August 2013, Soludo, along with five other qualified aspirants, were disqualified by the APGA Screening Committee.

In 2021, Soludo returned, battling with other party bigwigs to become the flagbearer of APGA, survived the scrutiny, traversed the length and breadth of the state to sell his agenda, and later emerged as Governor.

Soludo, an astute economist, embodies the life of a man who would never give up on his dreams, despite the hurdles and twists along his path. In this article, Abia Radio News examines the profile of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is seeking reelection.

1. Soludo was born on 28 July 1960, into the family of Pa Simeon Soludo, in Isuanioma, located in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

2. Soludo’s mother, Mgbafor, was said to have died during the civil war when he was barely eight.

3. Soludo obtained his BSc in Economics from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, Enugu State, in 1984 (First Class Honours) before bagging his MSc Economics in 1987, and a PhD in 1989 from the same Institution.

He finished as the top student at the three levels before being appointed to his professorship in 1998 at the same University.

4. As a lecturer, Soludo was said to have authored over 82 scholarly publications and became a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US, in 1999.

5. He has also taught and trained at Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick University, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; Wolfson College, UN Economic Commission for Africa as a post-doctoral fellow and the International Monetary Fund.

6. Soludo has served as a consultant for several global organisations, including UNCTAD, European Union (EU), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), African Development Bank (ADB), African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

7. He served as the Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria IN 2003.

8. In May 2004, he became the CBN governor and led the consolidation policy of the Nigerian banking system.

9. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Soludo in September 2019 as a member of the newly formed eight-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) that reports directly to the President.

10. Governor Soludo is a recipient of the national honour of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) – Nigeria’s third-highest national honour.

As the Anambra state gubernatorial election holds on 8 November 2025, Soludo is optimistic about defeating the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ukachukwu Nicholas; Labour Party, George Moghalu; and the PDP, Jude Ezenwafor, to emerge Governor for the second time.

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