Soludo, who spoke at the International Convention Center, Awka on Sunday while marking the second anniversary of his administration, stated that “any governor that comes (into power), floods you with offers for borrowing and so on and so forth, but we decided for the first two years to demonstrate something: Capacity to do more with less.

“And so far as has been said, for two years, despite receiving about 25 per cent in real terms or in dollar terms of what was in the past, we have chosen deliberately not to borrow,” Mr Soludo said.

Recall that Mr Soludo, who is a professor of economics came into power as the governor of Anambra State on 17 March 2022. He also said his wife, Nonye Soludo, does not have an official car as the first lady of Anambra State at the moment.

“I have been asked severally; ‘how do you do without borrowing and with the difficult circumstances?’ And my answer is that we are doing so because we are executing the most austere measure of government ever.

“As I speak to you, I am not taking any salary. I am not paid any salary by the Anambra State Government. Even the First Lady of Anambra does not have any official car, she still drives my personal vehicles,” Soludo added.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that some state governments in Nigeria appear to be allocating funds to such offices, there are claims that the Office of the First Lady of a state is not backed by law. For instance, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), did not make any provision for the Office of First Lady of a state.

Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stressed that his decision to cut cost of governance in the state was aimed at directing resources and prioritising them to things that are important to the people of the state.

He noted that his administration has prioritised areas that have been neglected in the past, and listed some projects done in such areas as building hospitals, roads and schools.

While assuring the people of Anambra State that any money entrusted in his hand as the state governor would be accounted for, the former CBN boss emphasized that if he ever borrows, the people will be shown the projects the loan was used for and how those projects would be used to repay the loan.