By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo said his administration would begin to document all the native doctors practicing in the state, as part of the strategies to combating the alarming rate of insecurity in the state.
Governor Soludo declared this on Friday at the 2024 Public Service Day celebration in the state, which held at the Jerome Udorji Secretariat Complex, Awka, Anambra State capital.
Themed “Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate”, the event, which is an annual ceremony to celebrate the public servants in the state, also attracted top government functionaries and public servants from different MDAs in the state.
Speaking at the occasion, Governor Soludo, who highlighted the various giant strides and achievements recorded by his administration in different sectors and different parts of the state, further lauded the state’s workforce and its leadership for giving their best, and for their exceptional support, efforts, and inputs which, he said, had contributed significantly to progress of the state.
He also reiterated the administration’s commitment to its vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland, emphasizing that his administration’s projects, policies and programs are usually targeted in such a way that they can benefit everyone, irrespective of class or social status —all in the spirit of Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya (Leaving No One Behind). These projects, policies and programs, the Governor noted, have contributed in massive influx of people into the state, as a destination hub it’s envisioned to be.
While acknowledging that Anambra used to be a home for all, Soludo, however, emphasized that the state should be home for all law-abiding citizens, and not for anyone who would come to distort the peace and progress of the state.
The Governor, who said that over 70% of the hoodlums and criminal elements so far arrested in Anambra are non-indigenes, also recalled that his administration recently briefed the citizens on the security situation in the state, where he also rolled out some kinetic and non-kinetic mechanisms and strategies towards combating the situation, one of which is the launching of a new security force, known as “Udo Ga-Achị.”
Soludo also noted that the formation of the security force proposed to take full operation by January 2025, has already partially kicked off, with some activities already on motion to actualize that. He further reassured that his administration would stop at nothing in its efforts to weed out and crush the criminal elements terrorizing the Anambra if they refuse to repent or leave the state.
The Governor, however, observed that hard drugs and some diabolic native doctors in the state are part of the forces aiding and fueling the evil and criminality therein. The native doctors, he noted, encourage and deceive the hoodlums by preparing different kinds of charms and protectives for them for their operation. He also revealed that even kidnap victims are being kept in the shrines of some of the native doctors, showing that they work hand-in-hand with those criminal elements, who use their shrines as hideouts.
Consequent upon this, therefore, the Governor, who assured that the government would sustain the ongoing war against drug abuse in the state, also declared outright war on all the evil and diabolic native doctors in the state. As part of the step towards effecting this war, the Governor declared that all the herbalists in Anambra must be comprehensively captured and documented, for government to have their full details and know about their operations, including the kinds of medicines or charms each of them prepares.
While noting that anyone with a record of preparing evil charms will be dealt with and have his/her shrines destroyed; Governor Soludo also urged Ndị Anambra and all the Presidents-General to help expose all the evil native doctors in their communities and areas, for decisive actions from the government. He further warned that any PG who shields or fails to expose and let the government know about any evil herbalists in his community would be sacked, arrested and prosecuted, as an accomplice and shielder of criminals.
Earlier speaking at the event, the Head of Service, Barr. Theodora Igwegbe, also took time to enumerate some of the various projects, policies and programs of the Soludo Administration that have specifically benefited the state workforce.
The most recent of these, she highlighted, include the approval of the ongoing re-construction of the State Secretariat Road, payment of monthly minimum wage of N71,000 net pay and above to civil servants, prompt payment of salaries on 25th of every month, installation of solar-powered streetlights and CCTV cameras in the environs of the Secretariat Complex. Others, she further highlighted, include the constitution of the Civil Service Commission, constitution of the Minimum Wage Act Implementation Committee, monthly payment of N10,000 to every pensioner in the state pending the review of pension, resolution of the 17-year-old industrial disputes between the state government and the staff of the defunct Anambra State Water Corporation and Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency by approving the payments of their salaries and clearance of their accumulated benefits, among others.
While commending the Soludo Administration for prioritizing the welfare of Anambra workers, the Head of Service, who, though, made an 8-point request from the Governor —generally centering on enhancing the welfare, operational efficiency, safety and better working condition of the workers— further reassured him of the commitment and support of the state’s workforce in helping his administration fully accomplish its vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland.
The event also featured the delivery of a public lecture on the theme of the event —“Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate” by the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Health, Dr. Mrs. Obiageli Uchebo, among other remarks and goodwill messages.
This reporter, Izunna Okafor, gathered that the event also had in attendance, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim; Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Ernest Ezeajughi; State Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Barr. Ifeatu Obiokoye; President-General of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), Barr. Titus Akpudo; Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, public servants, leaders of organized labour, among others.
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