By Nwanosike Onu,The Nation

Copyright thenationonlineng

It’s politically motivated, says Soludo

The two main opposition parties in Anambra State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP), have aligned with the recent index rating released by Phillips Consulting Limited.

According to the 2025 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index (PSPI), Anambra State was ranked 3rd in the country on a functional basic education facility to population ratio.

The report highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the state in 2025 while gauging citizens’ satisfaction on a host of issues like quality of roads, security, and the state of public hospitals.

The state also ranked 33rd in capital expenditure per capita, reflecting limited reinvestment into public infrastructure.

On public healthcare, the PSPI report ranked Anambra 30th in the nation, reflecting a drop in health service delivery.

The organisation also placed Anambra State second to the last in Nigeria, a little above Zamfara State.

Reacting to the slide in the performance rating, the Anambra State Chairman of the APC, Sir Basil Ejidike, described the current administration of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra as the worst in the country in terms of infrastructure, Insecurity and other crimes.

Read Also: The making of a terror: How Gentle de Yahoo graduated from land mediation to banditry

Ejidike, while speaking with The Nation on the phone Friday, said the report by the PCL should be the kind any reasonable person who had the interest of the state at heart would give.

He said the Anambra State governor, Prof Charles Soludo, had failed the people and residents in every way, adding that the infrastructural decay, killings, kidnappings, including other crimes had taken over the state, adding that the APC had heard the cries and lamentations of the people already.

“APGA is not a political party; they are only in the state by default. The only state they are holding at the juggler while the people live in bondage. We commend PCL for its sincere assessment.”

Also, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the state, Dr George Moghalu, did not hesitate in heaping praises on the PCL for what he described as its honest rating

Sir Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) told The Nation that the opinion of PCL had been what everybody had been saying, adding that Soludo and his party had failed the people of Anambra State.

Report politically motivated, says Soludo

While the organisation rated Anambra state as one of the worst in insecurity and infrastructure, the government described the rating as politically motivated.

Speaking with The Nation on Friday in Awka, Anambra State’s Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mafor, described those behind such a rating as being blind, adding that the literacy level of the state alone stands at 92.7%.

“Some people are sponsoring nonsense because of the election. All these are pure politics. The literacy level of Anambra alone is 92.7% and yet, we are rated alongside Zamfara, Borno and Yobe States.

“They should go and emulate organisations such as UNICEF, who are seeing clearly and check the recent Peer Review of the organisation and how Anambra State is placed.

“This government of Governor Soludo is a busy one and not ready to engage in altercations with anyone or group because the people are seeing with their eyes that their votes in the 2021 election were not in vain because of the administration’s performance.

“Let’s talk about performance a little. What is infrastructure? They are building schools. Are hospitals not part of it? Such projects made Soludo win awards as the Best Governor in this country from reputable organisations.

“This administration has built five brand new general hospitals in this state in addition to the three the state had before, bringing the number to eight. Which state in Nigeria can boast of that?

“It is like my own meaning of infrastructure is different from what others know. Today, almost 600 kilometres of roads have been asphalted, and many more are ongoing. Is that what some groups of people call under-performance?”

“We have over 200 upgraded schools, brand new government house in Anambra, which is only second to Aso Rock in this country. This government has done Amawbia -Ekwulobia- Uga road Federal highway. Are they not part of infrastructure and social amenities?

“Is water not part of infrastructure? The state is offering free education. How many States in Nigeria are doing that? People should look for other things to talk about, and not about performance by the Prof Chukwuma Soludo government, because no state comes second to Anambra, and that is why everybody in the state is saying, Solution is here.”

Mefor said as far as he was concerned, the entire index performance ratio boiled down to politics because the election was close, adding, ” they are sponsored “

Also, in a statement by the commissioner for Budget and Planning, Chiamaka Nnake, the office rejected the report, saying the PCL 2025 report produced results that were not only misleading but risk damaging its own professional reputation.

“Phillips Consulting Limited, once renowned for its expertise in human resource services, now appears to have veered into areas far beyond its traditional competence. Everyone now rushes into the business of ‘ranking’ as the fad in town.

“While it is not wrong for a firm to broaden its scope, such ventures demand rigorous training, capacity development, and methodological soundness. Without these, credibility is compromised, and reputations are put at risk.

“The 2025 PCL State Performance Index raises fundamental questions: What capacity does PCL have to rank Nigerian states?

“How was this research designed, and on what basis were such sweeping conclusions drawn?”