Governor Soludo Prioritises Education and Healthcare in 2026 Budget.

Governor Soludo Prioritises Education and Healthcare in 2026 BudgetGovernor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has prioritised education and healthcare in the 2026 Budget Proposal, with a focus on providing quality education and healthcare services to the people of Anambra State.

The budget allocates N162.6 billion for recurrent expenditure and N595.3 billion for capital expenditure, with a focus on building new schools, upgrading existing ones, and completing ongoing healthcare projects.

The governor, who has made significant transformation in the education and health sectors, stated that his administration will continue to construct new schools while upgrading and equipping existing ones to meet modern standards.

He stated, “We will commence the construction of new public primary schools in 30 out of the 76 communities that have never had a public primary school, setting a new benchmark for what an ideal school should look like in Anambra State. Alongside this, we will sustain the aggressive upgrade of infrastructure in our primary and secondary schools through multiple schemes, especially the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) programme, ensuring that learning environments across the State are conducive and equipped.”

Governor Soludo asserted that his government will establish two specialist tertiary institutions to strengthen the state’s higher education and support mission schools, particularly those that have been returned.

This is part of the ongoing reforms in the educational system, with a free education policy from primary to Senior Secondary School Year 3 (SS3), and the recruitment of an additional 3,115 teachers, thereby increasing the number to 8,115.

The governor has upgraded 22 secondary schools into smart schools, equipped over 60 secondary school laboratories with the required Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) equipment, and has increased the operational budgets for primary and secondary schools to ensure they deliver the quality education promised.

He said his administration will be deepening the ongoing interventions in healthcare and, in addition, completing the investment in the entire healthcare ecosystem with the completion of the College of Nursing and the construction of a specialist teaching hospital (with specialisation in Oncology). “Alongside these, we will continue the renovation and equipping of existing primary and secondary healthcare facilities across the State, among other interventions,” the governor stated.

Governor Soludo’s administration has provided free antenatal and delivery services for over 161,197 pregnant women, including 594 free caesarean surgeries with zero mortality. This achievement underscores the government’s commitment to reducing maternal mortality and improving healthcare outcomes.

He has also commissioned four brand-new General Hospitals in local governments that previously lacked such facilities, and is nearing completion on the construction, modernisation, and equipping of 326 primary healthcare centres across the state. These facilities are being equipped with solar power, boreholes, and essential medical equipment, ensuring that citizens have access to reliable and quality healthcare services.

The Trauma Centre at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital has been completed, enhancing the state’s capacity for emergency care. Furthermore, the government is determined to complete the coordinated wholesale centre in Oba, which will be the largest drug market in Africa, and is constructing a new nursing school to strengthen the health workforce pipeline.