Anambra State government has described the 2025 Philips Consulting Limited (PCL) State Performance Index (PSPI) report as mischievous and unprofessional, lacking in basic standard for credible and authoritative research-based performance rating.

In the contrary, the State has listed the various achievements so far recorded by the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo in barely three and half years in office.
They also noted that some other independent and credible authorities have recently rated the same government as one of the best in the country.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Soludo, Mr Christian Aburime, The 2025 Philips Consulting Limited (PCL) State Performance Index (PSPI) falsely ranked Anambra State near the bottom in critical areas like education, healthcare and capital expenditure per capita.

He said the false rating was coming when international bodies like UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Gates Foundation deploy teams for rigorous fieldwork and ended up ranking Anambra at the pinnacle.

He added, ‘‘Critics, particularly those playing insidious politics towards elections, seize on this report to decry Governor Soludo’s “policy failure.” For instance, they lament a supposed reversal in education, invoking some previous missionary school handovers as a golden age.

However, Aburime gave insight into the true position of governance performance under Governor Soludo’s regime.

He stated: ‘‘Under Governor Soludo, Anambra has implemented truly free education from nursery to JSS3 since September 2023, extending to SS3 in 2024 across all public schools. The result? A 27.05% surge in primary enrollments and 10.36% in secondary, slashing the out-of-school rate to a national low of 2.9% per UNESCO. And this is the lowest in the country
‘‘What’s more, no other state matches the recruitment of 8,115 teachers in Governor Soludo’s first two years in office, transparently selected to end the plague of teacher-less classrooms. ‘

‘Massive upgrades in physical and technological infrastructure have propelled Anambra’s students to global stardom: the 2023 International Debate Championship in Malaysia, clinched by Anambra pupils; Christ the King College, Onitsha, securing gold in the 2024 World Affairs Challenge, the first for Nigeria in 32 years, with their innovative “Wise Tales by Primus” project addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals; St. John Vianney Science College winning the 2024 National Girls in ICT Competition with a virtual reality tour of Nigerian landmarks; and in June 2025, Anambra teams dominating the UK-Nigeria International Debate Championship. ‘‘Even in standardised tests, Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, boasted 24 students scoring above 300 in the 2025 UTME, while Okeke Chinedu Christian from Anambra topped the nation with 375 marks.

‘‘These are not anomalies; they are the fruits of an administration prioritising quality over quantity, outcomes over optics. PCL’s 33rd ranking? A farce that ignores learning metrics, teacher quality, and these irrefutable wins’’.
Further debunking the PCL’s rating, Aburime stated: ‘‘Healthcare fares no better in PCL’s distorted lens, slotting Anambra at 30th despite empirical evidence of excellence.

‘‘In 2024, the National Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge, judged by UNICEF, the Dangote Group, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the Gates Foundation, crowned Anambra No. 1 in the Southeast and nationwide, awarding $1.2 million after on-site assessments by a 15-member international team across all states.

‘‘This accolade celebrates Governor Soludo’s unprecedented free antenatal and delivery services in public hospitals, benefiting over 120,000 women in two years. Add massive investments in new and upgraded general hospitals, telemedicine, and tertiary care, and the metrics speak volumes: child mortality second only to Lagos, public hospital patronage skyrocketing from 25% in 2022 to 73% today.

‘‘PCL’s ranking, devoid of such context, reeks of bias, perhaps because it prioritises perceptions from a handful of respondents over peer-reviewed, field-validated data.
‘‘Infrastructure critics, emboldened by PCL’s underplaying, overlook Anambra’s engineering renaissance.

‘‘In three years, 842.2 kilometres of roads have been awarded, with 546.3 km completed, including eight bridges, flyovers, and over 150 km of dualisation projects.
‘‘These are not vanity projects; they have earned multiple awards for transformative delivery, connecting communities and fueling economic growth.

‘‘But PCL’s focus on capital expenditure per capita misses the efficiency: Governor Soludo’s “Doing More with Less” mantra ensures every naira yields maximum impact.
‘‘Even PCL concedes Anambra’s strengths: though, placing it 7th in ease of doing business, driven by Onitsha and Nnewi’s vibrancy; 8th in debt management and internally generated revenue, yet buries them under social indictments.

‘‘But independent validations affirm fiscal mastery: BudgIT’s 2024 Fiscal Performance Ranking placed Anambra 3rd nationwide, with top honours in the Q1 2025 State Fiscal Transparency League for digital accountability, e-procurement, and timely data publication.

‘‘These reflect prudent resource management, aligning investments in education, health, and infrastructure with sustainable development’’.