Since the creation of Anambra State from the old Anambra which had Enugu as its capital, Awka has struggled to attain the status of a befitting capital city. At creation, in August 1991, Awka was virtually left with nothing as most of the public institutions – i.e. university, airport, prisons, etc. – had to remain in Enugu, the capital of the old Anambra State and now the capital of Enugu State.
The journey to build Awka has not been easy. Past leaders in the state right from the first military administrator, Commodore Joseph Abulu, and the first civilian governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, all did their best. But it is not easy to build a capital city from the scratch.
Take the new Government House and Lodge Complex for example, which is currently being built by Governor Soludo in the Ekwueme Square axis of Awka. The site of this New Government House and Lodge Complex was almost washed away by gully erosion and had been almost taken over by hoodlums and land grabbers. Today, Governor Soludo is building a befitting Government House and Lodge for Anambra. This new complex would be the greenest and most environmentally friendly government house in Nigeria. (Currently, the existing Government House is on a makeshift site that was used during the construction of the Enugu -Onitsha Expressway in the 70s and the current Government Lodge is in another town –miles away – from the current Government House, Gov Soludo is making history.
