Fact-Check: Did Jonathan Commission Only Brewery During His 2012 Visit to Anambra State?

BY: Oluwaseye Ogunsanya 

Claim:

Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, claimed that the last time a president visited his state for a brewery commissioning was in 2012. 

Verdict:

False! Our findings show that in addition to the brewery project, former President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated other projects, such as the Orient Petroleum Oil, Orange Drugs Company, Krisoral Company, and the Onitsha Inland Port.

Full Text:

Charles Soludo, the Anambra State governor,  claimed that the last time a president visited his state for a commissioning was in 2012 for a brewery. 

Soludo made this known on Thursday when President Bola Tinubu visited Anambra State to commission some projects executed by his administration. 

The projects commissioned by Mr Tinubu included the new Anambra State Government House, Solution Fun City, and the new Governor’s Lodge.

According to Premium Times, this is the first time Mr Tinubu would be visiting Anambra State since he was sworn in as Nigeria’s President on 29 May 2023.

But how true is Soludo’s claim?

Verification

FactCheckAfrica verified this claim by checking media reports, we found a credible report by Vanguard News stating that the Anambra government has ordered the closure of four major markets in the state ahead of Jonathan’s planned one-day working visit to Anambra State on August 30, 2012. 

“The President is expected to, among other projects, inaugurate the Orient Petroleum Oil, SABMiller Brewery, Orange Drugs Company, Krisoral Company and the Onitsha Inland port. The Onitsha Bridge Head gate will also be renamed after Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu during the visit.” the report said. 

It also added that Peter Obi had said that the President would inaugurate projects executed by both the private sector and his administration during the visit.

Corroborating the above, we also came across a report here, quoting Peter Obi to have said that “Jonathan would be coming to commission several projects executed by private sector operators, as well as public projects executed by his administration.”

Obi also added that “the President would, in line with the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government, commission facilities built by Orange Drugs, the SABmiller Brewery and the Krisoral Company, all of which are private-sector initiatives.”

He also said there were other facilities that were ready for commissioning, as well as others, whose construction is ready to be flagged off, but could not be accommodated because of time constraints. According to him, the President would also open up the Onitsha Ports, Orient Petroleum facility, the new Governor’s Lodge at Onitsha, over 10 roads constructed within the Harbour Industrial Estate and 500 buses for security in the State.

In the same vein, the former president also designated Anambra as an oil-producing state following his inauguration of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc during his visit to the state. 

Conclusion 

The claim is false. Credible reports show that former President Jonathan did not only commissioned a brewery during his one-day working visit to Anambra State on August 30, 2012—He also commissioned other projects like Orient Petroleum Oil, Orange Drugs Company, Krisoral Company and the Onitsha Inland port.