FACT-CHECK: Was the Last Visit by a Nigerian President to Anambra in 2012 — and Was it Just to Commission a Brewery?
On May 8, 2025, an X user, @abdullahayofel made a claim that the last time there was a presidential visit to Anambra State was in 2012 and the visit was to commission a beer factory.
The post contains a one-minute video of the Governor of Anambra state, His Excellency Charles Chukwuma Soludo during his speech at the official visiting and inauguration of projects by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With a caption “The last time a president visited for a commissioning was in 2012 for a brewery,.”🙆🤣— Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State.
As of the time this report was published, it had over 36,000 views and about 730 likes, retweets, quotes, replies and bookmarks. In the comment section, @Donald_esq92428 wrote, Look at this idiot denigrating your own kinsmen just to be loved , Soludo is an idiot, @Oladare_Ayodele said Hypocrite!!! It's obvious that many people trying to discredit a politician like Peter Obi only end up fooling themselves. Soludo is from the same party. If Obi had governed Anambra the way Tinubu governed Lagos, Soludo wouldn't have the …
VERIFICATION
On May 8, 2025, President Bola Tinubu visited Anambra State to commission some projects executed by Soludo. The projects commissioned by Tinubu included the new Anambra State Government House, Solution Fun City, and the new Governor’s Lodge.
N-VA findings revealed that the last presidential visit before Tinubu’s May visit took place in 2019. On January 24, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari visited Anambra State, where he inaugurated the Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum in Onitsha.
This monument, built in honour of Nigeria’s first President and prominent nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, had been under construction for over two decades and it was completed during the Buhari administration.
Was There a Presidential Visit in 2012 to Commission a Brewery?
Further search revealed that on August 30, 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan went on a one-day state visit to Anambra State, during which he commissioned several projects, one of which was the SABMiller Brewery, referenced in the claim.
The projects inaugurated by President Jonathan during his visit also included Orient Petroleum Oil, Onitsha Inland port, and the Krisoral Company, amongst others. As part of his one-day official visit to Anambra the president also commissioned the Ojukwu gateway in Onitsha. A statue erected in honour of the late General Odumegwu Ojukwu. Buhari reiterated that the statue is a symbol of Unity in the South-East of the country.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the last presidential state visit to Anambra and President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2012 visit were solely for the commissioning of a brewery is MISLEADING. Evidence shows that there was a presidential visit to Anambra in 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. Also, multiple reports confirmed that during President Jonathan’s one day visit on August 30, 2012, he commissioned not just a brewery, but several other significant projects in the state including Onitsha inland port.
