Obi, Tony Nwoye, Ubah, Umeh, Church, Monarchs, may lead fight against Soludo in 2025

By Tony Okafor, Awka

Barring the unforeseen, the 2025 governorship election in Anambra State will be sometime in November of that year.

The incumbent governor of the state, Prof Chukwuma Soludo has the right of first refusal in the contest.

Since 2006 when his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) began its reign in the state, all its governors had had a smooth ride to second term, beginning with its pioneer Governor, Mr Peter Obi, followed by Chief Willie Obiano. Obi is currently in the Labour Party (LP) after a stint with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections and was presumed to have won the election in some quarters.

With the exit of Obi and the current Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Chief Victor Umeh, from APGA, the party may not be the same again in 2025 governorship election.

Besides, the National Leadership of APGA led by Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa may not put up the the kind of strong fight Umeh and Chief Victor Oye put during their era that put up APGA tops for nearly two decades in Anambra State.
Again, the environment Soludo is currently plying his APGA vehicle is quite different; it is an environment full of anger, conflicts, excruciating poverty and rancour.
Thus some critics have posited that Soludo might be the end of history for APGA in the state.

Those who will fight Soludo in the 2025 poll are both natural persons and non-natural persons.
Some of them are :

Peter Obi- Obi would like to stamp his feet as the symbol of new democracy in Nigeria by trying to install a Labour Party governor in his home state, Anambra, to make huge statement for future. Besides, 2025 may be the best time Obi will reply Soludo’s letter: “History beckons and I will not be silent (1)” and other infractions of the professor governor.

Victor Umeh: Umeh, the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District was allegedly edged out of APGA in 2023 by forces believed to be propelled by Soludo. The forces oscillated their support between Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP)and Dozie Nwankwo of APGA. Nwankwo won the APGA primary election against Umeh. But Umeh who later picked the LP Senatorial ticket for the race floored both Dozie Nwankwo and Uche Ekwunife in the contest.

The 2025 governorship contest will undoubtedly reopen that wound of that perceived injustice against the man who saddled as the National Chairman of APGA for about 10 years and fought “wars” that sustained the party.

Tony Nwoye- A one-man riot squad. If what is being said about his interest in the 2025 poll turns out to be true, he will charge the atmosphere with the network of his youth support that always electrifies any contest he is involved in the state. His ousting of the tallest woman iroko in Anambra North Senatorial District in the last elections is legendary. He also defeated “Governor’s Wife” in that contest. He is a strong force to fear in 2025. He had already served Soludo a quit notice in that respect. He is of the Lanour Party.

Uche Ekwunife- If Ekwunife decides not to recognize Soludo as her brother from the Aguata clan of the state, there will be trouble for the governor. In the event she joins another camp to fight her brother(Soludo), no fewer than 50% of women in the state would join her camp. No màtter how anybody sees it, Ekwunife is one of the top best fighter jets in Anambra politics. She can cause profuse heat and the attendant sweat to Mr Governor.

Val Ozigbo: A gentleman with will power. He is from Aguata clan with Soludo. If he picks the LP ticket, he would divide loyalties in the Old Aguata Union( OAU) area of the state, and Anambra South Senatorial District in general. In the 2021 Governorship poll, Ozigbo came second on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. Many are clamouring for him as governor as the see him a personam with human face.

Obiora Okonkwo: Businessman with capacity. He is a double professor of the University of Abuja, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State..
He holds a PhD in Political Economics. He has shown demonstrable interest to give Anambra State a facelift as her governor.
Recently, he said, “I’ve not seen anything exciting on the side of Soludo that will warrant people to root for his second term.

“My rating of Soludo is not that of great score. I have known Soludo for a long time and he is my good friend. I have every reason to conclude from what I have seen that Soludo has not lived up to expectation.

“He promised to turn Anambra to Dubai, Taiwan and New York. We have not seen that. For someone who has been a CBN governor, his performance is below the benchmark. It is surprising that someone who has attained that height would go about the generation of revenues through excessive taxes.

“In this modern age and time, it is of great concern. The situation is so bad that many people are losing excitement in going home. The insecurity in Anambra is bad.

Ifeanyi Ubah : The biggest of the threats to Soludo’s reelection. The governor knows this very well. Recently, the governor is fighting anybody that greets Ubah or calls him( Ubah) good name. For instance, the traditional institution in the state is already bleeding because of the bruises meted out to it by the state government for associating with Ubah. If Ubah picks the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), it will be fire on the mountain for the first-class professor of economics who did only one term at the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN). Will history repeat itself?

As noted, the Soludo government had bruised human persons and institutions in its near two years in office. His recent brush with our lords temporal and spiritual is a great bother that if not properly handled may cost him something.

Where will the votes of the victims of shop demolitions and street traders whose goods were destroyed by burning by enforcement agents of government swing to ? These are the centripetal and centrifugal forces that will confront Soludo next year.

Charlie Nwamgbafor, as he is fondly called, is not unaware of these forces. He has lined up projects that will mitigate people’s perceptions about him, howsoever.

As stated by the state chairman of APGA, Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, ” The Soludo’s government is less than two years, and it is not a time to access anybody, but we are sure from his programmes that when it is time for campaign, towards the end of this year, most of what he has started would crystallize.

“When we begin to see the network of roads that would move from Amansea come through Okpuno, and a flyover, which would be coming before the election, when we see the dualisation from Amawbia down to Uga, with a flyover, which turns to Isuofia towards Nnobi, the people would know who to vote.

“Like my governor always says, just wait and see. See what is happening in Onitsha south and the number of roads coming up. We have sat down with him (Soludo) and asked him how he intends to achieve certain things and he has told us that by September/ October this year, nobody in the state will have the confidence to come out and contest for the governorship against him.”

Can APGA repeat the 21over 21 victory song in 2025 in Anàmbra State? Truly, history beckons!