By Tony Okafor, Awka
A constitutional lawyer, Mr Jezie Ekejiuba, has described Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid as a “time bomb” that will have consequences for candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2027 general elections.
Ekejiuba, in a statement on the emerging political alignment ahead of the 2027 elections, said the governor’s decision to support Tinubu, despite being a leader of APGA, could put the party’s legislative candidates in a difficult political position in Anambra State.
He noted that former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano each governed Anambra State for eight years, while Soludo is also serving two terms, arguing that the political history of the state should encourage respect for the contributions of former governors.
According to him, “H.E. Peter Obi is a former governor of Anambra State for eight years, same as H.E. Willie Obiano, and now H.E. Chukwuma Soludo, who will also govern for eight years.”
Ekejiuba questioned why Soludo could not support Obi, a former governor of the state, in his bid to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Soludo has openly backed Tinubu, saying he has no apology for his support for the President and describing Tinubu as his friend of more than two decades. APGA has also formally aligned itself with the President’s 2027 presidential bid.
But Ekejiuba argued that the political consequences of the arrangement could extend beyond the presidential contest to APGA’s candidates for the National Assembly and state legislature.
“Governor Soludo’s support for President Tinubu is a time bomb which will surely explode against the election of APGA legislative candidates in next year’s general election,” he said.
He further questioned whether voters dissatisfied with what he described as the “hardship administration” of the APC-led Federal Government would support APGA candidates perceived to be campaigning alongside the ruling party.
“Tell me who will vote for the continuation of APC hardship administration led by President Tinubu,” he said.
Ekejiuba also dismissed the “APGA/APC progressives are working together” political narrative being championed by Soludo, saying it would not translate into electoral support for APGA candidates in Anambra.
His comments come amid an increasingly visible political contest in Anambra over the relationship between APGA and APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
While Soludo and APGA have maintained that the two parties can work together in the interest of development and Tinubu’s re-election, APC leaders in the state have publicly rejected APGA’s “progressives working together” narrative and said the APC would pursue its own candidates.
The political development has also coincided with renewed disagreements between Soludo and Obi, who is seeking the presidency in 2027 on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Anambra State Government and Obi have also recently exchanged claims over loans and financial obligations allegedly inherited from previous administrations, with both sides disputing aspects of the other’s account.
Ekejiuba,in his statement, said the central question would be whether voters would distinguish between their choice for president and their choice of candidates for the National Assembly and state legislature, particularly in a state where Obi remains a major political figure.
