PARALLAX SNAPS: If Tinubu Truly Loves Soludo, what implications does that hold for Ukachukwu?

By Tony Okafor

Politics, anywhere in the world, is a game of shifting sands — unpredictable and often laced with hidden meanings.

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, is not a member of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s party.

He carries no APC flag. Yet, in recent months, there have been unmistakable displays of camaraderie between the APGA governor and the APC president.

For seasoned watchers of Nigerian politics, such warmth is rarely casual. In the months before an election, it can signal endorsement, intent — or betrayal.

History shows that when Abuja sends certain “signals,” state structures either fall obediently in line or dissolve into confusion.

If Tinubu truly “likes” Soludo — as the optics suggest — the question is whether this is purely personal admiration or a calculated political move.

Will the APC’s national machinery fully rally behind its Anambra governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, or quietly step aside while APGA holds on to power in Awka?

Tinubu is a political calculator. If partnering with Soludo strengthens his 2027 re-election prospects — especially in wooing the South-East, where the APC still faces resistance, and in undercutting his main rival, Peter Obi — cold logic may well outweigh party loyalty.

There is precedent. More than once, the ruling party in Abuja has quietly backed an opposition governor in Anambra who proved “cooperative” with federal interests, leaving its own candidate stranded with campaign poster. Could the same script be unfolding this November?

Ukachukwu is no political lightweight. With deep grassroots networks, business clout, and political pedigree, he has begun mobilising in earnest. But even the strongest candidate needs reinforcements. Without unambiguous support from Abuja, he risks becoming a general sent to the front without troops.

This is not about his popularity or capacity; it is about whether his campaign will get the oxygen it needs from the very top.

n Nigerian politics, deals are often struck in smoky backrooms, sealed with handshakes the public never sees. If Tinubu finds Soludo more valuable heading into 2027, Ukachukwu may face not just APGA, but invisible headwinds from his own party’s inner circle.

Yet, there is a counterpoint. When Ukachukwu and his running mate, Senator Uche Ekwunife, visited the State House in Abuja, Tinubu publicly presented them with the APC flag — and his words were emphatic:“Go and get me Anambra. You have my full support. We will work with you, we will stand by you — come rain, come shine. The party is supreme, but victory is paramount. We are confident in your capacity to deliver.”

If that pledge is matched with action, it leaves no room for doubt. But in Nigeria’s high-stakes politics, words and deeds are not always aligned.

For Ukachukwu, clarity cannot wait until the battlefield. If the national leadership is truly behind him, he must know now — before strategy meetings turn into farewell dinners and support shifts quietly elsewhere.

In politics, as in war, nothing is crueller than smiling at a soldier while quietly selling him out to the other side.