When Professor Chukwuma Soludo, alongside other members of the Rainbow Coalition, was inaugurated as Anambra State coordinator of the campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election, the move triggered internal dissent within the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The disagreement has opened a new front in the state’s political contest, with implications for Soludo’s efforts to challenge the influence of Peter Obi in 2027, LAWRENCE NJOKU reports.

The choice of Governor Chukwuma Soludo as the Anambra State Coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign is turning out to be a real test of his popularity as the state’s chief executive.

Recall that Soludo had previously championed the cause of Progressives Working Together, only to redirect the campaign towards Tinubu’s re-election. He argues that the President remains the best option for the country, notwithstanding the fact that his long-time predecessor, Mr Peter Obi, is the candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) for the same office.

To Soludo, Obi’s ambition is misplaced and in bad taste. With this mindset, he has used every available opportunity to downplay Obi’s aspiration, despite the NDC standard-bearer’s continued mass following and acceptance across various states and regions of the country.

In the penultimate week, however, Tinubu formally inducted the governor into his Presidential Campaign Council. The appointment places considerable responsibility on Soludo to deliver Anambra State’s votes to Tinubu. A victory would not only send a strong signal about the governor’s political influence but also address claims about Obi’s popularity in the state.

Obi, who hails from Agulu in Anaocha Local Government Area, served as governor of Anambra State for eight years, while Soludo, from Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area, began his second term as governor this year.

Stakeholders said the two men may not have a personal quarrel, but they disagree publicly on political grounds. Soludo, for instance, believes Obi should not be anywhere near the corridors of power, let alone hold political office.

THE talk in Anambra is that the political rivalry between the two leaders stems from past electoral contests that favoured Obi.

The founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chekwas Okorie, has shed light on what he described as an unresolved political supremacy battle between Soludo and Obi. Okorie described Soludo’s attacks on Obi as a “personal vendetta”, arguing that the incumbent had been using his professed support for President Tinubu as a cover to vent an old animosity against his predecessor.

Okorie, who left APGA to found the United Progressives Party (UPP) at the height of the party’s leadership crisis, traced the political differences between Soludo and Obi to 2009, when Soludo emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the governorship election while Obi sought a second term.

“Obi’s trouncing of Soludo in the election, in which the current incumbent ended up in a distant third position, became Obi’s first perceived crime against Soludo,” Okorie stated.

He added that Soludo made another attempt to realise his governorship ambition in 2013 by joining APGA.

“In August of that year, Victor Umeh’s leadership of APGA disqualified Prof. Soludo from participating in the party’s primary election. However, Soludo believes that Peter Obi was privy to the conspiracy to give him the greatest humiliation of his life. Soludo reckons that as Obi’s second offence.

“Prof. Soludo won the November 2021 governorship election in Anambra State and was sworn into office on March 17, 2022. In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Soludo had his chance to serve Victor Umeh the same bitter pill he was served in August 2013. He conspired with Chief Victor Oye, the National Chairman of APGA who succeeded Victor Umeh, to secure Umeh’s defeat in the party’s senatorial primary for Anambra Central.

“Victor Umeh promptly switched to the Labour Party (LP), where he rode on the back of Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, to win the Anambra Central senatorial election. This, to Prof. Soludo, is Peter Obi’s third offence. These offences are the real reasons Soludo swore to bring down Obi by any means possible,” Okorie stated.

In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, Soludo had begun campaigning against Obi, who was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate. On November 14, 2022, he published an article titled “History Beckons and I Will Not Remain Silent.”

The article, which generated widespread debate across Nigeria, was seen as Soludo’s first attempt to settle what he perceived as past political scores with Obi.

He questioned the value and impact of investments made by Obi as governor of Anambra State, arguing that Obi’s presidential ambition on the Labour Party platform lacked the political structure and broad national and geopolitical alliances required to secure victory. Soludo concluded that Obi had no realistic chance of winning the 2023 presidential election.

Distancing himself from Obi’s campaign, Soludo divided his support between former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu, whom he described as his “personal friend”. After Tinubu assumed office, Soludo began promoting the mantra of Progressives Working Together.

While his supporters argued that his position was essentially a defence of his administration’s policies, they maintained that cooperation with the Federal Government would enhance Anambra State’s development.

Those rooting for Obi, however, viewed the situation differently. They argued that Soludo’s opposition to Obi was driven by longstanding political rivalry and strategic positioning for a future political office.

Nonetheless, despite Soludo’s opposition, he was unable to diminish Obi’s electoral appeal in the state in the 2023 presidential election. Obi secured 584,621 votes, while Tinubu garnered only 5,111.

Ahead of the 2027 elections, Soludo has again mounted a campaign against Obi, dismissing his ambition and addressing various gatherings to explain why the NDC presidential contender should abandon his aspiration and support the incumbent President.

Hired campaign salesman

With his appointment to lead Tinubu’s campaign in Anambra State, Soludo has gained fresh impetus to pursue his political differences with Obi and attempt to prevent his predecessor from becoming Nigeria’s President.

It remains to be seen what strategies Soludo will deploy to convince Ndi Anambra that Tinubu is the better option in a state where the APC has struggled to establish a strong electoral foothold since 2015.

Soludo faces two major hurdles in his role as Tinubu’s campaign coordinator. First, APGA candidates contesting various electoral positions may feel threatened by the governor’s dual political alignment.

Second, APC leaders may be concerned about the implications of allowing Soludo to oversee the President’s re-election campaign in a state where the party also has candidates contesting National and State Assembly seats.

Soludo may not have fully considered these concerns when he accepted the assignment, which effectively makes him a campaign salesman for the APC. However, the role also offers him an opportunity to leverage cooperation between APGA and the APC against Obi’s electoral dominance ahead of next year’s elections.

Since the APC took over the Presidency in 2015, the party has struggled to win over voters in Anambra State. In the 2023 elections, it failed to win any National or State Assembly seat in the state.

The Labour Party, which Obi led into the 2023 elections, won two senatorial seats in Anambra Central and Anambra North. It also won six of the state’s 11 House of Representatives seats.

APGA, led by Soludo, did not win any senatorial seat in 2023. It subsequently won a by-election for the Anambra South senatorial seat last year. The party also won four of the 11 House of Representatives seats, while the Young Progressives Party (YPP) won one.

The late Ifeanyi Ubah, who won the Anambra South senatorial seat in 2023 on the YPP platform, later defected to the APC. However, following his death, which created a vacancy in the Senate, the APC failed to retain the seat in the subsequent by-election.

In 2025, the APC’s attempt to win the governorship election also failed, as its candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, and running mate, Uche Ekwunife, could not secure victory for the party.

It remains unclear how this marriage of convenience will work out between Soludo and APC members, many of whom continue to regard him as part of their political challenges in the state. Some party members have complained of marginalisation, alleging that federal appointments meant for Anambra State have been given to APGA members.

On the other hand, some APGA members appear uncomfortable with the role Soludo has accepted in Tinubu’s re-election campaign. They fear it could undermine the electoral prospects of APGA candidates, particularly if the APC’s reported unpopularity in the state persists.

Soon after Soludo was inducted into the campaign council, some APGA stakeholders opposed the arrangement.

The stakeholders distanced themselves from the campaign plan, insisting that they were not working for the APC and would not be compelled to embrace an arrangement they believed would not serve their interests.

One of the party chieftains at the meeting, Geoffery Onuora, said that although politics was a game of interests, “you will require the major players to navigate towards your interests”.

He questioned how Soludo could agree to lead another political party’s campaign in a state where the APC faced a strong political opponent.

“Let us stop deceiving ourselves. The opposition that APGA will find difficult to dismantle in this state in this election is being led by Peter Obi. It is not about his political party but his person.

“Now, instead of sitting down here to plan and campaign with us, the governor has decided otherwise. APC has never worked. I don’t know how it will work now. Those who are not comfortable with this arrangement are simply saying that it is just about the governor’s interest and not any other,” he said.

A former APGA leader in Idemili Local Government Area, Justus Oraedu, said campaigning for the principal candidate of a rival party could make it difficult to persuade voters to support both Tinubu and APGA candidates. He added that it would be difficult for the APC to abandon its ambition to win all available positions in the elections.

“APGA is an independent political party. It is not an offshoot of the APC. The way we are going could compromise the independence of this party, knowing that we don’t have the level of spread that is available to the ruling party,” he said.

APGA’s National Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, however, welcomed Soludo’s appointment, describing it as a reflection of the governor’s advocacy for strategic cooperation between APGA and the Federal Government for the benefit of Anambra State and the South-East.

He maintained that APGA would retain its political identity and contest legislative elections in Anambra State.

Looking beyond these limitations, Soludo insists that he and APGA remain partners of the Tinubu administration in both the campaign and broader governance. He has described President Tinubu’s economic reforms as difficult and demanding courage, but necessary for long-term stability and national growth.

“APGA stands on core principles of unity, security and shared prosperity,” he stated, adding that the party supports Tinubu to advance these goals and pursue a shared vision of national transformation that, according to him, transcends political party affiliations.

Will Anambra voters trust Soludo and the APGA-APC alliance enough to choose Tinubu over Obi in 2027? This is the big question that the January 16, 2027 presidential election will answer. (The Guardian)