Given the All Progressives Grand Alliance’s poor result in the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25, our source writes that the state Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and his party are fighting for control of the state legislature with the Labour Party.
There is no doubt that recent political developments in Anambra State have narrowed the battle for control of the state legislature ahead of the rescheduled March 18 governorship and state houses of Assembly elections to two political heavyweights and two political parties: the state Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, and a former governor of the state and presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
Anambra is one of the states where no governorship election will be held on Saturday.
To emphasize the significance of the Assembly election, these two gladiators – Soludo and Obi – have both fiercely campaigned for their respective candidates and parties for control of the 30-member state assembly on Saturday.
The APGA currently holds 19 seats, followed by the Peoples Democratic Party on seven, the All Progressives Congress on three, and the Labour Party on one.
Following the Labour Party’s performance in the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections, where it received over 95% of the vote, clinched two senatorial seats, and won six of the 11 House of Representatives seats in the state, it is clear that this unexpected feat by the party changed the narrative and dynamics, as well as sent shivers down the spines of other opponents ahead of the March 18 polls.
Although other political parties are still running, the struggle has effectively become one between the LP and the others, particularly the APGA. Considering what the Labour Party did during the presidential election, it became clear that the “OBIdient” family, as Obi’s supporters are nicknamed, cannot be overlooked.
APGA has been the ruling party in Anambra since 2006, going with the motto, “Anambra is APGA land – Nka bu nke ayin”. As a result, the state governor, who is the party’s leader and the only governor on its platform, is under great pressure not only to maintain the status quo but also to guarantee that APGA is not defeated on March 18, as it is widely assumed that doing so will result in the party’s extinction.
Soludo has repeatedly stated that the people of Anambra should vote for APGA in the state Assembly election because an APGA-dominated legislature will not only ensure stability in the state but will also continue to engineer the current “developmental strides” his administration has embarked on in the state.
Nonetheless, state stakeholders believe that the APGA-dominated legislature will serve as a “insurance cover” for the governor’s re-election in 2026.
Thankfully for the governor, he will just have to focus on the Assembly elections on Saturday, as the governorship election will not be held in the state. As a result, he has had more opportunities to fine-tune the chances of his party and its candidates. It is also considered that this plan has become obvious because obtaining a majority in the state Legislature will prevent any impeachment proceedings against him.
Soludo, whose party failed to win any senatorial seats or deliver the state to its presidential candidate, Prof Peter Umeadi, during the February 25 polls, knows he must double his efforts if he is to secure a majority in the state assembly, which is in doubt given the voting pattern in the previous election, in which the LP dominated in all 21 local government areas of the state.
One item that has been on many people’s minds since the February 25 poll is what is known as the “Obi tsunami” factor. A element that arrived with the Labour Party’s sweeping victories across the country, an achievement that was crucial in effectively ending the control of some political giants and bringing in relatively unknown figures.
In Anambra, for example, the supremacy of the PDP senatorial candidates, Uche Ekwunife and Stella Oduah, who had established perennial customers at the Upper legislative house, was ended by the rise of LP candidates Victor Umeh and Tony Nwoye, respectively. The “Obi tsunami” undoubtedly contributed to the LP candidates’ success. As a result, “the fear of Obi” became the “beginning of wisdom” in Anambra.
However, all hope is not lost, as the state APGA, led by the governor and his candidates, has been working feverishly to reverse the situation by ensuring that the “Obi tsunami” has no negative impact on the Assembly election. What is apparent is that this weekend is critical for the governor and his party if they are to maintain their regional relevance as the regional party.
As a result, Soludo and his party candidates went their campaign to the markets and streets to inform traders and citizens about the importance of voting for his party in the March 18 election, adding that doing so would allow him to continue the state’s progress. Although the governor will celebrate his first year in office on March 17, his focus will remain on the March 18 struggle for control of the state legislature.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria governor has consistently stated that his achievements as governor of the state in less than a year were sufficient to give the APGA candidates victory in the state House of Assembly elections on March 18.
The tension caused by the governor’s camp and the LP has added to the week’s furious conflict, and as expected, both sides have been shooting salvos at each other and engaging in a battle of words and wit.
As Obi hopes to leverage his and his party’s influence to increase the number of lawmakers in the assembly, the ruling APGA party is also competing for control of the state assembly.
To emphasize the importance of the Assembly election to the Labour Party, Obi urged party members and inhabitants in the state to remain resilient and motivated despite his setback at the polls. He also urged people to vote for all LP candidates in the House of Assembly election, saying that the flood of change sweeping the country cannot be halted.
The former Anambra governor met with his party’s National and state Assembly candidates in the state last week, urging them to collaborate with Soludo once elected. He reminded his party supporters that Soludo was still his brother and that he should not be concerned about being impeached by the Labour Party-dominated legislature because the most important thing was to bring development to the state.
Nevertheless, in a rapid response, the governor’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, argued that Obi’s call was “deceptive,” and was intended to mislead the people of Anambra against Soludo.
“That call was intended to confuse Anambra people,” Aburime explained. Obi cannot talk about progress in Anambra while also urging Anambra voters to elect lawmakers from the opposition party to collaborate with Soludo. He dealt with a legislature controlled by PDP lawmakers when he first became governor, and he knows it was not easy for him. He was even impeached as a result of it, which we hope is not the same thing he wants to set up Soludo for. If Mr. Governor’s developmental strides are to continue, Anambra residents should go all out next Saturday and vote for APGA. It is not possible to discuss growth while also discussing the election of opposition politicians to the House of Assembly. It is deception.” Anambra people supported Obi during the presidential election, and Soludo declined to interfere as people trooped out to vote for the Labour Party, even before Soludo made the situation appropriate for people to vote.
“We voted Labour Party in the presidential election, but we are voting APGA in the House of Assembly election, and we want Anambra people to know it.”
