Anambra LP promises to remove Soludo after receiving 300 APGA defectors.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for governor in the Anambra State governorship election of 2021, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, has promised to unseat Prof. Chukwuma Soludo in the state’s 2025 governorship election.
Ozigbo, who is currently running for governor of Anambra State as a candidate for the Labour Party, made these remarks on Sunday after receiving over 300 Afam Ogene, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Ogbaru Federal Constituency, and other party leaders as they welcomed them into the Labour Party.
Pius Igwilo, an APGA candidate for the Ogbaru 1 Constituency of the Anambra State House of Assembly in the general elections of 2023, led the defectors, who were primarily members of the APGA in the Ogbaru Local Government Area, into the Labour Party.
Along with a number of other prominent LP members in the local government, they were also greeted by the chairman of the Labour Party in the Ogbaru LGA.
Former ward and local government chairmen, female leaders, and important Ogbaru Local Government Area stakeholders were among the defectors.
Ozigbo expressed optimism that the pace at which members of other political parties in the state were switching to the LP would ensure the party’s victories in upcoming local, state, and federal elections while welcoming the defectors at the Holiday Resort field in Onitsha on Saturday.
In order to join the Labour Party, which is the “moving train,” he tasked the newcomers with becoming “fishers of men,” by making sure that they persuaded members of other political parties in their respective wards to do so.
“I am happy to witness what is going on today,” he remarked. You’ve taken a wise and excellent step that will guarantee that LP produces the next governor of Anambra State. Ndi Anambra responded to my question by saying that Soludo, the governor, is not doing well. Thus, we are stating at this time that he has to leave Government House by 2025.
The time for Governor Chukwuma Soludo is ended. He has let Ndi Anambra down, hence he is not eligible to run for office again for another term. The Labour Party now has the opportunity to seize control.
“I believe the Anambra people will get rid of him and install the Labour Party in 2025, with me serving as the chief shepherd to maximize the state’s potential,” the speaker said. “He has failed in his responsibilities to live up to the expectations.”
Speaking to the defectors, Ogene—who also serves as the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Renewable Energy—said that they had no choice but to join the Labour Party because Soludo’s APGA had let the people of Anambra down with a number of policies, including the failure to hold local government elections as he had promised during his campaign.
It’s not just about building roads, Ogene stated. Anybody can build a road, but a governor’s capacity to resolve conflicts, provide sufficient security, and run the state’s affairs is what really counts when it comes to governance.
“No matter where you are from—the North, West, East, or South—there is no division in the LP because it is always open. You have come to bolster the party, and together we will endeavor to wrest control of Anambra from the people in 2025.
Speaking further, Igwilo claimed that they quit the APGA in order to prevent Soludo from winning reelection to a second term in government.
“I was formerly in the APGA, but currently in the Labour Party,” Igwilo declared. I guided the renegades towards the LP. As you can see, the LP is the party of the people, and the majority of its elected members also lean left, therefore we made the decision to quit APGA and join it.
“Mr. Peter Obi, our principal, has demonstrated excellent moral character and leadership in the LP, and we are here to assist him in his quest for a nation that benefits all of us. We abandoned APGA because they were not keeping their promises to us in Anambra the last time, and their motto, “APGA bu nke ayi,” had devolved into a meaningless platitude.
The masses are disillusioned because of this. Although the state governor is trying his hardest, it is not enough. He did not even fulfill one of his promises, so he has failed.
