Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, saying the Igbo must overcome political divisions and build strategic alliances across Nigeria to strengthen the South-East’s chances of producing a president.
Soludo cited the coalition-building approach associated with First Republic political leader, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Tinubu’s political alliances as examples of how broader regional support could help secure political power.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Christian Aburime, the governor said the leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had collectively adopted Tinubu for a second term and decided not to field a presidential candidate in 2027.
He explained that the decision informed his acceptance of an appointment to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council despite belonging to another political party.
Aburime said the decision was consistent with APGA’s tradition of supporting presidential candidates from other parties, recalling that former Anambra governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano had also backed candidates outside their party.
According to him, Soludo communicated APGA’s position to Tinubu during the president’s visit to Anambra State to inaugurate projects, including the Government House, Solution Fun City and roads.
Addressing expectations that Soludo should support his predecessor, Peter Obi, who is the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aburime said the two politicians belonged to different parties and held different political ideologies.
He acknowledged that Obi was qualified to contest the presidency but argued that ethnic identity should not determine political allegiance.
“Politics shouldn’t be based on emotion or sentiment. They have different ideologies,” he said.
Aburime urged Nigerians to support political parties based on their ability to improve citizens’ lives rather than ethnic or regional considerations.
He also dismissed expectations that Anambra voters would repeat their overwhelming support for Obi in the 2023 presidential election, insisting that the political circumstances had changed.
“2023 is gone. 2027 is not going to be 2023,” he said, expressing confidence that APGA members would vote for Tinubu.
On the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms, Aburime said Soludo supported Tinubu’s economic policies, describing them as painful but necessary measures to address longstanding structural weaknesses.
He argued that the previous practice of printing money to sustain the economy was unsustainable and expressed optimism that the reforms would eventually yield benefits.
Asked whether Tinubu had influenced former President Muhammadu Buhari to adopt better economic policies, Aburime said it was impossible to establish whether the president had offered such advice behind the scenes, adding that influence did not necessarily guarantee acceptance.
On the continued detention of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Aburime said the case had assumed a political dimension and would ultimately require a political resolution.
Soludo had previously visited Kanu in detention and pledged to work towards securing his release.
Asked why the governor had yet to achieve that objective despite his relationship with Tinubu, Aburime declined to comment extensively but maintained that efforts to resolve the matter were continuing.
“The Nnamdi Kanu case has become a political case and it will be resolved politically,” he said.
Soludo also declared that the enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home order by armed groups had been defeated, claiming that commercial and social activities had returned to normal across Anambra State.
He said vehicles were moving freely and major commercial centres, including Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, were bustling with activities.
“The war has been conquered, and all the debris is buried,” he said, insisting that residents could now move around freely and that Anambra was back to life.
