Anambra Governor Chukwuma Soludo
From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
A frontline aspirant for Anambra North Senatorial District in the 2027 polls on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Primus Odili, has described as untrue insinuations that Governor Chukwuma Soludo is backing a certain aspirant who had served in his cabinet.
Odili, former Chief of Staff to ex-Governor Willie Obiano, said that contrary to the claims, Soludo had made it very clear that he has no preferred aspirant for any of the elective positions and that it’s the people that would select the party’s candidates for all the elective positions.
“Nobody was drafted into this race”, he pointed out. “The person came out of his own volition. The governor made it clear, even during the last stakeholders meeting, that he did not tell anybody to run.”
He said that the only person that could anoint a candidate for the position is either the governor or the national chairman of the party.
“Then, you will say that they were convinced that this person has already put his acts together, and that the ticket is meant for him. But they all made it very clear that the floor is open for free, fair, and credible elections. I, personally, asked the governor and he told me that everybody is going out there in their own capacity. So, it is their personal decision”, he stated.
The APGA chieftain said that he was confident that he would win the upcoming primary poll of the party, having maintained a good relationship with its members for many years.
“I have been able to go round. Like I told you, I spent the last four years moving from local government to local government, from ward to ward. There is no single ward that you will get into in Anambra North Senatorial Zone that will tell you that I have not visited their local government up to four times personally; not sending anybody.
“I have people on the ground, and that is why they are scared. A lot of them are trying to see how they will manipulate the system. The candidate to beat is the candidate that has been in the system for a long period of time. If it’s an advantage, why didn’t they open themselves up for that opportunity; nobody kicked them out of the party. Remain where you are; gain that longevity and gain whatever it is that you call an advantage”, he concluded.
