ANAMBRA 2025: TENSION MOUNTS AS SOLUDO’S APGA FACES APC’S FEDERAL BACKING AND OPPOSITION FIRE – ‘TINUBU’S DILEMMA’ FUELS ELECTION EVE DRAMA

By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi

adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com

With polls opening in hours, Anambra State simmers under a cauldron of political tension as incumbent Governor Charles Soludo’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) braces for a fierce showdown against the All Progressives Congress (APC) now riding high on President Bola Tinubu’s reported endorsement of challenger Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu and a fragmented opposition vying for 2.8 million votes in Nigeria’s most hotly contested off-cycle governorship race.

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The November 8 ballot pitting Soludo against 15 rivals, including Ukachukwu (APC), George Moghalu (Labour Party, LP), and John Chuma-Nwosu (African Democratic Congress, ADC) has devolved into a high-stakes battle of incumbency, zoning, federal might, and voter fury over insecurity, infrastructure gaps, and economic woes. Analysts warn of potential flashpoints in violence-prone areas like Ihiala, Nnewi North/South, Ogbaru, and Idemili North, where past polls saw clashes.

In a bombshell twist Thursday, sources revealed Tinubu has yanked tacit support for Soludo once hailed as his “adopted son” during an August Awka visit and thrown full weight behind Ukachukwu, dispatching Senate President Godswill Akpabio for APC rallies. APC Southeast Vice Chairman Ijeomah Arodiogbu dismissed Soludo’s spin on the presidential nod: “Tinubu backs APC’s viable candidates, not APGA pretenders.”

Soludo’s camp erupts in anxiety, with insiders whispering of “betrayal” amid APGA’s 20-year stranglehold since 2006. The governor, who mocked APC’s “late” campaign launch on October 31 as proof of unseriousness, now faces a federal machine: “Tinubu’s tilt balances victory toward us,” an APC official gloated.

Anambra’s informal zoning rotating power among South (Soludo’s zone), Central, and North favors a South candidate for now, but rivals decry Soludo’s “backward slide.” Ukachukwu, a billionaire entrepreneur from South, slams Soludo’s infrastructure as “one road in Nnewi” and insecurity as rampant.

Tensions spiked with trader protests demanding a market chairman’s ouster “worry for Soludo,” per reports and a viral video exposing “propaganda” against his re-election. LP’s Moghalu and ADC’s Nwosu siphon votes, but PDP’s Jude Ezenwafor risks third place amid weak structures.

Over 150 APC/LP defectors boosted APGA Friday, with Soludo aide Dr. Nelson Omenugha hailing it as a “massive vote surge.” Primate Elijah Ayodele prophesied Soludo’s win on “performance,” but X buzz screams foul: “Something doesn’t feel right,” one user fretted.

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A Soludo win cements APGA’s dynasty and zoning; APC victory hands Tinubu Southeast dominance, eyeing 2027. INEC eyes 2.8M voters at 5,718 units; BVAS and IReV promise transparency, but low 2021 turnout (10%) looms.

As Ohanaeze Ndigbo ramps voter drives, Soludo vows: “Transformation evidence will win.” Ukachukwu retorts: “Sweep away the ghost APGA.” With security beefed up, Anambra holds its breath democracy’s test in the Southeast.
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