By Our Correspondent
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has formally challenged the appointment of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo as the state coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for the 2027 general elections, urging the council’s leadership to immediately reverse the decision.
In a petition addressed to the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Abdul’aziz Yari, the party argued that assigning the responsibility to a governor belonging to another political party could undermine the APC’s electoral prospects in Anambra and create conflicting political interests ahead of the elections.
The state chapter consequently called for the appointment of a credible, experienced and committed APC leader to coordinate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Anambra.
Soludo, who belongs to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), is one of two non-APC governors reportedly included in the presidential campaign structure. The other is Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, a member of the Accord Party.
The petition, dated October 13 and signed by the APC State Secretary, Obi Okpala, was made available to The Nation on Sunday.
Titled “Formal Expression of Opposition to the Appointment of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo as Anambra State Coordinator of the PBAT Presidential Campaign Council: A Call for Urgent Review,” the document questioned why the party’s established leadership in Anambra was overlooked in favour of a sitting governor from a rival political platform.
Despite its objections, the Anambra APC reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising support for President Tinubu’s re-election, declaring its ambition to deliver more than 80 per cent of the votes in the January 16 election, as stated in the petition.
The party maintained that its opposition was not directed at the national leadership’s authority to constitute a campaign council but at what it described as the questionable choice of a political outsider to lead the president’s campaign in the state.
The petition stated:
“The leadership, stakeholders and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Anambra State chapter, in conjunction with Ikukuoma Campaign Organisation, wish to formally express our strong displeasure and unequivocal opposition to the appointment of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, an APGA governor, as the Anambra State coordinator of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 General Elections.
“While we acknowledge the prerogative of the national leadership to constitute a campaign council capable of securing victory for His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we respectfully but firmly maintain that the appointment of a serving governor who belongs to another political party to coordinate the president’s campaign in Anambra State is fundamentally misplaced and potentially detrimental to the electoral interests of the APC.”
The party insisted that Anambra has several experienced and dedicated APC leaders with the grassroots connections, political experience and organisational capacity required to coordinate a successful presidential campaign.
It further questioned the wisdom of bypassing these leaders for a governor whose party has its own candidates and political ambitions that may conflict with those of the APC in the forthcoming elections.
APC FEARS APGA COULD BENEFIT FROM CAMPAIGN ARRANGEMENT
A major concern raised in the petition was the potential conflict between mobilising votes for President Tinubu and securing electoral victories for APC candidates contesting legislative seats against APGA candidates.
The party argued that placing Soludo in charge of the presidential campaign could create an arrangement in which APGA benefits politically from a platform established to advance the APC’s electoral interests.
It also expressed reservations about the slogan, “Progressives Are Working Together,” suggesting that the arrangement could be used to secure support for APGA candidates under the guise of cooperation for the president’s re-election.
The petition further alleged that APGA candidates in Anambra were failing to adequately acknowledge or promote President Tinubu in their campaigns to voters.
It stated:
“We are equally concerned that the slogan ‘Progressives Are Working Together’ is meant to hoodwink APC members while Governor Soludo uses the political synergy to win the legislative seats for his candidates.
“APGA candidates in Anambra State demarket Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and do not mention him in their campaigns to Anambra voters.
“Governor Soludo only speaks on television to attract the attention of the national leadership of APC and Mr President to use the platform of this coordination to win legislative seats for APGA National and State Assembly candidates.”
The APC maintained that its commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election would not translate into an electoral alliance with APGA or an obligation to support candidates of another party in legislative contests.
According to the petition, the state chapter remains determined to mobilise support for the president while vigorously campaigning for APC candidates across all legislative constituencies.
“Our position is clear: APC Anambra will mobilise vigorously for President Tinubu and, at the same time, campaign decisively for its own candidates at all legislative levels,” the party declared.
It added that candidates contesting the three senatorial districts, 11 federal constituencies and 30 state constituencies in Anambra deserved the full backing of their party.
The petition also urged the national campaign leadership to recognise the distinction between the presidential election and legislative elections, warning that cooperation aimed at securing Tinubu’s re-election should not be interpreted as an arrangement requiring APC members to support APGA candidates against their party’s flag bearers.
“Any arrangement that places our members in such a contradictory position risks weakening party unity, undermining grassroots morale and eroding the APC’s political future in Anambra State,” the petition warned.
TSG PLANS TINUBU RE-ELECTION RALLIES ACROSS SOUTH-EAST
Meanwhile, the Tinubu Support Group (TSG) has unveiled plans to organise rallies across the 95 local government areas in the South-East as part of efforts to mobilise support for President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The rallies, to be coordinated by the group led by Sir Paul Chukwuma, will commence with activities across Anambra State’s 21 local government areas in collaboration with the Presidential Campaign Council.
Chukwuma, a former APC National Auditor and member of the PCC, said the initiative would extend across the entire South-East to explain the reasons the group believes Tinubu deserves another term in office.
He said the planned engagements would provide an opportunity to reach voters directly, assess the political atmosphere across communities and strengthen support for the president ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We are going to tour all the local government areas in Anambra and the entire South-East to tell our people why President Tinubu should be re-elected in 2027. It’s not rocket science; the signs are all over the place in our zone,” Chukwuma said.
Reaffirming the group’s determination, he added: “We’re on course and determined to return Mr President to Aso Rock.”
