By Suzy Chukwuechedom | Anambra
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has declared President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2027 general election, announcing a target of delivering at least 50 per cent of Anambra’s votes to the President.
Soludo made the declaration at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, during the flag-off of APGA’s 2027 election campaign, where he announced that the party would not field its own presidential candidate but would instead support Tinubu’s re-election bid on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Addressing party supporters, the governor declared: “Today, we adopt the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as our candidate. We don’t have a presidential candidate. Tinubu is our candidate.”
Soludo, who is also APGA’s National Leader, said the decision reflected the party’s political strategy of supporting the presidential candidate of the ruling party at the national level.
He explained that Tinubu had demonstrated concern for the Igbo people, particularly Anambra State, recalling that during his tenure as Lagos State governor, several Anambra indigenes were appointed into strategic positions in his administration.
The governor further noted that despite receiving fewer than 5,000 votes from Anambra in the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu had continued to support projects and initiatives with benefits for the state and the wider South-East region.
“We gave him only about 5,000 votes, and yet he is doing wonderful works in the state,” Soludo said.
He urged Anambra residents to reconsider their voting choices in 2027, arguing that stronger electoral support for Tinubu would improve the state’s political leverage and provide greater opportunities to negotiate development projects and other benefits from the Federal Government.
“We need to vote for him in order to sit with the government at the centre and negotiate for the development of the South-East and Anambra State,” he said.
Declaring his administration’s electoral ambition, Soludo stated: “We are targeting 50 per cent for the President.”
The campaign flag-off also featured the unveiling of more than 253 APGA candidates contesting various elective positions nationwide, alongside the symbolic presentation of party flags to 44 candidates in Anambra State.
The Anambra candidates comprise three senatorial candidates, 11 House of Representatives candidates and 30 State House of Assembly candidates.
Soludo charged the candidates to embark on vigorous grassroots mobilisation through door-to-door campaigns, urging them to communicate the party’s programmes and achievements directly to voters.
He advised them to appeal to reason rather than emotion, insisting that their campaigns should be guided by truth, constructive engagement and issue-based political communication.
The National Chairman of APGA, Chief Sly Ezeokenwa, expressed confidence in the party’s electoral prospects, urging candidates to take its manifesto to every ward and polling unit across the country.
Ezeokenwa reaffirmed APGA’s commitment to sustaining its political dominance in Anambra State, describing the state as the party’s traditional stronghold.
The presentation of flags to the 44 Anambra candidates marked a major highlight of the event, signalling the commencement of APGA’s campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general election.
Soludo’s declaration introduces another significant dimension to the emerging 2027 presidential contest, particularly in the South-East, where Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, retains considerable political influence.
With APGA now openly backing Tinubu, the political question is whether Soludo’s 50 per cent electoral target can translate into actual votes at the ballot box.
