Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has announced the formal adoption of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2027 general election, declaring that the President loves the Igbo and is business-friendly.
Soludo made the announcement on Friday during the flag-off of APGA’s national campaign at Dr. Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, where he described Tinubu as “the president who loves Ndi Igbo” and a president who “is business-friendly.”
The event attracted thousands of party faithful, members of APGA’s National Working Committee (NWC), candidates contesting various positions, members of the Anambra State Executive Council and government functionaries.
Also present were APGA’s 44 candidates for the National and State Assemblies in Anambra, as well as the party’s state chairmen in Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia.
Addressing the gathering, Soludo, who is APGA’s national leader, urged party candidates and supporters to intensify their campaigns, expressing confidence that the party would secure victory across the state.
“We urge you, step out! Everywhere! We will win. Those contesting for the State Assembly in Anambra, it is going to be 30 over 30. APGA for Senate. APGA for the House of Representatives. It is 3 over 3 and 11 over 11. We are APGA. We are progressives…We believe in the unity, prosperity, and progress of Nigeria. Ndi APGA, let’s go and make history. I will be with you campaigning all the way… We are battle-ready,” Soludo assured.
The governor subsequently confirmed that APGA had formally adopted Tinubu as its presidential candidate, thanking the party’s National Working Committee for ratifying the decision.
“APGA, as a political party, has made it formal that we adopt President Tinubu as our presidential candidate,” Soludo announced.
Explaining the rationale behind the endorsement, the governor cited Tinubu’s relationship with the Southeast, his economic policies and interventions in the region.
He recalled that Tinubu, while governor of Lagos State, appointed two Anambra indigenes, Mr. Ben Akabueze as Commissioner for Budget and Mr. Joe Igbokwe, whom he described as evidence of the President’s longstanding relationship with the Igbo.
“The President has stood with us,” Soludo said.
He also pointed to the stabilisation of the foreign exchange market, which he said had benefited importers in the Southeast, the ongoing road development projects in the region and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for students.
Speaking as an economist, Soludo maintained that Nigeria’s economy was moving in the right direction, adding that the position had also been publicly acknowledged by the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The governor urged APGA members to mobilise across the country for Tinubu and all candidates of the party, insisting that supporting the President was in the region’s interest.
“We are going to go to every nook and cranny and spread the message…It is in our enlightened self-interest that the President’s victory derives from our support. Our votes will count. We are going to win with the President, and Anambra votes must count. When the Presidency gets to us, we will do 8 years. Let’s get to work. The hard work begins,” Soludo declared.
Meanwhile, the APGA National Deputy Chairman, North, commended Soludo for his leadership of the party and for ensuring the safety of the Arewa community in Anambra State.
The party’s National Woman Leader, Lizzy Nkwocha, Esq., also thanked the governor and pledged the support of women for Tinubu’s re-election.
“I thank our leader for supporting the party at the centre for the re-election of the President. I want to assure our leader that the women are standing solidly with him,” she said.
Similarly, APGA National Auditor, Ola Kpokpo Ola; National Youth Leader, Onyebuchi Chukwu; Anambra State Chairman, Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, Esq.; and the party’s senatorial candidate for Ebonyi North, Mr. Ojimba, commended Soludo and pledged maximum mobilisation for Tinubu and APGA candidates.
APGA National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa, Esq., also expressed appreciation to Soludo for providing the leadership and political environment that had enabled the party to thrive.
“If you had not provided the enabling environment for APGA to flourish, we would not have been able to do that. We are grateful. We know that with you, we are going to go to this battle and emerge victorious,” Ezeokenwa noted.
The campaign flag-off marks APGA’s commencement of mobilisation for Tinubu’s re-election and the election of its candidates for the National and State Assemblies in 2027.
