Soludo asks South-East leaders to drop opposition politics and back Tinubu

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has asked political leaders in the South-East to set aside opposition politics and work more closely with the Federal Government, as parties in the state line up behind President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid.

Soludo spoke on Sunday at a stakeholders' meeting in Awka, the state capital, according to reports by Vanguard and PM News. The gathering brought together political leaders and grassroots mobilisers from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Accord Party.

The governor described the coming together of the parties behind Tinubu as a new direction for how the region engages with national politics. He said the opposition stance that took hold in the South-East around the 2015 general elections should now give way to taking part in governance at the centre.

Why it matters for the region

Soludo tied the argument to projects. He said the 5,000 votes Tinubu got in Anambra in the 2023 presidential election had helped draw significant federal projects to the state and the wider region.

"If 5,000 votes could attract these projects to our state and the region, imagine what would happen if we mobilised the electorate to give him massive support," he said.

That is the pitch the coalition is expected to carry to voters ahead of 2027: more support at the centre, more federal attention for the South-East. Whether that translates into visible benefits for ordinary residents is the question the campaign will have to answer.

On the economy, Soludo said efforts to steady access to foreign exchange and fix fiscal problems had made progress, but that more work remained.

He asked the coalition to tighten its campaign and mobilisation structures during the week and to run door-to-door campaigns, pointing to mobilisation methods used in the 1983 elections. He also told campaign teams to ignore criticism and attacks from opponents on social media and stay focused on passing their message across.

Soludo restated that his administration's decisions are aimed at securing a better future for coming generations.

APGA National Chairman Sly Ezeokenwa called the gathering a landmark in Anambra's political history and said the alliance of different parties behind the President was unprecedented. He thanked Soludo for leading the arrangement and said APGA would back his direction.

"Our party structure is ready to execute the instructions and deliver results at the polls," Ezeokenwa said.

Anambra APC Chairman Senator Emma Anosike welcomed the realignment, saying it was meant to place the state more directly inside the government's political and development plans. He asked the parties to work together despite their differences.

What happens next

The coalition is expected to streamline its campaign and mobilisation structures this week, with door-to-door drives to follow. How the parties share roles, and how voters in Anambra and the wider South-East respond, will shape the region's bargaining position going into 2027.