Soludo flags off APGA campaign, adopts Tinubu and targets 50% of Anambra votes
- Governor Chukwuma Soludo has launched APGA's 2027 campaign in Awka and adopted President Bola Tinubu as the party's presidential candidate.
- Soludo said APGA will aim for at least 50 per cent of Anambra's votes for Tinubu, up from about 5,000 in 2023.
- The party also handed flags to 44 candidates for Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly seats in Anambra.
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has flagged off the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) campaign for the 2027 general election, and used the occasion to formally adopt President Bola Tinubu as the party's presidential candidate.
The rally held on Friday at the Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, with party supporters in APGA regalia from across the state and other parts of the country. Soludo's deputy, members of the State House of Assembly and the state executive council were also present.
Soludo said APGA would work to deliver at least 50 per cent of Anambra's votes to Tinubu, a big jump from the roughly 5,000 votes the President got in the state in 2023. He argued that a strong showing would give the state and the South-East more leverage with the Federal Government.
"In politics, your vote is your bargaining chip,"
the governor said, according to Daily Post, urging Ndi Anambra to see the 2027 vote as a way to negotiate for development.
Why APGA is backing Tinubu
Soludo said the decision continues an old APGA tradition, noting the party adopted then-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 and again in 2015. He said APGA has no presidential candidate of its own this time.
He listed reasons for backing Tinubu, including appointments of Anambra indigenes and what he described as improved infrastructure, citing the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. He also said access to foreign exchange has become more stable for importers.
"We are not just supporting the party at the centre, but we are supporting a president who loves Ndigbo," Soludo said, according to Daily Post.
APGA National Chairman Sly Ezeokenwa urged candidates to take the party's manifesto to every ward, and described Anambra as APGA land.
What happens next
Soludo presented flags to 44 candidates in Anambra: three for Senate, 11 for the House of Representatives and 30 for the State House of Assembly. Candidates from other states also received flags at the event.
According to the timetable reported by the outlets, the presidential election is set for January 16, 2027, with the House of Assembly contests on February 6.
The governor asked candidates to campaign door to door and market to market, and to make the case for Tinubu alongside their own bids.
