The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has strongly refuted assertions by Nicholas Ukachukwu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2025 Anambra election, that President Bola Tinubu has mandated him to secure Anambra State for the APC.
Ukachukwu made these claims during a welcome reception at Chinua Achebe Airport, Umueri, Anambra State, on Saturday, shortly after meeting with President Tinubu in Abuja. Addressing APC supporters, he stated, “We met with the president in Abuja, and he said to us ‘go and get me Anambra State and connect Anambra to the centre’. That is a mandate, and I want to give you the same mandate to go and gather your people so we can connect Anambra to the centre.”
At the event, Ukachukwu also unveiled Senator Uche Ekwunife as his running mate, emphasizing their capability to execute the task with popular support. “I and my running mate, Uche Ekwunife, are capable of the task, but we need your support to do it. Take this message to the grassroot. No one should deceive you any longer,” he urged.
However, APGA’s National Coordinator of the Media Warriors Forum, Chinedu Obigwe, responded in a press statement on Sunday, denying that President Tinubu gave such a mandate. Obigwe stressed that Ukachukwu is not authorized to speak on behalf of the President, noting, “Ukachukwu is still floating on the murky waters of Anambra politics and that he will continue floating until after the declaration of Soludo as the winner of the November 8, 2025 governorship election.”
Obigwe further described Ukachukwu’s claim as an “impossible mission,” pointing out his previous electoral defeat in the 2023 Anambra South Senatorial election against the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. “Delivering Anambra to APC is a task that cannot be accomplished by Ukachukwu because the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, will defeat him by a wide margin during the election,” he added.
The statement also highlighted that only President Tinubu’s official media aides, such as Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga, are authorized to relay the President’s messages. “Ukachukwu should have been plain in telling Anambra people that he is eyeing the job of Bayo Onanuga and Daniel Bwala,” Obigwe remarked.
On the state’s alignment with the federal government, Obigwe asserted that Anambra is already connected to the centre under Governor Soludo’s leadership. “When President Tinubu visited Anambra, he approved all the requests made by Soludo for the betterment of Anambra State, and that is evidence to show that Soludo is enjoying a good working relationship with the President’s administration.”
Concluding, the APGA spokesperson declared, “As long as the forthcoming November 8 governorship election is concerned, there is no vacancy in Anambra State. It is Governor Soludo for Governor till March 17, 2030, or nothing.”
