APGA vs Soludo: What Happens to APGA Candidates When Their Leader Chants "APC"?
No one can deny that Anambra has made quantum leaps in 19 years under APGA. That success explains why the people call it “Nke anyi” — “our own” — despite years of attempts by other parties to dislodge APGA from Agu Awka, Government House.
APGA has also maintained an unwritten synergy with whoever sits in Aso Rock. This non-confrontational posture has helped Anambra governors secure perks and tacit support from the centre, regardless of party differences. Because of this, rumours of defection have always trailed APGA governors.
But while Peter Obi and Willie Obiano stood firm in APGA, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s tenure has faced the loudest defection rumours to APC. And for good reason. His open dalliance with APC, the near-collapse of APGA BOT meetings, and the failure to launch the cooperative funding model he promised on day one have weakened the party. Today, APGA survives largely on the quiet sacrifice of stakeholders at all levels.
With other governors defecting to APC, Soludo’s jump looked inevitable. Instead, he has sold us “Progressives Are Working Together” — a smokescreen that masks anti-party activity. He now appears regularly with the APC Governors’ Forum. His deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, is a fixture at their meetings.
Political watchers say Soludo didn’t defect because he knows he lacks populist appeal. He won a second term, but Anambra voters clearly want APGA’s tradition of stability, not a party switch.
Yet riding on “progressive ideals,” Soludo took his alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to a new level. On June 15, 2026, at Abakaliki Mini Stadium during Ebonyi’s 2nd-term endorsement rally for Gov. Francis Nwifuru and President Tinubu, Soludo mounted the podium and chanted: “APC! APC! APC!”
This wasn’t his first time short-selling APGA. But this one stings more because it comes right before a pivotal election year when APGA has candidates on the ballot at all levels.
The question begs an answer: Does Soludo care about APGA’s future? What becomes of APGA candidates when their leader campaigns for another party?
Hear Soludo in Abakaliki:
“I’ve come in solidarity because Progressives are working together. It is time for Progressives to unite... We must move from alliance for protest to alliance for progress... We must not waste our votes again.”
“Ofeke amarọ mgbe ekee nku Ukwa. Kama efi anyi ga agbafelu ọsọ anyi egbubelu a ọdu.”
Against this open endorsement of APC, what is the fate of APGA candidates? What even counts as anti-party today, in this era of mercenary politicians and manufactured party crises?
In Anambra, while Soludo leads APGA, Peter Obi will be on the ballot as NDC’s presidential candidate. Soludo is already telling voters that supporting anyone else is “wasting Igbo votes.” So how do APGA candidates for Senate and House of Reps navigate this minefield with an electorate that has proven its independence?
The debate is already raging: will “thunder strike twice” with another Obi wave? Mix that with Soludo’s “Vote APC” directive, and you see the confusion APGA candidates will face at the polls.
Prof. Soludo has every right to choose his allies. But does that right override the right of APGA voters and Ndigbo to party loyalty? Time will tell.
My ten kobo advice to APGA candidates: Stake your ground now. Go to your constituencies. Tell voters clearly where you stand and what you offer. Draw the line between you, APGA, APC, and NDC.
As our fathers say: Whoever fetches ant-infested firewood invites lizards to a feast.
Onwuamaeze writes from Nri