By Osisam Ede
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has strongly dismissed claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Anambra, Nicholas Ukachukwu, that President Bola Tinubu has mandated him to “deliver Anambra to the APC.”
Ukachukwu, who returned to Anambra over the weekend after a visit to President Tinubu, made the claim during a welcome rally at the Chinua Achebe Airport, Umueri. Speaking to supporters, Ukachukwu 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.”
He added that he and his newly unveiled running mate, Senator Uche Ekwunife, were ready for the task, urging party loyalists to “take the message to the grassroots.”
But APGA, in a swift response on Sunday, described Ukachukwu’s claims as misleading and baseless.
“Ukachukwu is not the spokesman of President Tinubu and cannot speak on behalf of the President,” said Chinedu Obigwe, National Coordinator of the APGA Media Warriors Forum, in a statement.
He added, “Only Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Media to the President, or other official media aides are authorized to relay such messages to Nigerians. Ukachukwu is either seeking relevance or eyeing the job of Onanuga or Daniel Bwala.”
Obigwe mocked Ukachukwu’s political chances, saying he was “still floating on the murky waters of Anambra politics” and would be thoroughly defeated by the incumbent, Governor Chukwuma Soludo, in the November 8, 2025 election.
“He couldn’t even win his own senatorial election in 2023. How then can he deliver an entire state to the APC? Even if Tinubu made such a request, it is an impossible mission.”
Obigwe accused Ukachukwu of plotting to rig the election, vowing that “Anambra electorates will resist any rigging attempt with the last drop of their blood.”
He insisted that Anambra is already “aligned to the centre” under Soludo’s leadership, citing Tinubu’s cooperation with the governor during his past visit to the state.
“When President Tinubu visited Anambra, he approved all of Soludo’s requests. That’s proof of a strong working relationship between them. Ukachukwu is simply beating around the bush.”
Obigwe concluded with a strong message: “There is no vacancy in Anambra State Government House. It is Soludo till March 17, 2030 — or nothing.”
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