By Abbas Jimoh
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa, has said that the party will not field a presidential candidate in 2027.
He told newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that it was part of the party’s tradition and in demonstration of its total support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He also dismissed speculations by some opposition politicians that Anambra State governor, Prof Charles Soludo’s courtesy visit to President Tinubu was to lobby the president for reciprocal support during the November 8 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
He also regretted that the members of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State used the recent by-election in the state to foment trouble and spread false narratives about the Governor Soludo administration.
“This press conference has been necessitated by the persistent falsehoods, deliberate misinformation, and baseless allegations being circulated in the media by the supporters and cronies of the APC Senatorial candidate for the recently conducted Anambra South Senatorial by-election, Mr Azuka Okwuosa.
“This, of course, includes Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, the APC Governorship candidate for the November 8, 2025 Anambra Gubernatorial election, who despite the infamous role he played in attempting to subvert the will of the people at the said election, as well as several electoral infractions he committed, has volunteered himself as the chief purveyor of falsehood, all in the bid to discredit the excellent work of INEC officials and security agencies in ensuring the credibility of the said by-election,” Ezeokenwa said.
The APGA national chairman said that ordinarily, the party would have dismissed the spurious claims with and rather focused on its people-oriented governance in Anambra State, noting, however, that responding to the baseless allegations and blatant misrepresentation was necessary to set the record straight.
He said, “This Press Conference is aimed solely to provide a factual counter-narrative and ensure that the truth is documented for posterity,” he stated, stressing that the August 16 by-election has been adjudged as a watershed in the quest for transparent and credible elections in the country.
“The successful conduct of the by-elections has yet again marked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as an important pillar of our democracy and further demonstrated the institution’s commitment to upholding democratic principles and the will of the Nigerian people.”
On the relationship between Governor Soludo and President Tinubu, Ezeokenwa said, “Both leaders have never hidden their admiration for each other. Even the President has continuously alluded to the long-time friendship that has existed between him and Prof. Soludo.”
He also said that Governor Soludo’s support and, by extension, APGA’s decision to back President Tinubu’s re-election do not proceed from a quid pro quo consideration, as it flows from tradition and as a mark of the mutual understanding between the President and the Governor.
While saying that he was not privy to the discussions between Soludo and President Tinubu when the former visited the latter, Ezeokenwa said that Governor Soludo has never hidden his call for progressives to align and work together in the interest of the country.
“APGA as a political party is the foremost progressive party in Nigeria. From 1999 till date, under the present dispensation, we were the first to be registered with the word ‘progressive.’ And, of course, before you have started having the All Progressive Congress, the Young Progressive Party, and all manner of progressives.
“Mr. Governor (Soludo) believes that the mainstay of every political party must be the ideologies that that particular political party professes. And, if you look at the manifestos of most of these political parties, you will see that they are virtually the same. Either you are left of the centre or right of the centre. It’s that simple,” Ezeokenwa said.
Addiing more comments on the by-election, the APGA boss said that the opposition APC unleashed terror on innocent voters, including physically assaulting a serving commissioner in the state.
“It is therefore worrisome that those evidently involved in these unlawful activities including abduction of Federal Government staff are now attempting to proactively use the media to shift the narrative and alter the truth surrounding these incidents.
“They shamelessly claim that the state vigilante operatives were intimidating voters, when in truth vigilantes were never part of the electoral process. Let it be said without fear of contradiction: only accredited security agencies; police, Civil Defence, DSS, and the Army were deployed, and they discharged their duties with professionalism and restraint.
“Indeed, Anambra APC’s allegations are nothing but hollow afterthoughts, a desperate attempt to mask their disgrace and divert public attention from their own shameful, violent, and anti-democratic conduct. To watch them cry foul while their hands are dripping with the stains of electoral banditry is the height of hypocrisy.
“While APGA has been very gracious and magnanimous in our victory, the people of Anambra will not tolerate blackmail and unnecessary disturbances from those whose interest in politics seems to be driven by a desire to disrupt the transformation underway in our state. APGA remains committed to our vision of leaving no one behind in our renewed hope for a better Nigeria, as exemplified by the progress being made in Anambra under the leadership of Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo and the APGA” Ezeokenwa said.
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