The All Progressives Grand Alliance has faulted a chieftain of the Labour Party, Val Ozigbo, over his comments that the performance of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after two years in office, is “not impressive.”
Ozigbo, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party during the 2021 Anambra governorship election, now a chieftain of the Labour Party and is also eyeing the governorship seat under LP, stated during an interactive session with journalists over the weekend that he was not impressed over Soludo’s performance, hence he has decided to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.
He said, “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years, and some of you may be impressed, but I am not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on, and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I am not impressed, and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I am here to share my thoughts with you, what I think, and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I am a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best, when you know you can pick one that is better.”
Ozigbo said further, “I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to do an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do just one term. I also wish to tell you that Peter Obi has been consistent that a southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
But reacting to the development in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday, APGA’s spokesman, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, dismissed Ozigbo’s utterances, insisting he has nothing to offer people of the state..
Olisa-Mbeki said, “He is a political stooge. What could he possibly bring in? Last I checked, he only managed Transcorp Hotel. Is that a qualification to be a governor in Anambra State? Soludo runs an inclusive government in Anambra; that is why he holds town hall meetings with different sectors. What other approach to governance is Ozigbo talking about?
“Anambra State governance is not for learners like Ozigbo. Ozigbo can’t even give a good lecture; he would be better suited working as a PA to any governor. Ozigbo’s aspirations in the previous gubernatorial contest in Anambra found him trailing in third place under the banner of the PDP, despite the staunch endorsement from former APGA governor, Peter Obi.
“That alone should tell him that APGA is like an apostle’s creed to Ndi Anambra. However, what reforms could Ozigbo propose? Anambra State, under Governor Soludo’s leadership, is a testament to political and socio-economic ingenuity.”