Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo last Saturday while launching a security operation codenamed; ?Operation Udo Ga Achi? at the International Convention Center in Awka told people of the state that he recently marked his two years and 10 months in office. What this means is that the governor still has a year and two months to complete his first term, but already, there is a clamour from political gladiators in the state on how to take his seat.

This year, precisely on November 8, eligible voters in the state will go to the polls to either renew Soludo?s tenure as governor, or vote him out.

The country?s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had in October, 2023 issued a guideline for the conduct of the election.

It said: ?The Commission has approved that the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will hold on Saturday 8th November 2025. In compliance with the mandatory requirement of 360 days, the formal notice for the election will be published on 13th November 2024. Party primaries will be held from 20th March 2025 to 10th April 2025.

?The candidate nomination portal will open at 9.00am on 18th April 2025 and close at 6.00pm on 12th May 2025. The final list of candidates will be published on 9th June 2025. Campaign in public by political parties will commence on 11th June 2025 and end at midnight of Thursday, 6th November 2025. Voting will take place in all the 5,720 polling units across the State on Saturday, 8th November 2025,? the commission said.

Already, politicians have started placing themselves in good standing with both the electorates and political parties, in readiness for the contest.

Typical of Anambra state which has always been known for multiplicity of contestants, many are already warming up from various parties, but what must be taken into cognizance is that only few parties are rooted in Anambra State, and any contest outside the key ones may just be a waste of resources.

Political Parties/Their Aspirants

Only few political parties possess the support and mechanism to win elections in Anambra State. These parties include; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Though Anambra was previously referred to as a typical PDP state, especially with its cult following in the state then, but today, internal wrangling has long torn the party apart, leaving it in shreds.

The party first started by battling godfatherism in the early days when it produced a governor for the state, and later went into leadership tussle, which resulted in the state having more than two factions led by different chairmen at every interval. In successive governorship elections in the state, the party has always held at least two primary elections and also produced candidates in same number. This has greatly affected their victory as they share their votes among factional candidates, weakening their chances to victory. To date, the party is still struggling to find it?s feet, and one would doubt what fight they can possibly put up in the coming election.

So far, no politician has been known to reveal intention to seek the ticket of the party to contest the election, and this may not be unconnected to their waning popularity in the state.

On the other hand, the loss of PDP has constantly remained the gain of APGA in the state. Since 2006 when the party took the reins of power in the state through Mr Peter Obi, ousting then governor, Dr Chris Ngige through the court, the party has controlled Anambra State for 19 unbroken years, with three governors. The party over the years has grown in size, and there is no doubt that if elections were to be conducted, the party will still be a force to reckon with, especially as it is the party in power in the state.

The performance of the incumbent governor, who has been adjudged to have done so very well in infrastructural development may also pose a challenge to any party contesting against him. So far, he has failed to mention any interest in seeking re-election, insisting that he has a major task to deliver in the state. Notwithstanding, so many support groups have positioned themselves, prodding him to recontest, and there are no doubts whatsoever that he will need their plea as the signs are everywhere. No one is known to be seeking to drag the ticket with him either.

Another political party that took the state by storm, almost positioning itself as the most popular after APGA is Labour Party. The clout of the former governor of the state, Mr Peter Obi and the huge support he garnered during the last general election swept through the entire country and Anambra. Because of such popularity, LP today has the second highest number of lawmakers, both in the state assembly and National Assembly.

Many politicians who ran into the party as a second option after they fell apart with their previous parties used the platform to defeat other more established politicians. To this day, many still believe that the party will spring wonders in the Anambra governorship election, while others believe that with the leadership crisis in the party, its popularity is waning.

The viability of the platform may be the reason many politicians are seeking to use the platform to contest the election, and they include; Mr Valentine Ozigbo, Barth Nwibe, Senator Tony Nwoye and Dr George Moghalu.

The APC on the other hand is one party that Anambra people have never given a chance, but today it seems to have put its acts right and has gradually started permeating the consciousness of the people of the state. Though the party is not known to have any elected representative in the state, outside Late Senator IfeanyiUbah, who won his seat from a separate party, YPP and later defected to APC, before his eventual death. Today, maybe largely because of the ruling-party-at-the-center factor, the party has become a beautiful bride, with many established politicians joining it. So far, the APC looks like the only party in the state that is set to give APGA a run for their money, and the party members are not mincing words about their preparedness to take the Government House.

So far, the party has two major governorship aspirants who have shown considerable interest in the ticket of APC and they are; Sir Paul Chukwuma and Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu. (THISDAY)

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