Top contenders square up for Anambra gov’ship

With campaign restrictions lifted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties and their candidates have intensified scheming ahead of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in Anambra State.

The electoral body had last week, in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, said, “In line with the provision of Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, political parties are now at liberty to start their electioneering campaigns in public from Wednesday, 11th June 2025 and end at midnight on Thursday, 6th November 2025.”

The commission also announced that 16 political parties had met the requirements to participate in the election.

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Daily Trust reports that Anambra is the stronghold of APGA which has always won the state despite strategies by other parties to dislodge it from power. Observers have argued that the race would be interesting, especially as the incumbent governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, is also seeking re-election. Pundits have predicted that some candidates would, however, step down for the leading candidates prior to the election.

Parties, candidates and running mates

According to INEC, Accord (A) has Charles Onyeze and Apollonia Ezeadili as its candidate and running mate;  Action Alliance (AA) has Japhet Ndeke and Anayochukwu Obi; African Action Congress (AAC), Grace Ifemeludike and Ikechukwu Mgbemena; African Democratic Congress (ADC), John Nwosu and Ndubuisi Nwobu; All Progressives Congress (APC); Nicholas Ukachukwu and Lilian Ekwunife.

Similarly, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has nominated Chukwuma Soludo and Gilbert Ibezim;  Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Echezona Otti and Samuel Ezeigwe; Action Peoples Party (APP), Chukwudubem Ndeke and Ebele Okeke; Boot Party (BP), Jerry Okeke and Happiness Ugboma; Labour Party (LP) Nnadubem Moghalu and Veronica Okaro; and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Geoffrey Onyejegbu and Victor Arinze.

Others are the National Rescue Movement (NRM),  Ndidi Olieh and Reginald Egbe; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jude Ezenwafor and Chukwudi Okeke; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Vincent Chukwurah and Venatious Odira; Young Progressives Party (YPP), Chukwuka Chukwuma and Izuchukwu Okagbue; and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP),  Martin Ugwoji and Faith Obi.

Top contenders

Despite the fact that there are 16 candidates seeking the number one office in the state, pundits and observers believe that four candidates would slug it out. They are candidates of APGA, APC, PDP and LP.

Chukwuma Solụdo

He is the incumbent governor of Anambra State seeking re-election on the platform of the APGA. Soludo is former governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Born on July 28, 1960, Soludo won the 2021 Anambra governorship election to clinch the number one office in the state.

Some analysts believe that Soludo would win the election considering the resources at his disposal, the power of incumbency, deep connections and the long-standing might of the APGA in the state, among others.

In April, 2025, there were heightened speculations that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had sealed a deal with Soludo ahead of the election. There were claims that Tinubu had agreed to support Soludo to achieve his second term bid, so that the governor would work for his re-election in 2027.

But candidate of the APC, Kachukwu had dismissed the claims saying Tinubu can’t trade him for anything. While appealing to APC members to disregard the speculation, Ukachukwu accused Soludo as the mastermind.

“If APGA is sellable without the centre, why are they relying on the centre? This is the first time Soludo is bringing himself for election as a person. We will determine whether he is popular or not. Tinubu is a party man. He can’t fall and won’t fall. Why will Tinubu support him? Why go to beg when you can have it?” he queried.

Similarly, a chieftain of the APC in the state, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, had described the reports as false. He also dismissed the claim that Soludo worked for the APC and Tinubu in the 2023 poll.

But recently, Soludo endorsed Tinubu for re-election in 2027. Pundits said the endorsement is a confirmation that Tinubu and Soludo actually had a deal regarding the Anambra  governorship.

But the APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, told Daily Trust in a phone interview that Tinubu didn’t endorse Soludo for the election, rather the governor endorsed Tinubu for re-election in 2027.

“As regards the endorsement, the governor only endorsed the president, not the president endorsing the governor. That is a different thing. In politics, every party has its own presidential candidate, but the endorsement does not cover the governorship election, except if something happens later.

“But whichever way it goes, the ambition of our party, the APC is to win the election in the state of Anambra and we are confident we are going to do that.”

Nicholas Kachukwu

He is candidate of the APC for the election. His political career has been marked by defections, quest for political power and controversies.

He represented Bwari, Abuja Municipal Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP from 1999 to 2003. Kachukwu later left the PDP and contested the Anambra South Senatorial election in 2003, on the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) but lost.

Prior to the 2007 elections, he returned to PDP and contested the House of Representatives election to represent Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency but lost again.

In the 2011 senatorial election, he contested on the PDP platform for Anambra South. He won the party’s primary but was controversially substituted, a development that led to a legal battle. In 2013, he contested the Anambra State governorship election on the platform of APGA but was unsuccessful.

Kachukwu again contested the 2019 senatorial election for Anambra South, on the platform of the APC but lost to Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who died last year.

Recall that after an unsuccessful bid for the PDP governorship ticket in 2006, Kachukwu defected to the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) where he emerged the party’s candidate, but he was defeated by Peter Obi, APGA’s candidate. He contested again in 2010, and was still defeated by Obi, who won a second term of office.

He is the only candidate that has the trajectory of cross-carpeting in search of political power. Pundits have argued that with this kind of political history, it would not be easy for the APC to sell his candidature. There are also arguments that he has the biggest challenge to slug it out with Soludo, the incumbent governor seeking re-election. There are fears that the 2010 scenario may play out.

Recently, a chieftain of the APC in Anambra State, Ike Bishop Okoronkwo, said the party had been divided since Ukachukwu won its ticket. He also predicted that the APC would not secure victory in the election.

Jude Ezenwafor

He is a real estate developer and candidate of the PDP for the November 8 election. He emerged as the party’s flag-bearer unopposed at its primary held in Awka, the state capital.

He clinched the party’s ticket at the primary after purchasing his expression of interest and nomination forms for N40 million and scoring 853 delegates’ votes.

Daily Trust reports that even though he was unanimously adopted as the party’s sole candidate, he had to be voted for, to legitimise and legalise his candidature.

The leader of the PDP National Committee mandated to conduct the party’s governorship primary, Col. Chijioke Onwubuya (rtd), declared Ezenwafor the winner of the primary.

But political observers say his chances are dicey following the protracted leadership crisis in the PDP at the national level.

George Moghalu

He is the pioneer National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was also a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

He contested the APC ticket for the 2021 governorship election but was not announced the winner.  He challenged the outcome of the primary in court and defeated the party.

The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete the name of Andy Uba, who was announced as the party’s candidate at the primary.

However, because of political intrigues, manoeuvring and time factor, Moghalu was later appointed Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In August last year, he dumped the APC. In October, he pitched tent with the Labour Party (LP). He contested the party’s ticket and won to emerge its candidate for the November 8 governorship election in the state.

Before his emergence at the party’s primary election held in Awka, Moghalu who polled 573 delegate votes said, “The election we are going into on November 8, in the football parlance is the Premier League”, apparently, recognising that he would be slugging it out at the poll with an incumbent governor.

Speaking on the race,  a political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, told Daily Trust that with the current political scheming, APGA is likely to retain the state.

In a telephone interview, Ojo said, “There are already signs and actions that show that Soludo will come back for a second term. Recently, we saw clearly that the incumbent governor of Anambra, who is of APGA, openly endorsed Mr President for re-election in 2027.

“I want to tell you categorically and emphatically that that endorsement has an undertone; there is something about it. There was a rumour that Mr President wants APC to adopt Soludo for re-election in the state so that he will, in turn, work for Mr President’s second coming. So there is nothing anyone can do. I can see Soludo coming back for a second term.”