2027: Soludo urges Igbos to prioritise political interests over emotions

Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has urged the Igbo people to put their long-term political interests ahead of emotions as they consider their position in the 2027 general elections.

Soludo made the appeal while addressing a stakeholders’ meeting involving members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party in Awka, Anambra State.

The governor, who convened the meeting as the Anambra State Coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Committee, called on the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that such a decision could strengthen the region’s chances of securing the presidency in the future.

He acknowledged the support many Igbo people have shown for the presidential ambition of former Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, but maintained that political alliances were necessary to advance the region’s interests.

“This is a grand coalition for the progress, prosperity, security, and welfare of Nigeria and of course, Anambra. This is a battle for the soul of Ndigbo and Anambra, a battle between emotion and reason. Emotion will always dominate, but reason will eventually triumph,” Soludo said.

He argued that the South-East had sought the presidency for decades but needed to build partnerships with other regions to achieve that ambition.

“We have clamoured for the presidency since 1978, we have held many positions in Nigeria except president. So, how do we get there? We need partnerships. Politics is about interest, we are not doing Tinubu any favour by supporting him, rather we are doing ourselves a favour,” he said.

Soludo also questioned the possibility of defeating Tinubu in 2027, recalling that the President won the 2023 election despite not being an incumbent at the time.

“A warrior who you couldn’t beat when he was sleeping in 2023, is it now that he is fully awake that you think you can defeat him? It can’t happen. Show me anywhere in the world that anyone has taken power from a powerful incumbent president?” he asked.

The governor described what he called the South-East’s politics of protest as counterproductive, insisting that the region should consider strategic alliances rather than focus solely on emotional attachment to political candidates.

“Ndigbo have been playing politics of protest and it is not in our own favour. Our brother who is running for president (Peter Obi) is my friend. We are close, our families are close and we will remain close. The only place where we disagree with each other is in politics. We cannot keep deceiving our people,” he said.

He further warned that the region could lose political opportunities if it failed to build alliances ahead of the next election.

Soludo said supporting Tinubu for a second term could position the South-East to negotiate for support from other regions when power returns to the South after the President’s tenure.

“In politics, there is no prize for second position, that is why I say we should not throw away our votes. We must remember there are consequences for running and failing, so for Ndigbo, this is a battle between temporary emotion and reason,” he said.

He added that his appeal was motivated by concerns about the future political prospects of the Igbo people, rather than his personal ambition.

Soludo also cited federal projects in Anambra as another reason for the state to maintain a working relationship with the Tinubu administration.

“Tinubu is doing many projects in Anambra State. We want to support him to ensure that he returns to complete them. There are numerous other projects that we would want him to do, but you can only ask for them if you are a member of the inner chamber,” he said.

The governor listed road infrastructure, a gas pipeline, rail development and erosion control among the areas where the state needed federal support, arguing that Anambra could not handle some of the projects with its available resources.

He maintained that cooperation with the Federal Government would help the state pursue these development priorities.

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