Home NewsCan NICHOLAS UKACHUKWU Beat Gov. SOLUDO?

Can NICHOLAS UKACHUKWU Beat Gov. SOLUDO?

by Wale Lawal
  • The Story Of ANAMBRA Guber Race

The forthcoming Anambra governorship election is only a few weeks away. It will hold on November 8. Unofficially, the campaigns have begun with the front runners in the election already gearing up for the big showdown and hurling political fireworks at opposing camps. The 4 major contenders in the battle for the Anambra state’s seat of power are the incumbent governor, Charles Soludo of APGA, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the APC, George Moghalu of the Labour Party and John Nwosu of the ADC. Clearly, the man to beat is the current governor, Charles Soludo, who, no doubt has held a firm grip on the state politically and does look strong enough to retain office come November 8 when Anambrarians go to the polls. But of all the other contenders set to battle Soludo for the seat, the man widely considered the candidate with the most imposing profile and perhaps Soludo’s biggest threat is the APC governorship candidte, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu.

The gentleman is no stranger to Anambra politics. For several years running, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has been vying for the governorship of the state but has remained unlucky. But despite that the office has remained elusive to him, he remains undaunted, forging ahead in his pursuit of the Anambra state seat of power. But the questions on the lips of Anambra indigenes are, can the APC candidate, Nichola Ukachukwu, emerge victorious this time and defeat the incumbent, Governor Charles Soludo? Does he have what it takes to unseat an incumbent that has a firm grip on the state and is enjoying massive support from the people owing to his impressove performance in the last four years?

According to City People findings, it appears this November governorship election may possibly be Ukachukwu’s brightest prospect to become the next governor of Anambra state. Let us explain.

No doubt, Governor Charles Soludo’s APGA is the party to beat in Anambra state. The party enjoys impressive followership and suport from every corner of the state having become the ruling party in the state since 2003 and the governor has done well to consolidate on the party’s supremacy in the state. He has been able to do this through his remarkable achievements in the area of infrastructure, security, social welfare, etc. After APGA, the party considered second in terms of popularity and strength in the state is the APC. This is evident in the recently conducted Bye-election that held recently in the state which was swept clean by APGA and followed by the APC. The APC has shown that it has the capability to give Soludo and APGA a good run for their money, but political pundits still insist Soludo has done well enough to attract massive votes from the people come November 8 on account of his widely acclaimed enviable performance.

But there is still a big problem and this is where APC and its candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu could profit. Despite all of his remarkable feats in the state, Soludo still has a legion of haters who despise everything he represents in the state. No matter how well Soludo performs, they undermine his government and trivialise its accomplishments. Their reason? They cannot support a governor who has chosen to embrace a man that has been widely despised by the Igbos –President Tinubu!

It is no secret that many Igbos, within and outside Anambra State still discredit the Tinubu administration for defeating their preferred candidate, Peter Obi, during the 2023 presidential election. They insist Peter Obi won the election but was rigged out by the ruling party and for this reason, they have refused to acknowledge Tinubu as their president and have vowed to vote massively against him again in 2027 when he seeks re-election.

The Igbos have also cited marginalisation by the Tinubu government as reason why they are standing against him. And for this reason, they never spare any of their kinsmen that support President Tinubu from their vitriolic attacks, especially on social media. It is for this reason that many Anambrarians have vowed to vote against Soludo, a staunch supporter of the president, when he contests for a second term in November.

From day one, Governor Soludo has never hidden his respect for President Tinubu and the very brave economic reforms he has implemented. He says it is the only way the country can turn around its economic misfortunes. To underscore the very strong relationship that exists between the President and Governor Soludo, President Tinubu visited Anambra to commission projects undertaken by the Soludo administration in May, 2025. The President was given a rousing reception, a sight that didn’t go down wel with a sizeble number of indigenes.            This sizeable number are primarily the people the APC in Anambra are hoping would join forces with their own supporters to vote Soludo out of office.

“We know a lot of Anambra people are not happy with what is happening, but we will show the governor our displeasure come November 8, we will remind him that power belongs to the people,” said a top party member of the Labour Party.

Another APC member opined: “We know a lot of Anambra indigenes are not happy with Governor Charles Soludo and many of those people are voting for the APC because they believe he has not done anything in his first term to deserve their votes. Soludo will be shocked at the outcome of the coming governorship election!”

Beyond the aforementioned, the APC has grown stronger in the state, spreading in membership and getting heavily funded to go toe-to-toe with the ruling party in the state. And the personality of its candidate, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, has also enhanced the chances of the party and offer him brighter prospects of defeating the incumbent governor. He is a man who has done pretty well for himself as a business mogul and employer of labour. His philanthropic presence within the state is visible just as his ever increasing support base is evident. All of these have endeared him to the people and they have not minced words about going all out to vote for him come November. Expectedly, this have triggered some hostilities between the Soludo camp and Ukachukwu’s.

It was Governor Soludo who first threw shades at Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu. And being a man that’s known for being very vocal when he chooses to be, the APC governorship candidate responded by hurling some scathing remarks at Soludo.

“If Soludo can show us his account balance before he became CBN Governor and Adviser to the President, If what he had in his account together with all is properties, is up to one percent of what I have made, I will not run election against him again in November”

According to Ukachukwu, Soludo is a man who has never created any employment all his life even as Governor and so he cannot be compared to him (Ukachukwu) that has created many Jobs in Anambra and employed many people including Professors like Soludo. “A man who has never employed anybody all his life, is challenging a world-class employer of labour like me” he boasted.

He further stated that he will employ Soludo to work for him in one of his companies either here in Nigeria or abroad, when he defeats Soludo in the upcoming election. He mentioned that Soludo is his friend so that’s why he will do him the favour of employing him.

Ukachukwu also appeared on television to talk about his chances at the polls. He said the APC in Anambra is determined to win the poll and has rallied behind him because of his visible contributions to the state.

“APC in Anambra wants to win the governorship of Anambra state — the seat of Anambra state,” he said.  “And they know that the best person to win it is me… that can say, I have been this, not because I’m running. I don’t think there is anybody per kilometre road that has done as much as I’ve done for my state — in my state. And nobody has, I can say, I did it not even as a politician.”

“I have tarred so many roads and named them after so many people. I have 12 industries in that place. I used to be the second highest employer of labour outside the state government.” He said his investments in hospitality, manufacturing, and education are rooted in a long-standing desire to uplift communities.

“So, it is coming from the point of my track record, what we bring,” he said. “The Radisson Hotel that is in Awka is built by us. And then we have a factory also in Awka, which is too big and large, that is coming on stream. Those are the things they see.” He said his work has also impacted the education sector — particularly in improving access for underprivileged students.

“I have tried to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich, that both poor and rich can go to private universities,” he said. “Many of them, over a thousand. In fact, recently, like a week or two ago, a private university gave me a pillar of that university.

“Because in that university, I’ve had over 250 people of poor and the rich.” Ukachukwu also clarified his stance on godfatherism in Anambra politics, following recent criticism. “You know, people mistook what I said about godfatherism,” he said.

“What I tried to say is that I have been supporting people to be governor in Anambra state.

“There is nobody that has been governor in Anambra state that has not gotten my support. There has never been,” he stated confidently.

–WALE LAWAL (08037209290)

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