Anambra: APC supporters dump party for APGA

Around six thousand supporters of the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah from the All Progressives Congress (APC) have joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) ahead of the Anambra State Governorship election scheduled for 8 November 2025.

They were officially welcomed by the State Governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, during a grand reception organised by the defecting supporters, held at the International Convention Centre in Awka on Tuesday.

The supporters, who came from various groups working for the late senator, said they were inspired to join APGA to work for the re-election of Governor Soludo because they believe that, like Ubah, Soludo has the well-being of Anambra State at heart.

While welcoming them, Soludo expressed his sorrow over Ifeanyi Ubah’s untimely passing, revealing that he had a conversation with him shortly before his death, during which they planned for the senator to support his re-election. He pledged to find a way to immortalise him.

Addressing the defecting members of the support groups, who are mostly from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Soludo said, “I want to welcome you into the big tent of APGA. I want to welcome all of you back into the APGA fold.

“I welcome you to APGA; this is where you belong. This is the place where every Anambra person should belong because the ideology of APGA aligns with what Anambra stands for. We are welcoming you with open arms, and I want to tell you that in APGA, we are all equal as far as membership is concerned, regardless of how many years you have been in the party.

“My journey with Ifeanyi Ubah is personal and a very long one. Our relationship dates back to when I was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He joined APGA after contesting for governor on the Labour Party platform in 2013. In 2019, he contested for the APGA governorship ticket but was disqualified. I want to apologise to him posthumously, as he would have won the APGA primary by a landslide, but he was unjustly disqualified.

“I suffered the same fate in 2013. APGA approached me in 2012 to ask me to run for governor on their platform, and I told them I would think about it. In 2013, I went to them and told them I was ready for the contest, but they disqualified me—a former CBN governor and a governorship candidate of the PDP in 2010—without warning.

“But I think it happened for good. Today, I am the governor of the same party and the leader of the same political party that disqualified me. Similarly, in 2019, Ubah was poised for the governorship contest, but they paved the way for themselves, and he left for the Young Progressives Party (YPP). I know many of you here left with him and joined YPP because of that incident.

“He used the YPP to win the Senate by a landslide and became a senator. We used to joke about him returning to APGA, and he would always say it was something that must be well arranged. If Ubah were alive, perhaps he would have been the one to organise a massive rally for me, as you are doing today.

“Let me tell you a story. Before Ifeanyi Ubah’s death, we met at a function here in this hall, and he sat beside me. I told him jokingly that I had seen his plans to contest for governor, but we would humiliate him. He laughed and told me he had spoken to the leader of his party (APC), and he knew it would be difficult for him to unseat me. He said he would ask Sir Emeka Offor to convene a meeting between us to discuss how he could work for me.

“Emeka Offor confirmed to me that Ubah told him the same thing, but it is unfortunate that before we could meet, he died. That is why I said perhaps he would have worked for me in the election if he were alive.

“Ifeanyi Ubah was a very generous man who lived his short but purposeful life of just 52 years for all. I remember the Okada riders whom he used to allow to take fuel free of charge from his filling station. We will ensure we immortalise him, even if it means naming a street after him. But we will do better by finding a monument to name after him,” Soludo said.

The leader of the defecting members of Ifeanyi Ubah’s support groups from APC, Hon Chuks Kamen Ogbonna, in his speech, urged APGA members to accept them as part of the party, as they are joining to help build Anambra and support the re-election of Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

He said, “I speak today not just as Kamen Chuks Ogbonna but as a vessel of a legacy—the legacy of Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, a giant whose footprints remain indelible in the sands of Anambra’s history. With me, I bring the dynamic Ubah Political Family, a formidable army of believers in progress, who today lay down the banner of opposition to embrace the banner of partnership under the great umbrella of APGA.

“Mr Solution Governor, you solved the puzzle surrounding insecurity in the southeast by going after the fake native doctors. Today, other states in the southeast are following your example by embarking on the registration of genuine traditional medicine practitioners to identify and prosecute the fake ones.”

He promised to lead members of the group to work for Soludo to ensure his re-election in November as a way to sustain his achievements in Anambra.