By Ebuka Onyekwelu, PhD
I have continued to be intrigued by political developments in the Southeast, Nigeria, ahead of the January 16 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
While some people online believe that the Southeast will vote one-way in support of the NDC, the reality on the ground doesn’t support such claims. People in the Southeast are far more willing to work for President Tinubu. Many in the zone who do not appreciate the President’s style also believe that since he has done his first term, he should just complete his second term and leave. The feeling that President Tinubu can be removed by the NDC is not something many Southeasterners believe to be possible.
More interestingly, throughout the Southeast, the NDC has no foothold anywhere else except in Anambra State. On the face of it, it might look like it is because its presidential candidate is from Anambra, but it is more than that. The Vice Presidential candidate of the ADC is from Rivers State and was a former Governor of that State as well. Needless to say, this reminds us how the state has been muscled by Wike’s rainbow coalition.
In all other Southeast States, those who helped the LP make its impact in 2023 have deserted. Many of them are now in APC. In Enugu, for instance, the NDC has next to nothing in the State’s power equation. In fact, they don’t even freely hold meetings. The face of LP in Enugu in 2023 is now an APC candidate for the House of Representatives in 2027. In Imo State, there is nothing like NDC. In 2023, LP had people like Senator Achonu, Professor Sam Egwu, and many others. Imo NDC today has no place in the scheme of things. In Ebonyi, there is no NDC. Instead, PDP is the opposition in that State. Look at Abia State; there is no NDC there. Nobody is talking about NDC in that place.
But in Anambra, Professor Charles Soludo has demonstrated political tolerance and maturity, which is the hallmark of democracy. The NDC in Anambra migrated in bloc from LP, giving the party a sense of stability. But Soludo’s maturity and liberal hand might have been underrated by the same beneficiaries. Hence, Soludo remains at the centre of vilification by Mr. Obi’s supporters, who do not even know how easily the stakes can be schemed against them. What I see is that NDC is trying to consolidate their 2023 gains in Anambra under LP, so that they will see if it is possible to remove the APGA Government in place in the next gubernatorial election. This is their real aspiration. That is why Soludo is at the centre of their disparagement nationwide, despite being fair and liberal to them more than their leaders can be to APGA or Soludo in the past. In Enugu, where they can’t hold meetings, they are not angry at Governor Peter Mbah. In Imo, where they are not in the picture, they are not angry at Governor Hope Uzodimma. But in Anambra, where they are treated fairly by the State, they are angry at the governor.
All Southeast Governors are fully and openly in support of President Tinubu. In politics, there is no reward for second position. It is a zero-sum game. Anyone supporting President Tinubu does so to beat the ADC and NDC. This is the endpoint. Therefore, it is ridiculous that, in Anambra State, where NDC is enjoying the political maturity and tolerance of Governor Soludo, he is still verbally attacked by the same NDC supporters who have no words for governors in states where they have been run out of the political equation.
Obviously, 2023 is not 2027. Governor Soludo’s political maturity will have a date with history. For now, I am eager to see just how all the noise will translate into votes and electoral victory for NDC in Anambra. Soludo is contesting this election with his two hands, as Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, a distinguished economist of international repute. For those who think otherwise, well, I refer them to the August 2025 by-elections in Anambra State.
Be that as it may, by January 16, 2027, the leader of progressives in Anambra will clear the doubts of all naysayers.
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