* Says gov’s pronouncement is abuse of privilege
The first National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chekwas Okorie, has chided Anambra State governor Chukwuma Soludo, for declaring that the party is adopting President Bola Tinubu as its candidate for the 2027 presidential election, in which he is expected to seek re-election.
Okorie, himself former presidential candidate in the 2015 election, said he has no problem with the accolades the governor showered on the President during his official visit to the State, but frowned at his pronouncements, saying the original plan of the party was never to adopt other candidates.
Regretting that the party, which he solely founded in 2022, has been subjected to a lot of abuses by latter-day comers who had little knowledge of its philosophy, he cited an example of how Rochas Okorocha, as governor of Imo State, unilaterally led the party into a coalition to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying it smacked of gross ingratitude.
In a statement he personally signed, Okorie said: “I wish to state without equivocation that all well-meaning Nigerians, especially the people of Anambra State and Ndigbo in general, welcomed wholeheartedly and with great joy the state visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Anambra State on Thursday 8th May, 2025. Prof Soludo, as the governor of Anambra State, was at liberty to vaunt his accomplishments at such auspicious occasion.
“However, he overreached himself when he assured the President that APGA would adopt him for the 2027 presidential election. He even claimed that APGA had a policy of such adopt since 2011 when Governor Peter Obi publicly adopted President Goodluck Jonathan for the presidential election of that year. APGA has suffered several misrepresentations by self-serving and selfish Governors who unscrupulously demonstrated unconscionable ingratitude to the Party that provided them the platform to realize their life ambition of becoming Governor of their States. Chief Rochas Okorocha did the same thing when he claimed that APGA joined the APC merger in 2013 when only himself and his followers joined the newly registered APC.
“Prof. Soludo lacks the capacity to make such monumental commitment on behalf of APGA. He even claims to be the National Leader of the Party. A claim that is blatantly false. Dr Alex Otti is the only governor of the Labour Party but you will never see him parade himself with the bloated ego of Prof Soludo.
“I am the founder and patriarch of APGA. In spite of this obvious fact, I can not by myself make such commitment on behalf of APGA. It is said by Ndigbo that no sane man can claim to have a first son before his father. I am certain that President Tinubu was not deceived by Prof Soludo’s perfidy and sycophancy.”
